Blog Tour: Little Friends by Jane Shemilt

Released: 20th February 2020

Publisher: Penguin

Genre: Psychological thriller

Blurb:

THE STUNNING NEW PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB SENSATION DAUGHTER

'Extremely clever, readable and elegant ... perfect for fans of Big Little Lies. Domestic noir at its best' Suzy K Quinn, bestselling author of Don't Tell Teacher

Their children are friends first. They hit it off immediately, as kids do. And so the parents are forced to get to know each other. Three wildly different couples. Three marriages, floundering.

There are barbecues, dinner parties, a holiday in Greece. An affair begins, resentments flare, and despite it all the three women become closer.

Unnoticed, their children run wild. The couples are so busy watching each other that they forget to watch their children.

Until tragedy strikes.

Because while they have been looking the other way, evil has crept into their safe little world and every parent's biggest nightmare is about to come true...

'Intelligent, compelling and deeply unsettling. My kind of book!!' Ali Land, bestselling author of Good Me Bad Me

'Such a clever, beautifully written read that was tense and thrilling throughout with an ending that gave me goosebumps' Claire Douglas, author of Then She Vanishes

My Thoughts:

This book had me hooked from the first page to the last.

I admit that when I read psychological thrillers, I like for there to be something about the plot that makes me slightly uneasy (isn't that the point of the genre?) and to almost challenge myself to find the dark storylines where I'm not sure why I'm reading on but I can't stop. This book did that.

The story is told, looking back in retrospect from after a incident has happened. We don't know what the incident is, but we know it involves some kind of police investigation and the kids. The narrative is mainly from the point of view of the wives - not really likeable characters, but written in a way that I didn't feel alienated - and we delve into the marriages of these people who have found themselves to be friends but who don't seem to really like each other. There's an affair (which we know from the blurb) and we follow them all until the plot begins to twist.

I was in awe of how Jane Shemilt was able to craft this book - the cliff hangers, the tension, the unease and the way that she painted the lives of these people so that I found myself engrossed while not really liking any of them. The story twisted in on itself over and over until I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I admit that I find the best thrillers leave me closing the book asking 'what the hell just happened?' and looking around to realise that people around me are carrying on as normal. This novel achieved that … I was blown away by the story but also by the incredible talent that Jane had to take me by the hand, pull me through the pages and then let me go so that I ended up looking round myself, wondering how to get back up.

Thanks so much to Penguin for sending me a copy for review, and for letting me be part of the blog tour for such a spellbinding novel. If you like to lose yourself in a thriller, treat yourself to this one. You won't be disappointed.