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The Best Friend: An utterly gripping psychological thriller with a breathtaking twist Kindle Edition

by Shalini Boland (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 11,610 ratings
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‘I can tell we’re going to be the best of friends…’

When Louisa Sullivan takes her little boy to his first playdate at a new friend’s house she doesn’t realise life is about to change for her family. Because she’s about to meet Darcy Lane.

Darcy is a woman who has everything – a dream house, a powerful husband and enviable wealth.

She’s the perfect wife.

The perfect friend.

The perfect liar.

From the top ten bestselling author of The Secret Mother and The Child Next Door, this utterly gripping psychological thriller will have you up all night reading. If you loved Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and The Wife Between Us this book is for you.

Why readers are hooked by The Best Friend:

‘Absolutely Brilliant!... grabbed me right from the very first page and kept my interest throughout… one of the most intense thrillers I have read… I cannot even get over the level of craziness!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘All I can say is WOW!!!!!!!! This book had me holding my breath… So many emotions and frustrations rolled into one!!!... a fantastic psychological thriller.... I give it a huge 5 stars!!!!... goes right up to my top 5 books this year!!!!!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Just electrifying. I could hardly sit still… wonderful twists that had me gasping in shock... I absolutely love it… a gripping page turner of a read that you just have to read in one sitting. I could feel my heart literally pounding… Definitely one that will have you on the edge of your seat… Loved, loved, loved it!’ By the Letter Book Reviews, 5 stars

‘WOW – this one of the most tense and gripping psychological thrillers I've read. From the first page I was absorbed… really has you on the edge of your seat… totally engrossing.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Shocking, Stunning, Unbelievably fascinating… a wonderful read and will definitely keep you on your toes!... Wow factor is phenomenal!... this book pulled me into every twist… You stayed glued to the pages until the very last.’ Nook Books and More, 5 stars

‘I could not put this down! 5 star book all the way. Gripping, addictive, wriggle in your seat kind of book! … It’s brilliant! I loved the ending too. You will not be disappointed!!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘OMG what a read. Absolutely fantastic read… had me on the edge of my seat. Can't wait to read more from this author. Highly recommended. 5 stars.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
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  1. Print length
    254 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    Dec 18 2018
  5. File size
    2354 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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  1. How does it happen that you’re going along perfectly fine, and then, little-by-little, events twist and conspire to pull you down until you don’t recognise anything from your life any more?
    Highlighted by 92 Kindle readers
  2. She has no empathy. She doesn’t care about what she’s done, or what she’s about to do. She wants what she wants and that’s it.
    Highlighted by 78 Kindle readers
  3. It’s him again. And I’m pretty sure he’s following me. I mean, I can’t be a hundred per cent sure, but I’ve seen him here three times already this week, and he was there at the corner shop on Monday, and yesterday at the garage.
    Highlighted by 63 Kindle readers
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Product description

Review

"This was such a fun thriller! . . . a pretty great page turner. . . . I would highly recommend this to fans of psychological thrillers." ---Kissin Blue Karen

About the Author

Shalini Boland is the USA Today bestselling author of numerous psychological thrillers, including The Girl from the Sea, The Best Friend, and the Outside series. She lives in Dorset, England, with her husband and two noisy boys.

Saskia Maarleveld is an experienced audiobook narrator and voice-over actress based in New York City. Raised in New Zealand and France, she is highly skilled with accents and dialects, and many of her books have been narrated entirely in accents other than her own.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07LHLCD8Q
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bookouture (Dec 18 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2354 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 254 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 11,610 ratings

About the author

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Shalini Boland

Shalini Boland

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Shalini Boland is the USA-Today bestselling author of nineteen psychological thrillers. With over two and a half million copies sold, her titles have been translated into over ten languages for publication around the world.

Shalini lives by the sea in Dorset, England with her family and their increasingly demanding dog, Queen Jess. Before kids, she was signed to Universal Music Publishing as a singer/songwriter, but now she spends her days writing (in between re-stocking the fridge and dealing with endless baskets of laundry).

She is also the author of two bestselling Sci Fi and Fantasy series as well as a WWII evacuee novel with a time-travel twist.

Thrillers:

The Honeymoon

The School Reunion

The Silent Bride,

The Daughter-in-Law,

The Family Holiday,

A Perfect Stranger,

The Couple Upstairs,

My Little Girl,

The Wife,

One of Us Is Lying,

The Other Daughter,

The Marriage Betrayal,

The Perfect Family,

The Silent Sister,

The Child Next Door,

The Secret Mother,

The Millionaire's Wife,

The Best Friend,

The Girl from the Sea,

The Vampires of Marchwood series,

The Outside series.

Instagram - @shaboland

Twitter - @ShaliniBoland

TikTok - @shaliniboland

Facebook - Shalini Boland Author

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
11,610 global ratings

Top reviews from Canada

DanielLB
5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put it down!
Reviewed in Canada on July 14, 2019
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This is the third book that I've read from Shalini Boland and I loved it!! It is very well written and the story flows wonderfully. I predicted a few things but that didn't take away any of my enjoyment. On to the next one!
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Nancy Howard
4.0 out of 5 stars As Promised
Reviewed in Canada on January 17, 2017
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This book was true to it's promise. It was fascinating while it chipped away at the protagonist leaving me breathless.
One person found this helpful
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Linda Pfeiffer
3.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre at best
Reviewed in Canada on July 31, 2017
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A fairly mediocre psychological "thriller", without the thriller part would be my description of this book. After a couple of set up chapters the author uses the tried and true method of flash backs to previous years showing the psychopath's progression to the present day. At that point I knew exactly who everyone was and after that there were no red herrings or twists that changed my mind. The ending was welcome as it just confirmed what I had known for 95% of the book.

This book lacked entertainment value for me and I felt cheated with the ending.
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shelley
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow
Reviewed in Canada on March 27, 2020
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I had to finish this book in 1/2 a day. Loved it. I've read almost all of this author's books. I'd recommend all the books.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars The Best Friend
Reviewed in Canada on March 22, 2019
Well written, good plot and suspenseful. The main characters were believable and the story kept my interest. The ending however, was a little too good to be true. I'll forgive that though and recommend this book.
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Blue
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in Canada on January 13, 2021
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Very much enjoyed this book.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Better than expected
Reviewed in Canada on January 18, 2017
l was looking for something to read and thought l would try this author. A thrilling read and a real page turner. I enjoyed it more than l expected. Couldn't put it down actually! l have already downloaded her other book and am looking forward to starting it.
One person found this helpful
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DEBORAH FASAN
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely loved this book. Highly recommend it.
Reviewed in Canada on August 5, 2019
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Loved this book. Hard to put down. I highly
Recommend this book to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller.
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Top reviews from other countries

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SS_reads
4.0 out of 5 stars Page turner and great twist
Reviewed in France on February 25, 2024
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Ce livre est le deuxième de Shalini Boland que je lis et je ne cesse d'être fan ce ses livres. Elle arrive a écrire des histoires qui vous plongent directement dans l'intrigue, on ne peut plus s'arrêter lorsqu’on les commence. Le suspense est tellement fort que certains passages font presque peur, c'est à quel point l'autrice est ingénieuse dans l'écriture des ses romans. Pour une francophone c'était un livre facile à lire en anglais et rapide puisque l'histoire vous tient vraiment en haleine. Ce n'est pas le livre de cette autrice que j'ai préféré mais j'ai tout de même bien apprécié ma lecture.
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Chitwan Kaur
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Easy Read and keeps you hooked
Reviewed in India on August 25, 2020
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Loved the story and how it keeps you engrossed and thinking the whole time. Totally enjoyed reading it. Already bought another book by the author
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Layla
2.0 out of 5 stars Shalini's formula
Reviewed in Italy on July 17, 2020
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Female protagonist can't communicate with (naive, cocky) husband nor he wants to listen to her. She feels frumpy, comparing herself to more glamourous friend(s). She has given up on her dreams. Something creepy happens but she isn't believed, husband thinks she's crazy and an unfit mother. At the end she was right and feels vindicated. Plot is bland, characters one-dimensional. Ta da, there you have a Shalini Boland novel.
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Buzy_reading
5.0 out of 5 stars You can never have it all...can you?
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2018
Verified Purchase
The Best Friend is a psychological suspenseful thriller. Louisa’s new best friend has
it all –the house, the status, the money –but she’s also hiding a dark secret. And, as Louisa is drawn deeper into her friend’s life, events take a chilling turn ...
The timeline began in the present then switched to the past about nineteen years ago. The break in timelines came at a time when I was eager for answers but then would get drawn into the past. I mean this in the most positive way, it drove me mad. Shalini executed this story cleverly building up the suspense. This was written from Louisa’s point of view with a character driven storyline.

Louisa’s character is careful with her money choosing to spend it on practical things. While her husband, Jared is an ambitious man with a craving for a more luxurious lifestyle. Jared is easily enticed by the Lanes, a family that lives a posh life. Louisa worries about how badly her husband wants to fit in with these people. Louisa worries and stresses about her low standard lifestyle. Louisa has a practical mind set where she needs to establish the terms of an agreement before signing whereas her husband jumps in feet first then considers the terms afterwards.
Louisa was confident and comfortable in her own skin then she met Darcy and she felt frumpy next to her. Louisa was a caring and kind friend who allowed Darcy to dominate the friendship. Louisa’s problems and concerns took a backseat to Darcy’s problems.
This book definitely was a page turner. Shalini included so many layers to the story. There was never a dull moment. All the activities these characters were involved in were just as thrilling and suspenseful and tied in well with the plot. All the layers connected together seamlessly at the end.
My favorite part of this book was the way Shalini exposed the motive. Chilling the way the pieces fell into place.
All Shalini’s thrillers have taken place in the UK. I loved looking up the locations of each in England, including Sandbanks Beach.
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Linda
5.0 out of 5 stars Hugely gripping
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 4, 2019
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This book is absolutely brilliant. A chilling tale of what can possibly go wrong with a friendship and how easily people can be deceived. The story starts out with what seems like a nice, happy friendship being formed by two mothers with sons in the same class at school. Everything is going along nicely with the two families becoming firm friends, until…………. Well needless to say things start to go wrong and, without giving too much away, life for Louisa Sullivan starts to get scary. In fact, her life seems to go from bad to worse when her supposed “best friend” turns into a monster. Woven throughout the main story, we are given snippets of the life of a young girl and her brother, without really being told the significance of these little interludes. However, gradually as the story goes on the two strands start to get closer in time and I have to admit to having guessed where it was all heading. What really makes this novel stand apart though is the terrifying way someone can be so focused on revenge that they will do anything to succeed and, with the massive twist towards the end, it all comes crashing down around the reader in a fast-paced climax. Once more Shalini Boland has succeeded in keeping me gripped for hours.
12 people found this helpful
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