Synopsis from Goodreads:
If you suspected your best friend, the person you were closest to in the whole world, was a murderer, what would you do? Would you confront her? Would you help keep her secret? Or would you begin to feel afraid? Most importantly, why don’t you feel safe now that she’s dead? From the author of The French Girl comes a novel full of secrets, suspense, and deadly twists.
Georgie, Lissa, and Bronwyn have been inseparable since dominating their college swim team; swimming has always been an escape from their own problems, but now their shared passion has turned deadly. How can it be true that Lissa, the strongest swimmer they know, drowned? Granted, there is something strange about Kanu Cove, where Lissa was last seen, swimming off the coast of the fabulous island resort she owned with her husband.
Lissa’s closest friends gather at the resort to honor her life, but Georgie and Bron can’t seem to stop looking over their shoulders. Danger lurks beneath the surface of the crystal-clear water, and even their luxurious private villas can’t help them feel safe. As the weather turns ominous, trapping the funeral guests together on the island, nobody knows who they can trust. Lissa’s death was only the beginning….
I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. It does not impact my review.
How to Kill Your Best Friend publishes August 17, 2021.
This is a good example on why you shouldn’t decide to read a book based on the title alone. I thought this would be fun and mysterious, but it was incredibly slow paced and a bit of a chore to get through.
The story is told in alternating points of view between Georgie and Bronwyn, with a few anonymous pages thrown in. The anonymous POV pages describe the various ways in which you might kill your best friend, which I wanted to like, but ultimately found kind of pointless. The chapters from Georgie and Bron weren’t much better. There were tedious amounts of detail and nothing happened for long stretches of time. I predicted pretty much every single twist, except for one surprise right at the end.
Overall, I found How to Kill Your Best Friend disappointing. The very slow pace and unlikable characters kept me from ever getting that invested in the story. I wish there had been more time spent exploring Lissa’s past and her relationships instead of just one or two stories and vague references to her unstable behavior. The only reason I’m giving this two stars instead of one is because it did manage to surprise me once at the end.
Overall Rating (out of 5): 2 Stars
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