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A review by maeclair
Her Best Friend's Lie by Laura Wolfe
5.0
I have a weakness for and-then-there-where-none type mysteries. Take a group of people, put them in an isolated location, and start picking them off one by one. Even better when that group is reuniting after years apart.
In this case, we have five college roommates vacationing together almost twenty years later—after marriages, children, and careers have taken them in different directions. The girls decide to stay at a secluded cabin by a lake—off the grid but with enough comfort to appeal. Or so advertisements promise.
Unfortunately, when they arrive, the cabin looks like it’s held together by spit and the landlord seems like a fugitive from America’s Most Wanted. To add to the creepy atmosphere, a counselor died at a summer camp across the lake—now shut down¬—under suspicious circumstances.
Within a matter of time, one of the ladies meets with a foul end and another suffers an injury that affects her mobility. Shortly after, another is killed. The tone quickly moves to hair-raising as the danger ramps up, and the isolation turns ominous. There is no cell phone service, the girls’ van is damaged, it’s a hike of twelve miles or more to reach a road, and the landlord and his equally frightening girlfriend become menacing. Did I mention a storm crops up at the most inopportune time?
As in most novels like this, there are plenty of underlying secrets among the main players—insecurities, buried grudges, and a surprise or two for the reader. Although I did decipher the killer before the end, the author made me doubt myself more than once and had me waffling among three characters as suspects.
Some of the characters appealed more than others. One who really stood out was Kaitlyn—I liked her more than the MC—but all had their moments in the spotlight. The last line in the novel was a jaw-dropper, something I never saw coming. Recommended for readers who enjoy mysteries and reunion stories.
In this case, we have five college roommates vacationing together almost twenty years later—after marriages, children, and careers have taken them in different directions. The girls decide to stay at a secluded cabin by a lake—off the grid but with enough comfort to appeal. Or so advertisements promise.
Unfortunately, when they arrive, the cabin looks like it’s held together by spit and the landlord seems like a fugitive from America’s Most Wanted. To add to the creepy atmosphere, a counselor died at a summer camp across the lake—now shut down¬—under suspicious circumstances.
Within a matter of time, one of the ladies meets with a foul end and another suffers an injury that affects her mobility. Shortly after, another is killed. The tone quickly moves to hair-raising as the danger ramps up, and the isolation turns ominous. There is no cell phone service, the girls’ van is damaged, it’s a hike of twelve miles or more to reach a road, and the landlord and his equally frightening girlfriend become menacing. Did I mention a storm crops up at the most inopportune time?
As in most novels like this, there are plenty of underlying secrets among the main players—insecurities, buried grudges, and a surprise or two for the reader. Although I did decipher the killer before the end, the author made me doubt myself more than once and had me waffling among three characters as suspects.
Some of the characters appealed more than others. One who really stood out was Kaitlyn—I liked her more than the MC—but all had their moments in the spotlight. The last line in the novel was a jaw-dropper, something I never saw coming. Recommended for readers who enjoy mysteries and reunion stories.