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Friends Like These
Six college friends have reunited for a glamorous weekend in the Catskills, a decade after a fatal accident that nearly destroyed them. Keith, once the ringleader of the group, was a handsome charmer on the fast track to success. Now he's spiraling into addiction and stands at the edge of losing it all. This weekend is the last chance to save him.
But Keith, it turns out, is not the only one who needs saving.
By dawn on Sunday morning, a car has been found deep in the woods--one of the friends is dead, another is missing. When a local detective turns up to investigate, it's clear the group is hiding something ominous.
Haunted by her sister's murder years ago, Detective Julia Scutt has her own share of problems. But she's a skilled detective, and knows a rehearsed story when she hears one. It is up to Julia to untangle a decade-long web of friendship, lies and betrayals to discover the truth. But first she needs to face her own past--including the secrets that could, in the end, offer the key to everything.
A story of unconditional love, obsession, and the sometimes-impossible choices we have to make in the name of loyalty, Friends Like These is a relentlessly twisty, roller-coaster of a novel.
But Keith, it turns out, is not the only one who needs saving.
By dawn on Sunday morning, a car has been found deep in the woods--one of the friends is dead, another is missing. When a local detective turns up to investigate, it's clear the group is hiding something ominous.
Haunted by her sister's murder years ago, Detective Julia Scutt has her own share of problems. But she's a skilled detective, and knows a rehearsed story when she hears one. It is up to Julia to untangle a decade-long web of friendship, lies and betrayals to discover the truth. But first she needs to face her own past--including the secrets that could, in the end, offer the key to everything.
A story of unconditional love, obsession, and the sometimes-impossible choices we have to make in the name of loyalty, Friends Like These is a relentlessly twisty, roller-coaster of a novel.
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 7, 2021
604 people are currently reading
43170 people want to read
About the author
Kimberly McCreight
20 books4,743 followersKimberly McCreight is the New York Times bestselling author of eight novels including RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA, A GOOD MARRIAGE and LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER. SOMEONE ELSE'S HUSBAND is forthcoming from Knopf June 16, 2026. She has been nominated for the Edgar, Anthony and Alex awards and her books have been translated into more than twenty languages and optioned for film and television. She attended Vassar College and graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She lives in Brooklyn. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook and at kimberlymccreight.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,348 reviews
October 15, 2021
feeling pretty lukewarm about this one, tbh.
im really drawn to stories about friend groups that are hiding secrets, not only to those outside their circle but also to each other, so i really like the premise of this. the execution, however, not so much.
theres just too much going on - too many characters, too many POV shifts, and too many subplots. it honestly just becomes so unrealistic that it takes the reader out of the story. the ending is pretty twisty and i didnt see it coming, but only because its yet again another unrealistic subplot.
that being said, i still enjoyed the heart of the story. i think if it had been reworked into something more simple, it would have been much more effective and enjoyable.
↠ 2.5 stars
im really drawn to stories about friend groups that are hiding secrets, not only to those outside their circle but also to each other, so i really like the premise of this. the execution, however, not so much.
theres just too much going on - too many characters, too many POV shifts, and too many subplots. it honestly just becomes so unrealistic that it takes the reader out of the story. the ending is pretty twisty and i didnt see it coming, but only because its yet again another unrealistic subplot.
that being said, i still enjoyed the heart of the story. i think if it had been reworked into something more simple, it would have been much more effective and enjoyable.
↠ 2.5 stars
November 29, 2021
2.5 stars, rounded up
I've had a string of lackluster psychological suspense reads lately. This one is filled with unbelievable circumstances, characters hiding things from the police and from each other that they never would in real life (and never would be able to either), and a wholly unlikable cast of characters, save maybe for the police detective.
This is about a group of college friends who witnessed and then hid a terrible incident when they were in school. Keeping the secret led to Alice, one of their group, committing suicide. Now in the present day, they are meeting austensibly to have a bachelor party for Jonathan, but in reality they are planning to convince drug addicted Keith to go to rehab. Joining Jonathan and Keith are three others from the college group and one guy who has pushed to be included. The book opens with a car found in the woods with a dead body inside, and the police don't know who is dead or who was driving, but they are trying to find out.
All that to say that the book is overall quite convoluted and actually silly at times. The characters are basically caricatures and do very cliched things. The secrets they are hiding get more and more bizarre as they come to light. The one positive thing I can say is that the ending twists are pretty surprising (honestly I don't think there's any way a person could figure them out ahead of time), and made for a satisfying ending for the most part and made me round up rather than down.
I have liked this author's previous books, but I don't feel like this one is up to those standards. It lacks nuance and creativity, the way things are revealed feels clunky and awkward and the motivation behind most of the secrets and crimes isn't revealed or clear. So much of the book hinges on everyone trying to hide things to protect each other to the bitter end, even if the consequences weren't that dire.
Maybe I'm just an outlier because there are quite a few positive reviews for this book. I just didn't really connect with it for the most part.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
I've had a string of lackluster psychological suspense reads lately. This one is filled with unbelievable circumstances, characters hiding things from the police and from each other that they never would in real life (and never would be able to either), and a wholly unlikable cast of characters, save maybe for the police detective.
This is about a group of college friends who witnessed and then hid a terrible incident when they were in school. Keeping the secret led to Alice, one of their group, committing suicide. Now in the present day, they are meeting austensibly to have a bachelor party for Jonathan, but in reality they are planning to convince drug addicted Keith to go to rehab. Joining Jonathan and Keith are three others from the college group and one guy who has pushed to be included. The book opens with a car found in the woods with a dead body inside, and the police don't know who is dead or who was driving, but they are trying to find out.
All that to say that the book is overall quite convoluted and actually silly at times. The characters are basically caricatures and do very cliched things. The secrets they are hiding get more and more bizarre as they come to light. The one positive thing I can say is that the ending twists are pretty surprising (honestly I don't think there's any way a person could figure them out ahead of time), and made for a satisfying ending for the most part and made me round up rather than down.
I have liked this author's previous books, but I don't feel like this one is up to those standards. It lacks nuance and creativity, the way things are revealed feels clunky and awkward and the motivation behind most of the secrets and crimes isn't revealed or clear. So much of the book hinges on everyone trying to hide things to protect each other to the bitter end, even if the consequences weren't that dire.
Maybe I'm just an outlier because there are quite a few positive reviews for this book. I just didn't really connect with it for the most part.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
November 28, 2021
With friends like these… Who needs enemies?
Now in their 30s, Keith, Maeve, Jonathan, Stephanie, and Derrick have known each other since college. There used to be a sixth, Alice, but after the group conspired to cover up and keep quiet about a death they witnessed, she couldn’t live with herself. Each now carries around guilt from their action (and inaction) surrounding both the death and Alice’s suicide, as well as a feeling of a lifelong bond with the remaining group. When they all get together for a weekend, things go horribly wrong. One is missing, one is dead, and everyone has something to hide...
Can Detective Julia Scutt piece it all together when everything that comes out of the group’s mouths is a lie, and will she be able to separate the case from her past demons that seem intent on coming back to haunt her?
Well, I have to say, I 100% did not see *that* ending coming, and I can almost always see the twist coming… Was it somewhat because it was kind of ridiculous and wholly implausible, sure. But that’s been a pattern lately in mysteries and thrillers, and this one at least pulled off the shock factor for me.
Unfortunately, it was a *struggle* to get to the ending. There was just too much going on; convoluted is an understatement here. There are POV shifts between SEVEN people, timeline jumps, 8 million secrets and problems all managing to converge on a single weekend, and all of it revolves around a cast of wholly unlikeable characters. At first it was hard to feel connected to the story or the characters due to the somewhat large cast and the frequent POV jumps. However even once I finally got a handle on who everyone was, I simply couldn’t bring myself to care about them. Curiosity kept me going, and I’m glad I stuck with it, but in this case the way the cast was used and abused in order to create red herrings just left me feeling very meh about it all. I also didn’t love the secondary twist/reveal and wish the author had figured out a different way to tie some threads together rather than relying on that.
I enjoyed Kimberly McCreight's previous book A Good Marriage and despite my problems with this one, do think she has a good knack for buried secret plots. In this case, it was just all too much. I will look forward to checking out the next, and hope she is able to dial it back a bit.
Now in their 30s, Keith, Maeve, Jonathan, Stephanie, and Derrick have known each other since college. There used to be a sixth, Alice, but after the group conspired to cover up and keep quiet about a death they witnessed, she couldn’t live with herself. Each now carries around guilt from their action (and inaction) surrounding both the death and Alice’s suicide, as well as a feeling of a lifelong bond with the remaining group. When they all get together for a weekend, things go horribly wrong. One is missing, one is dead, and everyone has something to hide...
Can Detective Julia Scutt piece it all together when everything that comes out of the group’s mouths is a lie, and will she be able to separate the case from her past demons that seem intent on coming back to haunt her?
Well, I have to say, I 100% did not see *that* ending coming, and I can almost always see the twist coming… Was it somewhat because it was kind of ridiculous and wholly implausible, sure. But that’s been a pattern lately in mysteries and thrillers, and this one at least pulled off the shock factor for me.
Unfortunately, it was a *struggle* to get to the ending. There was just too much going on; convoluted is an understatement here. There are POV shifts between SEVEN people, timeline jumps, 8 million secrets and problems all managing to converge on a single weekend, and all of it revolves around a cast of wholly unlikeable characters. At first it was hard to feel connected to the story or the characters due to the somewhat large cast and the frequent POV jumps. However even once I finally got a handle on who everyone was, I simply couldn’t bring myself to care about them. Curiosity kept me going, and I’m glad I stuck with it, but in this case the way the cast was used and abused in order to create red herrings just left me feeling very meh about it all. I also didn’t love the secondary twist/reveal and wish the author had figured out a different way to tie some threads together rather than relying on that.
I enjoyed Kimberly McCreight's previous book A Good Marriage and despite my problems with this one, do think she has a good knack for buried secret plots. In this case, it was just all too much. I will look forward to checking out the next, and hope she is able to dial it back a bit.
July 13, 2021
I was super excited to get an advance copy of this book, but it fell a little short. There was a good story in there, but it was a bit of a convoluted mess.
There were just SO many characters to keep straight, all of which had their own POV chapters, plus Alice who died 10 years ago, plus the mystery person, plus the detective, and then the timeline kept jumping back and forth from the beginning of the weekend, to the end of the weekend, to the mystery stalker 2-3 weeks ago, to back when everyone was in college together.
At the end of the day, keeping everything and everyone straight just felt like work, and enjoying the book felt very secondary to that.
The ending REALLY saved the book for me. Moved my rating from a 2.5 up to a 3. There's no doubt that Kimberly McCreight can write a great thriller, this one just missed the execution mark.
There were just SO many characters to keep straight, all of which had their own POV chapters, plus Alice who died 10 years ago, plus the mystery person, plus the detective, and then the timeline kept jumping back and forth from the beginning of the weekend, to the end of the weekend, to the mystery stalker 2-3 weeks ago, to back when everyone was in college together.
At the end of the day, keeping everything and everyone straight just felt like work, and enjoying the book felt very secondary to that.
The ending REALLY saved the book for me. Moved my rating from a 2.5 up to a 3. There's no doubt that Kimberly McCreight can write a great thriller, this one just missed the execution mark.
June 2, 2021
This novel entails an interesting premise. A group of six friends, each with their own eccentricities and one common secret, slowly unravel in their complicity when an interloper pokes away at them for less than altruistic reasons. A mysterious and thrilling page-turner. Thank you to HarperCollinsPublishers for providing an Advanced Reader Edition.
May 19, 2023
Six college friends have reunited for a glamorous weekend in the Catskills, a decade after a fatal accident that nearly destroyed them. Keith, once the ringleader of the group, was a handsome charmer on the fast track to success. Now he’s spiraling into addiction and stands at the edge of losing it all. This weekend is the last chance to save him.
But Keith, it turns out, is not the only one who needs saving.
By dawn on Sunday morning, a car has been found deep in the woods—one of the friends is dead, another is missing. When a local detective turns up to investigate, it’s clear the group is hiding something ominous.
Haunted by her sister’s murder years ago, Detective Julia Scutt has her own share of problems. But she’s a skilled detective, and knows a rehearsed story when she hears one. It is up to Julia to untangle a decade-long web of friendship, lies and betrayals to discover the truth. But first she needs to face her own past—including the secrets that could, in the end, offer the key to everything.
After reading A Good Marriage (which I gave 5+ stars to) by Kimberly McCreight, I could not wait to read her newest novel, Friends Like These. Unfortunately, it did not live up to the former in the least and, at times, felt a bit like a slog.
But let’s start out with the good news, though, shall we? Because despite how underwhelmed I was by the book, I still was rather blown away by the altogether stunning twist. I’m usually pretty good at sniffing out the details, but this time I was pleased to find myself completely surprised by this one despite my repeated attempts at rooting out who the bad guy really was.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the character of Detective Julia Scutt. While she may not have been fully fleshed out, she was the one character who I connected with enough to root for. I wholeheartedly wanted her to figure out who was behind her sister’s murder and find happiness. Did she manage it? Guess you’ll just have to read this one to find out.
Now for the bad news. The unfortunate flip side to Julia’s great characterization was that not only did I not like any of the other characters, but I actively disliked them. And not in that “love to hate” way, either. Each were battling their own troubles, but so many of them were of their own making that I actively lost any sympathy I may have originally had for them. In my opinion, making them each at least mildly likable would have greatly improved this novel.
What really got to me, though, was how discombobulated and confusing the entire plot felt. Told in eight different POVs and four separate timelines, even the most seasoned author would probably have had a tough time making a cohesive storyline. I understand the need to show the multitude of secrets from all sides, but there has to be a better way, in my opinion. Especially with all of the subplots that seemed completely unnecessary. While this did provide plenty of red herrings in terms of suspects, it ultimately felt like overkill.
Last but not least was how over-the-top and melodramatic much of the book felt. It was almost as if the author threw everything but the kitchen sink into the plot just to see what would stick and then neglected to edit out the less successful aspects.
In the end, however, despite finding some rather glaring missteps, I did find myself nevertheless captivated by the book. An excellent premise filled with plenty of action, I couldn’t wait to discover what would happen in this locked room whodunnit. So I guess this one was slightly better than average in my eyes thanks to its surprising addictiveness. Ultimately, I recommend this one somewhat hesitantly. Read at your own discretion. Rating of 3 stars.
Trigger warning: drug addiction, blackmail, drug overdose, mention of: suicide, alcoholism, dementia
*Synopsis provided by the publisher.
But Keith, it turns out, is not the only one who needs saving.
By dawn on Sunday morning, a car has been found deep in the woods—one of the friends is dead, another is missing. When a local detective turns up to investigate, it’s clear the group is hiding something ominous.
Haunted by her sister’s murder years ago, Detective Julia Scutt has her own share of problems. But she’s a skilled detective, and knows a rehearsed story when she hears one. It is up to Julia to untangle a decade-long web of friendship, lies and betrayals to discover the truth. But first she needs to face her own past—including the secrets that could, in the end, offer the key to everything.
After reading A Good Marriage (which I gave 5+ stars to) by Kimberly McCreight, I could not wait to read her newest novel, Friends Like These. Unfortunately, it did not live up to the former in the least and, at times, felt a bit like a slog.
But let’s start out with the good news, though, shall we? Because despite how underwhelmed I was by the book, I still was rather blown away by the altogether stunning twist. I’m usually pretty good at sniffing out the details, but this time I was pleased to find myself completely surprised by this one despite my repeated attempts at rooting out who the bad guy really was.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the character of Detective Julia Scutt. While she may not have been fully fleshed out, she was the one character who I connected with enough to root for. I wholeheartedly wanted her to figure out who was behind her sister’s murder and find happiness. Did she manage it? Guess you’ll just have to read this one to find out.
Now for the bad news. The unfortunate flip side to Julia’s great characterization was that not only did I not like any of the other characters, but I actively disliked them. And not in that “love to hate” way, either. Each were battling their own troubles, but so many of them were of their own making that I actively lost any sympathy I may have originally had for them. In my opinion, making them each at least mildly likable would have greatly improved this novel.
What really got to me, though, was how discombobulated and confusing the entire plot felt. Told in eight different POVs and four separate timelines, even the most seasoned author would probably have had a tough time making a cohesive storyline. I understand the need to show the multitude of secrets from all sides, but there has to be a better way, in my opinion. Especially with all of the subplots that seemed completely unnecessary. While this did provide plenty of red herrings in terms of suspects, it ultimately felt like overkill.
Last but not least was how over-the-top and melodramatic much of the book felt. It was almost as if the author threw everything but the kitchen sink into the plot just to see what would stick and then neglected to edit out the less successful aspects.
In the end, however, despite finding some rather glaring missteps, I did find myself nevertheless captivated by the book. An excellent premise filled with plenty of action, I couldn’t wait to discover what would happen in this locked room whodunnit. So I guess this one was slightly better than average in my eyes thanks to its surprising addictiveness. Ultimately, I recommend this one somewhat hesitantly. Read at your own discretion. Rating of 3 stars.
Trigger warning: drug addiction, blackmail, drug overdose, mention of: suicide, alcoholism, dementia
*Synopsis provided by the publisher.
December 13, 2021
This book was so bad. Literally had 20 pages left and DNF'd it, I just didn't care. A jumbled mess with way too many characters and perspectives, plot lines, that all seemed unrealistic and unoriginal that the overall execution came off as a book that felt rushed to meet a deadline, perhaps??! I've only read two of this author's prior books but this one was so far removed from those works that it almost felt like it came from a different writer. If you're on the fence after reading the synopsis I would recommend giving this one a pass. Unless of course you are into all of the above issues!
July 27, 2021
This is a book I read a couple of weeks ago and just realized that I hadn't reviewed it - but oddly, I barely remembered what it was about until I went back and read the back cover blurb and other reviews, so I'm not sure what that says (or doesn't say) about the book!
Once it all came back to me, I remembered that I really didn't care for it at all. Normally the premise of a group of college friends, who all share a traumatic past and multiple secrets having a reunion of sorts at a remote location, is my cup o' tea, but not here. It was just all a bit absurd. It also had WAY too many narrators - each one of the friends and the investigating police officer - and it want back and forth between three time periods. It was too confusing. Much (and I mean much) time was also spent on the catalyst event for the whole plot - something that happened on the roof of a building when the friends were all in college - and it just didn't seem believable to me.
Does it have some shock value because you don't see the ending coming? Yes, but herein lies my issue with it - no one would see that ending coming because it is preposterous and bizarre. Not to mention, it is not possible for one group of friends to have so many bad things happen to them!
McCreight is hit-or-miss for me, and this book will probably appeal to many readers, but for me it was a miss. 2 stars.
Once it all came back to me, I remembered that I really didn't care for it at all. Normally the premise of a group of college friends, who all share a traumatic past and multiple secrets having a reunion of sorts at a remote location, is my cup o' tea, but not here. It was just all a bit absurd. It also had WAY too many narrators - each one of the friends and the investigating police officer - and it want back and forth between three time periods. It was too confusing. Much (and I mean much) time was also spent on the catalyst event for the whole plot - something that happened on the roof of a building when the friends were all in college - and it just didn't seem believable to me.
Does it have some shock value because you don't see the ending coming? Yes, but herein lies my issue with it - no one would see that ending coming because it is preposterous and bizarre. Not to mention, it is not possible for one group of friends to have so many bad things happen to them!
McCreight is hit-or-miss for me, and this book will probably appeal to many readers, but for me it was a miss. 2 stars.
April 14, 2024
In FRIENDS LIKE THESE, a group of college friends witnessed something terrible back in college… then did something worse. It later caused one person in their group (Alice) to take their own life. Now years later, they’re getting together again under the guise of a bachelor party for one friend (Jonathan) but really they’re there to convince another friend (Keith) to go into rehab. I have read other books by Kimberly McCreight before and really enjoyed them. I struggled with this one somewhat. The plotting felt convoluted with lots of jumping around between POVs and timelines. I struggled to connect with the characters. I have greatly enjoyed this author’s previous books.
June 7, 2021
Bizarre, fairly pointless motley of unsympathetic and rather despicable characters and a mystery that easily unravels once the mistaken identity is revealed. Hardly worth the read to get to its climax. A better ending would have been an avalanche that could have killed the entire cast.
December 11, 2021
This was a quick, enjoyable thriller, but I felt like there was way too much going on. Too many POV's, too many characters, and way too many side stories. The characters were so dumb and made choices that were entirely unnecessary and unbelievable. Overall, it was a fun read and the twists were good, but it was nothing to write home about.
December 20, 2021
I was so disappointed after reading this novel having loved other books by this author. Maybe I was expecting too much but I never felt compelled to keep reading at any time in the book. You can’t please everyone all of the time I suppose.
A group of college friends witness an incident when they were at school and don’t tell anyone. Years later they plan a reunion for all the group bar Alice, who committed suicide. The group have secrets that will end up with one of them dying.
I would like to thank both Netgalley and Headline for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
A group of college friends witness an incident when they were at school and don’t tell anyone. Years later they plan a reunion for all the group bar Alice, who committed suicide. The group have secrets that will end up with one of them dying.
I would like to thank both Netgalley and Headline for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
June 7, 2022
With Friends Like These, who needs enemies?!!!
Let me just say that the ending of this book just blew my mind 🤯. I seriously did not see that ending coming!
This book had been on my want to read list for quite a while, and I am so glad that I finally got to it! At first I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about it because there may have been two too many characters to keep up with, but once the momentum and flow of the book picked up, I could not turn the pages fast enough!
We have a group of friends who share a big secret and seem to stay together for the sake of this secret. Yes, they all generally care for one another (or do they?), and that’s when things start to get a little tense and difficult with each other when they go away for a weekend…
I do not like to give away any spoilers in my reviews, all I can say is read this book!! And in the meantime, be careful who your friends are ;)
Let me just say that the ending of this book just blew my mind 🤯. I seriously did not see that ending coming!
This book had been on my want to read list for quite a while, and I am so glad that I finally got to it! At first I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about it because there may have been two too many characters to keep up with, but once the momentum and flow of the book picked up, I could not turn the pages fast enough!
We have a group of friends who share a big secret and seem to stay together for the sake of this secret. Yes, they all generally care for one another (or do they?), and that’s when things start to get a little tense and difficult with each other when they go away for a weekend…
I do not like to give away any spoilers in my reviews, all I can say is read this book!! And in the meantime, be careful who your friends are ;)
September 16, 2021
When I first started this one, I’m talking the first few pages I was interested and then pretty quickly I was confused. There’s a lot of characters who honestly all felt similar in the beginning so it was a little difficult to keep them straight. When I decided to switch to the audio I settled in more, so as always audiobooks are saving my ass! There were several narrators and they were all good, I hate when a book has multiple viewpoints but one narrator and there were like 6 or 7 here 🙌🏻 Anyway I’m glad I stuck with this one through my initial confusion because it had a strong ending and ended up being a solid audio read
June 27, 2021
Definitely Kimberly McCreight’s best book! Unputdownable and a shocker with every page.
These characters are complex and so well thought out. I love Detective Julia Scutte, she’s a force to be reckoned with and I hope I read more from.
I had no idea where this book was going and I really felt the theme of this book was fresh and the writing so well done.
Put this on your tbr for September, this is a thrill ride of a book.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Harper for my gifted copy.
These characters are complex and so well thought out. I love Detective Julia Scutte, she’s a force to be reckoned with and I hope I read more from.
I had no idea where this book was going and I really felt the theme of this book was fresh and the writing so well done.
Put this on your tbr for September, this is a thrill ride of a book.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Harper for my gifted copy.
September 7, 2021
Full of twists and turns, and with a tough as nails female detective at its center, Kimberly McCreight's gripping new novel FRIENDS LIKE THESE, a tale of betrayal and murder, is going to be one of the top thrillers of the fall; unputdownable, fast paced, and full of red herrings, It truly does leave you wondering how well you know your own friends....And the ending gave me goosebumps!
The novel revolves around a group of 5 college friends who are keeping a dark secret of something that happened 10 years ago, and a reunion in the Catskills while holding an intervention for their drug addicted friend leads to chaos when a dead body is discovered. I loved this book, and fans of domestic thrillers are going to eat this one up.
5 incredible stars for Ms. McCreight’s latest effort, and believe me, she had big shoes to fill, A GOOD MARRIAGE was one of my top 10 reads in 2020!
Happy Pub Day!!!
The novel revolves around a group of 5 college friends who are keeping a dark secret of something that happened 10 years ago, and a reunion in the Catskills while holding an intervention for their drug addicted friend leads to chaos when a dead body is discovered. I loved this book, and fans of domestic thrillers are going to eat this one up.
5 incredible stars for Ms. McCreight’s latest effort, and believe me, she had big shoes to fill, A GOOD MARRIAGE was one of my top 10 reads in 2020!
Happy Pub Day!!!
dnf
August 30, 2021Dnf at 55%. I just could not go on. I have no investment in the characters or plot line.
September 11, 2021
In recent times, it’s been hard for me to find thrillers I like. There are loads of them around, but they mostly seem to be about either increasingly ludicrous plot twists or fitting into some literary trend, and there doesn’t appear to be much quality control happening when it comes to the writing. Friends Like These, though, I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s about five college friends who meet up 10 years after graduating, supposedly for a stag weekend – except they’re really staging an intervention for one of the group, who has a drug problem. Of course, it all goes wrong and they have to lie to the police... because they’re already hiding a big secret from all those years ago. You know a story like this is good when you don’t care what happens in the end because you’re just having so much fun along the way. I raced through this and had a great time with it.
I received an advance review copy of Friends Like These from the publisher through Edelweiss.
TinyLetter | Linktree
I received an advance review copy of Friends Like These from the publisher through Edelweiss.
TinyLetter | Linktree
March 1, 2023
The story portrays very well the evil in some people, as if we needed any reminding of this with the constant evil in the news of today. The entire story was believable, as was the desperation, and the dedication of a group of like-minded friends. I wish their personalities had been toned-down a bit. Their arrogance is unappealing and the ties that bind them are self-serving, but in spite of that I found myself caring about them. I never, through all the twists, turns and palpable tension, even came close to guessing the ending. The attention to detail, the descriptions, the research all worked together to put the reader right in the story and propel you through it to the absolutely unexpected ending.
May 12, 2021
Well, this author took me all the way to the end then dropped me on my butt. I DID NOT see that outcome. Thank you to Edelweiss for approving an early look. Ms. McCreight has not let me down yet. She has been one of my favorite writers ever since Deconstructing Amelia. I highly recommend clearing some sit downtime and give this one a go. She can make you see and feel the characters so clearly in this novel you begin to care for them, well some of them. lol
September 7, 2022
Mayor spoiler below. Will spoil the murder trope (but not who)
The ending ruined any 3 star rating I was about to give it. It had a clear and not at all discrete " ugly duckling who happens to be fat turns into a beautiful slim version no one recognise from the past". Really dislike that trope. More than love triangles or insta loves.
The ending ruined any 3 star rating I was about to give it. It had a clear and not at all discrete " ugly duckling who happens to be fat turns into a beautiful slim version no one recognise from the past". Really dislike that trope. More than love triangles or insta loves.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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September 3, 2021DNF about 60% in 🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️
September 4, 2021
I love when a book is like a roller coaster. So many twists and turns and things you don't see coming. McCreight has outdone herself with this one.
You will not see what is coming, in the end you will be shaking your head and be so mad at yourself for missing this one.
I gave this 4 stars and I recommend Friends Like These. A must read.
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.
You will not see what is coming, in the end you will be shaking your head and be so mad at yourself for missing this one.
I gave this 4 stars and I recommend Friends Like These. A must read.
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.
February 6, 2022
I really loved A Good Marriage and had high hopes for this one, I mean reading that synopsis, it sounds great and had me hooked. However, it did not live up to my expectations, the audio was good as it had a full cast, which was probably the reason I finished. The plot was messy and I did not care about the characters, which usually does not bother me but in this case it mattered. It was slow to start and never really found its way for me, I think if there were less characters and less POVs it would have helped tremendously.
November 4, 2021
A fast paced thriller read I enjoyed!
September 14, 2021
I try not to read books with a rating lower than 3.8 on Goodreads. It really has served me well to weed out ones that I wouldn't find enjoyable. I made an exception here because I've read other novels by Kimberly McCreight that I enjoyed a lot and there has been the rare time when I've read a book less than 3.8 that I have enjoyed - so, I went for it.
Bottom line - I would not recommend this book to others. The secrets and conflicts the friends are keeping from each other are weak as hell. Any group of friends that were the best of friends in college and are still friends means that they obviously have a lot of trust in each other. Late-night drinking coming home and hashing out the problems with their upbringings, etc. You are telling me that these teenagers didn't confide in their friends about these things. No fucking way.
There was definitely a lack of likable characters, but that isn't really a nail in the coffin if you get enough character development, which I don't think happened here. At one point it just cuts off and when the reveal rolls out we just never hear from anyone again. For someone that is expecting a well done psychological thriller you can pass on this one.
Spoiler Thoughts:
What happened:
Bottom line - I would not recommend this book to others. The secrets and conflicts the friends are keeping from each other are weak as hell. Any group of friends that were the best of friends in college and are still friends means that they obviously have a lot of trust in each other. Late-night drinking coming home and hashing out the problems with their upbringings, etc. You are telling me that these teenagers didn't confide in their friends about these things. No fucking way.
There was definitely a lack of likable characters, but that isn't really a nail in the coffin if you get enough character development, which I don't think happened here. At one point it just cuts off and when the reveal rolls out we just never hear from anyone again. For someone that is expecting a well done psychological thriller you can pass on this one.
Spoiler Thoughts:
What happened:
January 24, 2022
This was another ARC I received from the publisher and I really enjoyed this book. I've read another book by this author and liked it too. This was a quick ready and I did not figure out "who done it" until it got close to the end. That was a surprise. This was a story about a group of people who had been friends since college and they had actually been involved in more than on questionable incident One of the friends was a representer for an art gallery and also a drug addict. One of his artists who also wanted to be in the group did groups of art work and they were about this group of friends. His latest had been called "Friends Like These". And he had figured out a lot of the incidents that had been hidden for years and depicted the story in the paintings but he was not the "one who did it". YOu will be surprised as I was. Definitely a good mystery/thriller with lots of hidden things going on.
November 17, 2024
Best friends are supposed to stand by you, no matter what. They disregard your occasionally disagreeable nature and off-putting eccentricities and accept the whole of you. That’s the beauty of real friendship. But close friends can also let you get away with too much. And what feels like total acceptance, what masquerades as unconditional love, can turn toxic. Especially if what your friend really wants is a partner in crime, someone to excuse their own bad behavior. Because letting you be your worst self just so you can be terrible together is cruelty, not kindness. And it’s got nothing to do with love.
Friends Like These is a book in that sub-genre of mystery/thrillers where a group of friends reunite for a weekend (usually at a nice round number of years) despite the fact that in their past there was some terrible, unsolved/incorrectly solved tragedy that killed someone (usually one of them). There’s nothing profound about these books, and their quality usually boils down to how believable it all is. Could they have kept the secret/not figured out what really happened before now? Why are they getting back together now? What has changed that now they can finally figure it out, and does it require too many coincidences?
Despite the low rating on Goodreads, I thought Friends Like These was above average. The secret past tragedies of the friend group were pretty believable, as was the reason for them reuniting for the weekend. The fact that they reunited in the one seemingly random place that brought them into contact with the one person who had the other pieces of the puzzle was a pretty big coincidence. But there were lots of little mysteries in the present to distract you from the seeds being planted about the resolution, the story picked up speed in the back half, and there were enough twists that I didn’t figure it all out. Recommended.
Buddy read with Kathy.
December 15, 2021
I was skeptical after seeing mixed reviews but I really enjoyed this one!
The story was easy to follow once I became familiar with the large cast and got into the rhythm of things (though I had difficulty telling Maeve and Steph apart at first). There was a lot going on, which kept me flipping the pages. I loved trying to connect the pieces and join the dots.
My favourite mystery here would be the one involving the detective's sister, but I couldn't figure out how it was linked to the present-day cases. I loved how everything tied together at the end and overall it was a satisfying read for me.
This is my first Kimberly McCreight book but definitely not the last!
Favourite quotes:
✨ "But some things couldn't be fixed. Sometimes your apology meant nothing, to anyone. The only option was to learn to live around the awfulness, like a river flowing over stones."
✨ "But a bigger part of me knows that people get attached to the lies they tell themselves. The last thing they want is somebody picking at their scabs — even if it is for their own good. And I know firsthand, old wounds sometimes bleed harder the second time around."
The story was easy to follow once I became familiar with the large cast and got into the rhythm of things (though I had difficulty telling Maeve and Steph apart at first). There was a lot going on, which kept me flipping the pages. I loved trying to connect the pieces and join the dots.
My favourite mystery here would be the one involving the detective's sister, but I couldn't figure out how it was linked to the present-day cases. I loved how everything tied together at the end and overall it was a satisfying read for me.
This is my first Kimberly McCreight book but definitely not the last!
Favourite quotes:
✨ "But some things couldn't be fixed. Sometimes your apology meant nothing, to anyone. The only option was to learn to live around the awfulness, like a river flowing over stones."
✨ "But a bigger part of me knows that people get attached to the lies they tell themselves. The last thing they want is somebody picking at their scabs — even if it is for their own good. And I know firsthand, old wounds sometimes bleed harder the second time around."
January 27, 2022
The group of friends: Maeve- in public relations, nervous about boyfriend Bates; Jonathan- rich, fiancee Peter, owns weekend house in mountains; Stephanie - workaholic lawyer; Derrick-literature professor, unhappily married to Beth; Keith-addict, owns art gallery. Ten years after being at Vassar together, this group travels to the Catskills on the pretext of a bachelor party for Jonathan while really trying to talk Keith into rehab. An incident requires investigation by Detective Julia Scott whose 16 year old sister was murdered years ago. Also muddying the waters were a couple of deaths at Vassar back then.
Amazing to me how many books I've read in the past few months with a similar plot of college friends meeting up again. I had to make a list of characters to keep them straight. I didn't like the characters yet I liked the way the story was put together. It's a puzzle and there are pieces everywhere. Halfway, I still couldn't put it together. I was so busy trying to link it all that I could hardly put the book down. Yep, I was totally fooled. Lots of twists in this one.
Amazing to me how many books I've read in the past few months with a similar plot of college friends meeting up again. I had to make a list of characters to keep them straight. I didn't like the characters yet I liked the way the story was put together. It's a puzzle and there are pieces everywhere. Halfway, I still couldn't put it together. I was so busy trying to link it all that I could hardly put the book down. Yep, I was totally fooled. Lots of twists in this one.
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