This week I had a lot of chores to tackle, so I needed a good audiobook to get me through it all. And if you’ve read my blog before, then you know I’m a big psychological thriller fan. One name that often comes up in the genre nowadays is Lucinda Berry, and despite the intrigue, I hadn’t gotten around to any of her work yet – until now.

I just finished Keep Your Friends Close, and honestly… what a whirlwind.

It starts off with a party thrown for a wealthy moms’ social club in LA, where one of the six women is found dead floating in the pool. The authorities arrive, and it quickly becomes clear this was no accident – Kiersten died of blunt force trauma.

Her best friend Whitney is the closest person to her, and she is inconsolable… until she becomes a person of interest. She’s a talent agent with some unsavory business dealings she’s been hiding.

Also on the list of suspects is Brooke, whose wife has just left her for a younger woman. Brooke is the newest addition to the group and automatically raises suspicions, especially considering her deteriorating mental health due to the stress of a custody battle for her baby boy.

Jade is the other narrator of the book, another member of the social club who feels trapped in an unhappy marriage with two young daughters, one of whom has cancer (though Jade is determined to keep that private from most of her acquaintances).

With this cast of characters, you have no idea who you can really trust. Their secrets unravel throughout the novel, constantly shifting your guess on whodunit. All they know is that someone from that party is a murderer and will stop at nothing to frame someone else.

Especially noteworthy for me was the twist ending. Around the 85-90% mark, I remember thinking there was no way I could be thrown for another loop, and that the loose ends would just be tied up neatly. Instead, Berry lit those loose ends on fire and ended on a genuinely mind-blowing note.

This is definitely a great pick if you need a thriller to get you through mundane, everyday tasks. It’s also available on Kindle Unlimited, and you know how much I love a good KU find.

I definitely consider myself a Lucinda Berry fan now, and you can bet I’ll be reviewing more of her work in the future!