BOOK DESCRIPTION
Tragedy brought them together. The truth will tear them apart.
It’s supposed to be Laura’s dream holiday: a trip to France with a group of friends to see their favourite band play live. But the holiday quickly turns to disaster, and Laura is left haunted by terrifying images from the worst night of her life.
When Laura finds an online support group for victims like her, she’s not convinced it will help. But when Sandrine replies to her message, she seems to understand what Laura’s going through, in a way that no one else can.
Soon, Laura and Sandrine are sharing their deepest thoughts and feelings with each other. But one of them has a terrible secret – she isn’t who she says she is. And once the twisted truth is revealed, there’s
This is the enthralling tale of two women who find themselves caught up in a shocking event that will change their lives forever. It's a story about grief,guilt and deception that has the predominant theme of family as it's heart. It's also about having the strength of character to accept that we humans are not infallible,we make mistakes,we make bad decisions but for the sake of our own mental health,we have to learn to forgive ourselves and others and move on with our lives.
The story is written from the perspectives of Laura who lives in Ireland in a grubby flat with her cat Harry and Sandrine who lives in France with her husband Sam and their two teenage sons. The chapters of the story were set before and after the horrific event that would not only affect Laura and Sandrine's lives but also many many others and send shock waves rippling all around the globe. The author's descriptions of the shocking events on the night of the concert were chillingly realistic and full of edge of your seat tension.
To be honest, when Laura was first introduced into the story, I thought she was a rather irritating individual but then we were introduced to her mother and I fully understood why Laura behaved the way that she did. Laura's mother treated and spoke to Laura in the exact same way as my own mother treated me so I could fully understand why Laura never felt like she could do anything right. I loved Laura's cousin Declan, I think he was my favourite character, I loved the banter between him and his partner Patrick and how they cared for and supported Laura after her horrific experience in France.
I couldn't help feeling a lot of empathy for Sandrine as she found herself being interrogated by the police,ostracized by her friends and neighbours and forced to face some shocking truths about her two sons. The story raised the age old nature v's nuture dilemma and the fact that no matter how good a parent you think you are, in reality we have no control over our children's decisions and behaviour.
As the story unfolded both women made spur of the moment decisions that could be construed as wrong but I could fully understand why they made those decisions. Who knows what they would do if they found themselves in the same situations?I
The Silent Friend is a very well written,character driven,gripping blend of thriller and domestic drama that has a scarily topical plot and a cast of vivid,realistic characters. It's a thought provoking story that would raise some interesting discussions if it was read by a book group. I thought this was a very enjoyable read and I would happily read more of this author's books in the future.
AUTHOR BIO
Diane Jeffrey is a USA Today bestselling author.
She grew up in North Devon and Northern Ireland. She now lives in Lyon, France, with her husband and their three children, Labrador and cat.
Diane's is the author of four psychological thrillers, all of which were Kindle bestsellers in the UK, the USA, Canada and Australia.
THE GUILTY MOTHER, Diane's third book, was a USA Today bestseller and spent several weeks in the top 100 Kindle books in the UK.
Her latest psychological thriller, THE SILENT FRIEND, is set in Belfast and Lyon. It was published in ebook in November 2020 with the paperback and audiobook to follow in 2021.
She is currently working on her fifth psychological thriller.
Diane is an English teacher. When she's not working or writing, she likes swimming, running and reading. She loves chocolate, beer and holidays.
Above all, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends.
Author website: www.dianejeffrey.com Readers can also follow Diane on Twitter @dianefjeffrey or on Facebook.com/dianejeffreyauthor
Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dianefjeffrey
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dianejeffreyauthor
Website: https://www.dianejeffrey.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dianefjeffrey/
Publishing Information:
Published by HQ in digital and audio formats on 18th March 2021
Purchase Links:
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/300kiid
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3sB34EA
Kobo: http://bit.ly/3r1yHH2
Google Books: http://bit.ly/3r45Th5
Apple Books: http://apple.co/2NFS2iC
Waterstones: http://bit.ly/2NDDVub
Hive.co.uk: http://bit.ly/3dUmSi8
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