Wow. This book will stick with me long after today. What a rollercoaster of emotions topped off with twists and turns that threw me all over the place. In the wee hours of this morning, as I was still reading, my mouth agape, I actually said out loud, “Wait. No. Wait. What??!!” When you get to this part you may think that is the only twist. Hang on, my friend. The ride gets bumpier from there. Twist upon twist. I am always looking for my ‘OMG moment’ in a good psychological thriller and I got more than I bargained for from The Perfect Friend.
Alex is living in a world of prolonged grief and adult onset anorexia brought on by empty nest syndrome. Her husband has left, her twins have left and will no longer speak to her. She has an abundance of love to give and no one willing to accept it.
Alex meets Carrie in a support group for women who lived and/or still live in some sort of trauma. Carrie, being thrown into a battle with terminal cancer, is just the outlet Alex needs to release that nurturing love and is instantly drawn to her. They become fast friends and develop a symbiotic sort of pseudo mother/daughter relationship. Alex knows that Carrie is someone she can trust and will keep all of her secrets but should she put all of her trust into her? Offer so much of herself? After all, Alex is a self-proclaimed liar and doesn’t even trust herself so how can she be so certain she is seeing Carrie through clear eyes and a clear head?
I have to add a few thoughts on Alex. I LOVE an unreliable narrator and with this book I got double the love with both Alex and Carrie being incredibly unreliable! I connected with with Alex from the get go. Perhaps bonding with her early on due to her eating disorder and rocky road to mental health. The picture of this codependent woman and her constant quest for absolute perfection, in my opinion, was spot on. From the paranoia and self doubt to her warped sense of the reality of her actions and the world around her was an illustration that was easy to become a part of. Delving deeper into the plot, I found myself relating to her in a way that I only have with a handful of fictional characters. I do believe that even those who have not been down Alex’s road will easily be able to empathize and relate to her character. (Is it weird that I hesitate to even call her a character because she feels so dang real??)
I am not often actually moved to tears by a book categorized as a psychological thriller. In fact, I don’t believe I ever HAVE been. The Perfect Friend did just that and I found myself reaching for Kleenex more than I do most actual ‘tear jerker’ books. However, the tears did not affect the intensity of the thrill in this book. It was riveting and thought provoking and over the shoulder checking and gripped me from the beginning to the incredibly satisfying end.
I loved The Perfect Friend and would highly recommend it. I very much look forward to stalking Ms. Copperthwaite’s goodreads in order to add more of her books to my TBR!
Special thanks to Barbara Copperthwaite, Netgalley and Bookouture for providing me with a copy of The Perfect Friend
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