Review By Kayleigh
A Friend in the Dark is a twisty and exhilarating ride – Samantha’s best book yet.
Favourite Quote:
But Dave’s problems aren’t mine to solve, though I am worried about him. And myself. I don’t recognize the person I’m becoming, but I don’t want to go back to who I was before last night. I’ve never felt this exhilarated.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Eden Miller’s world is crumbling. Her husband blindsided her with divorce, and her daughter barely speaks to her. In an impulsive decision to escape her present and revisit the past, she sends a friend request to her college crush, Justin Ward.
One night twenty-three years ago changed the course of her life. It closed the door on Justin and opened the door to her husband, Dave. But what if Eden could have a do-over?
Eden begins an online relationship with Justin that awakens her in ways she never thought possible, and his voice and words make her take bold risks. But something’s off. He knows too much about her and her family…he’s been following her.
Eden is forced to awaken from her fantasy and look for answers—who really is the man on the other line? The truth about Justin—and about what happened that fateful night two decades ago—puts her and her family in a fight for their lives.
Sam Bailey became an auto-buy author for me after her first book, Woman on the Edge, which I literally could not put down. I remember reading it, sitting on the side of my bed wrapped in a towel fresh out of the shower because I couldn’t stop falling into the story. Sam captivates the reader because her books are spooky, creepy and oh-so-real. These are the stories that could happen to someone you know. Or you.
Sam’s latest book features Eden – at 45, suddenly separated from her husband and with a daughter acting out in her first year of university – all she wants is some support and care. And then she stumbles onto a crush from university—someone she desired but who ghosted her after a messy party. Eden gets attention from him, and it feels so good to do naughty things over the phone. We get caught up in Eden’s emotions, turmoil, and needs. And then, she meets Lila at an open house she’s hosting. And they keep running into each other. And Eden can’t help but feel that she’s being watched.
And then, her separated husband gets into a car accident, and her daughter goes missing, and Eden is suddenly not sure what is happening. A Friend in the Dark is told from two different points of view and really looks at the basis of a relationship – how much do we know about the people we marry and live beside? Both Eden and Lila have big secrets, and their partners are not who they seem. What makes a perfect relationship? And what do we tell those we love, and what do we tell our friends?
And do we ever really know the people we trust with our intimate secrets?
A Friend in the Dark is intimate and dark. I couldn’t put it down, and I didn’t want to leave Eden, Lila and their angst and fragile lives. I liked how the book, although it was super fast-paced, also focused on the past when Eden was in university and went to a final house party that got out of control. It was also when a good friend of hers went missing and never was found. I loved how Sam weaves past and present and reminds us about the people we carry with us even when they are gone. How much do certain parts and people in our lives affect us? How much are we defined by them? Sam asks these questions and has both Eden and Lila answer the questions, whether they want to or not.
If you loved the TV show, Desperate Housewives, then you will devour A Friend in the Dark.
Thank you, Thomas & Mercer for the ARC in return for an honest review.
