Keep Your Friends Close, Leah Konen
Keep Your Friends Close, Leah Konen
List: $20.00 | Sale: $14.00
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Keep Your Friends Close

Author: Leah Konen

Narrator: Reba Buhr, Karissa Vacker

Unabridged: 9 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 02/20/2024


Synopsis

How well do you know your friends?

Isolated and embroiled in a custody battle, Mary is desperate for a friend. So when she meets the charming and enigmatic Willa at a Brooklyn playground, their connection feels fated. But during a margarita-fueled moms’ night out, Mary shares her darkest secret about her ex, George, and the next morning Willa simply disappears. No calls, no texts, nothing.

Two months later, Mary’s divorce is almost finalized, and she’s trying to build a new life for her son in upstate New York. On her first day in town, she runs into Willa . . . only Willa’s name is now Annie, and she’s got an entirely new family in tow. When George turns up dead and Mary becomes the prime suspect, she has no choice but to turn to her only friend in town: Willa.

As coincidences—and evidence—pile up, Mary begins to wonder whether Willa had something to do with George’s death. Is the woman a friend or a foe, a confidante or just a con? Mary must uncover the truth before she loses everything.

About The Author

Leah Konen is the author of You Should Have Told Me, The Perfect Escape, and All the Broken People and of several young adult novels, including Love and Other Train Wrecks and The Romantics. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied journalism and English literature. She lives in Brooklyn and Saugerties, New York, with her husband; their daughter, Eleanor; and their dog, Farley.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Nilufer

Leah Konen takes us to another wild, twisty, whodunnit wild ride by reminding us one of my favorite sayings; “With friends like this who needs enemies” The short, intriguing chapters, two narrators: one of is Mary: a woman fighting to divorce with her powerful husband and trying to keep the custody o......more

Goodreads review by Jayme

3.5 ⭐️ Keep Your Friends Close…….And, Your Enemies Closer-is a popular idiom and good rule to follow. But, first you have to figure out, who is who! And, this wickedly, fun popcorn 🍿 thriller, will keep you guessing!! THAT WAS THEN: Mary is separated from her rich, privileged husband George and she could......more

Goodreads review by Ceecee

The saying goes to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, which is very good advice, but what if you don’t realise a person is your enemy until the evidence is staring you in the face? Mary is going through a messy custody battle/divorce with her ultra wealthy husband, George and is in the......more

Mary Haywood is in the throes of a bitter custody battle with her soon-to-be ex, George. A controlling and vindictive man, he and his family sadly have the means to run her ragged in court. On top of that, Mary is feeling isolated and alone without any true friends of her own. Until she meets the go......more


Quotes

A most-anticipated book in Reader's Digest, New York Post, Woman's World, Paste, Brit + Co. and more. 

"Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen is a thriller that has an eerie vibe. If you love novels abounding in mystery and best friend drama plot lines, the author’s latest release is the exact fit for you . . . [A] domestic thriller where each chapter will have you hooked onto the next." —New York Post

"[A] fun, quick read in the twisty vein of Girl on the Train or Gone Girl. It’s the perfect beach bag read if you have plans to take a sunny spring break in 2024."Reader’s Digest

"Friendships, divorces and a mystery . . . this novel has it all." —Woman's World

"Told from Mary and Willa’s alternate viewpoints, Keep Your Friends Close ultimately comes to a satisfying, though perhaps unexpected, conclusion. It’s a swift, entertaining read that isn’t afraid to examine white female complacency, and the “acceptable” ways in which women are allowed to rebel." —Criminal Element

"A woman’s contentious divorce takes on murderous new stakes in Konen’s surprise-packed latest. . . . Konen provides a tantalizing IV drip of revelations about the women’s pasts until they come face-to-face with George’s killer. Even seasoned genre veterans won’t be able to predict where this supercharged spine-tingler ends up.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"[A] twisty murder mystery, Keep Your Friends Close tackles everything from mom cliques to mom-friend ghosting, and one scene even directly evokes the Mean Girls cafeteria." —Lit Hub
 
"After really enjoying Leah Konen’s unflinching examination of postpartum anxiety in last year’s You Should Have Told Me, I’m excited for her next work of domestic suspense which also dovetails with every new mom’s next hurdle: making mom friends.” —Paste Magazine

"A tense, fast-paced psychological thriller. . . Fans of twisty, soapy novels will enjoy this one." –Red Carpet Crash

"Konen is the Patricia Highsmith of domestic suspense, and her fourth thriller might be the twistiest yet. . . . If you like curling up with a whip-smart, feminist thriller, this one’s for you." —Scary Mommy, "Popular Authors' Recommended Books"

"[A] fast-paced, plot-driven novel that manages to poke fun at millennial parenting and the culture of wealthy Brooklynites . . . A thrilling and unpredictable hunt for answers that pays off."Kirkus Reviews

"Unravels at breakneck speed, careening crazily to the dramatic ending . . . This twisty tale told by an unreliable narrator will appeal to fans of Gillian Flynn, Shari Lapena, and Paula Hawkins."Library Journal

"Fans of domestic suspense will enjoy the ride." —Booklist

"Prepare to meet your newest addiction with Leah Konen’s deliciously twisty latest, Keep Your Friends Close. A riveting, deliriously entertaining, and also chilling take on complicated female friendships, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Unbearably tense with masterful plotting, this juicy suspense will have you second-guessing who to trust with each chapter. It’s Highsmith meets Lucy Foley with Konen’s signature whip-smart voice and customary refreshing spin on domestic suspense." —May Cobb, author of The Hunting Wives

"Gorgeously dark and twisted, Keep Your Friends Close is a slippery, Hitchcockian take on the impossibly heavy burden of the mental load. I ached for Mary as she fought for custody of her son, and questioned whether her friendship with Willa had ever been real. Leah Konen is at the top of her game." —Danielle Valentine, author of Delicate Condition

"Packed with conniving characters, head-spinning twists, and female friendship at its most toxic, Keep Your Friends Close is a brilliantly constructed murder mystery. I didn't want it to end!" —Andrea Bartz, author of We Were Never Here

"A twisty, addictive thriller from the foremost domestic suspense novelist of our time. Konen masterfully explores themes of friendship, marriage and family, exposing the fear and rage that can lurk beneath the idyllic surface. I couldn’t put it down." —Julia Bartz, author of The Writing Retreat