Review: Friend Request by Laura Marshall

Friend Request

by Luara Marshall

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Pages: 385

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Maria Weston wants to be friends. But Maria Weston is dead. Isn't she?

1989. When Louise first notices the new girl who has mysteriously transferred late into their senior year, Maria seems to be everything the girls Louise hangs out with aren't. Authentic. Funny. Brash. Within just a few days, Maria and Louise are on their way to becoming fast friends.

2016. Louise receives a heart-stopping email: Maria Weston wants to be friends on Facebook. Long-buried memories quickly rise to the surface: those first days of their budding friendship; cruel decisions made and dark secrets kept; the night that would change all their lives forever.

Louise has always known that if the truth ever came out, she could stand to lose everything. Her job. Her son. Her freedom. Maria's sudden reappearance threatens it all, and forces Louise to reconnect with everyone she'd severed ties with to escape the past. But as she tries to piece together exactly what happened that night, Louise discovers there's more to the story than she ever knew. To keep her secret, Louise must first uncover the whole truth, before what's known to Maria--or whoever's pretending to be her--is known to all. 

Kritters Thoughts:  Louise has secrets from high school that still haunt her and they will come to impact her current life years later and she may have to be honest with what happens so she can maybe finally live with some peace.  There are two time periods in this book.  1989 in the middle of the high school years when the original drama happened and Louise's story comes out in bits and pieces.  The other time period is 2016 and Louise is currently a single mom with an ex husband who has created a family and a life with another woman and she must balance work, home life and all while still milling on the moments of the past.

I love when a book makes me question things I do in my real life.  With Facebook at the center of this book, I immediately thought of what I put online and make sure that it keeps me and my family safe.  There were many things that Louise put online that endangered her family and she wasn't even aware of who was looking at all of the clues in every post.

There are interesting chapters included in italics and for the first few the reader doesn't know who is narrating those chapters, once the secrets came out, I went back and read them through a different set of eyes and was amazed at how they fit into the story.

What I critique about a mystery mostly is who in the end is the culprit and if I am satisfied with who the author has picked and how it is divulged to the reader.  I was completely happy with who dun it in this book and how it all unfolded.  It did give me the creeps because I wasn't expecting all of the things that they did, but I was satisfied with how it was all explained in the end.

I have now read both of Laura Marshall's books and am a fan.  I hope that continues to write stories of mystery that keep me guessing about characters until the end.  


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Grand Central Publishing.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.