I was blown away by this book. GREAT plot twist. Didn't see the end coming and that is saying quite a bit. READ THIS BOOK ( )

I've enjoyed this author's previous books and recommended her work to others who have unfortunately not shared my my opinion.

This particular story captured my attention early on although this waned from time to time as the timeline flitted back and forth.

Others have summarised the plot so I needn't repeat the full story here but I would love to know other readers' thoughts as to who the initial murderer really was. There were so many red herrings swimming around that I could really not put just one in the frame. ( )

Actual rating 3.5 starts. It's been a while since a book has kept me up all night reading! Highly recommend this if you're looking for a great psychological thriller and a real page turner ( )

Although I have two of Lucie Whitehouse's three previous novels in my book collection, Keep You Close is the first one I have read. I did find it a little difficult to get into but it was well worth persevering.

Marianne Glass is a famous artist who is just about to exhibit in America when she is found dead in her garden after an apparent jump from the roof of her house. With only Marianne's footprints in the snow, the police believe it is suicide but Marianne's family and her estranged schoolfriend, Rowan, know that Marianne had vertigo and would never have gone near to the edge of the roof. Rowan and Marianne's brother, Adam, try to put the pieces together of Marianne's last movements to prove that she didn't jump. Rowan, however, has a slightly different agenda as she tries to keep the secret buried that drove her and Marianne apart all those years ago.

I love books with a deeply buried secret and Lucie Whitehouse has brilliantly built up the tension as layer after layer is unwrapped of Rowan and Marianne's friendship. Rowan was so close to Marianne's family when they were younger, so we wonder what on earth could have happened to drive them apart. Was it a silly schoolgirl argument or something more sinister? You will just have to read Keep You Close to find out for yourself.

Keep You Close surprised me at every turn as nothing is quite what it seems. It is a goosebumpy examination of a friendship and a scary account of just how far some people will go to protect themselves in the guise of protecting those they claim to love.

I received this book from the publisher, Bloomsbury, in exchange for an honest review. ( )

I didn't much like the main character from the first, and I wondered why--thought maybe she wasn't drawn in a complete manner. But I guess I found out later my "instincts" as a reader were right on as far as likability... ( )