I was hooked from the moment I saw the blurb...
Maria wants to be friends.
But Maria is dead.
Isn't she?
When Louise Williams receives a message from someone left long in the past, her heart nearly stops.
Maria Weston wants to be friends on Facebook.
Maria Weston has been missing for over twenty-five years. She was last seen the night of a school leavers' party, and the world believes her to be dead. Particularly Louise, who has lived her adult life with a terrible secret.
As Maria's messages start to escalate, Louise forces herself to reconnect with the old friends she once tried so hard to impress. Trying to piece together exactly what happened that night, she soon discovers there's much she didn't know. The only certainty is that Maria Weston disappeared that night, never to be heard from again - until now. . .
Friend Request is a true 'read in one sitting' novel. Totally unputdownable! I love thrillers of this nature, especially ones that are as unpredictable as this. Guessing the ending of a thriller always disappoints me, but there was not a chance of that happening here. Told through the narrative of the main protagonist Louise, through her current situation and her past, we go on a journey back to high school to try to unpick the events that have lead to that unexpected friend request.
The novel is fresh and current, and as a thirty-something myself, I experienced profound bouts of nostalgia about my own friendship groups in high school. Louise's character really resonated with me, so much so that I often found myself nodding along in agreement with her throughout. It is well written, has great character depth and fantastic structure. The plot is brilliant and kept me guessing until the end.
I am very much looking forward to reading more from Laura Marshall, and I hope that Friend Request goes on to be one of the bestsellers of the summer.
Rachael xo
You can pre-order Friend Request here
