Book Review #11: The Friend By Teresa Driscoll

Book Name- The Friend

Author- Teresa Driscoll

Publisher- Westland Publications

Buy it from- Amazon

Blurb:

On a train with her husband, miles from home and their four-year-old son, Ben, Sophie receives a chilling phone call. Two boys are in hospital after a tragic accident. One of them is Ben.

She thought she could trust Emma, her new friend, to look after her little boy. After all, Emma’s a kindred spirit—someone Sophie was sure she could bare her soul to, despite the village rumors. But Sophie can’t shake the feeling that she’s made an unforgivable mistake and now her whole family is in danger.

Because how well does she know Emma, really? Should she have trusted her at all?

Time is running out. Powerless to help her child, still hours from home, Sophie is about to discover the truth. And her life will never be the same.

My view:

'The Friend' is Teresa Driscoll's second psychological novel, the first one being 'I Am Watching You'. I haven't read her debut psychological novel but from what I've heard, it was a pretty good one. Owing to that belief, I picked up this book, and let me tell you, I was not at all surprised to find it very intriguing and filled with suspense.

The story is about a woman named Sophie, who is traveling and had left her boy, Ben, under the care of her recent friend Emma Carter. While traveling she receives a phone call informing her of an accident her and Emma's son, Theo, has been in. But the problem the hospital is facing is that they can't recognize which boy is which as Emma is injured as well. From there, most of the story takes place in a flashback and in Sophie's point of view even though we do get sneak peeks of other character's view in some chapters as well. Even though the constant to and fro from flashback and present narration makes the book a bit confusing, the whole plot was immensely gripping, filled with suspense and mystery. A psychological thriller is all about keeping the readers on the edge of their seats and unconsciously thinking about what would happen next. I'm pleased to say that Teresa Driscoll has achieved that. Throughout the whole book, there was a constant haunting need to find out what would happen next.

The book is filled with unexpected twists and turns which you would not expect in the least, making it a chilling psychological thriller. Who would have guessed the epilogue? None can. Written in a way that makes the characters' emotions extremely tangible, the whole book is a cleverly thought out plot that would keep one engaged throughout. The bit of creepiness and eeriness in the book makes it a tense book and extremely hard to put down.

For any kind of suspense-filled book or thriller, the best way to enjoy is to just pick it up and start reading if you find the blurb interesting enough. I would suggest the same for this. Dive into the book and I'm sure you'll be thanking me later!

Overall rating: 3.5/5