Friend Request – Laura Marshall

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. . .

My Review – As a huge fan of psychological thrillers and Facebook this book appealed to me immediately and I started it almost as soon as I was approved on Netgalley.  Louise is a divorced, single mum who receives a friend request from someone she thought she’d left behind in her past over 25 years old.  The fact that the friend request is from a girl who died and Louise has carried the guilt and secrets with since, only increases her paranoia and fear.  Told through Louise’s point of view and switching from past and present, this story has many layers and underlying themes including bullying and trying to fit in and being accepted at school.  I raced through this book and was constantly trying to guess who/why/where and how.  This is a gripping page turner and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers, Little, Brown Book Group UK

About The Author:   Laura Marshall’s first novel, Friend Request was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Award and the Bath Novel Award in 2016. She lives with her family in Kent.

Genre – Psychological Thriller – Published 27th July 2017 – Read March via Netgalley

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