Her Deadly Friend by Rae Sargeant

MY REVIEW

Set in the fictional town of Gleveham in Gloucestershire, Her Deadly Friend is a really good, exciting read. Right from the prologue, you are hooked. It begins 29 years ago at school. Amy Ashby and her mother are complaining to the head teacher that Terri and Steph have damaged her viola.

It then moves on to the recent present. Someone is murdered at the Georgian Gardens and we follow the police case. Steph from the school incident is now Detective Inspector Stephanie ‘Steph’ Lewis, and along with her boss DCI Kevin Richards and the police team, they set about solving what soon becomes more murders.

As for the other two girls from school, Terri is still Steph’s best friend. Amy Ashby lives with her elderly, ill mother Eileen after her father has died. She is matron at a posh private school and it seems her ex-boyfriend Sean is stalking her.

Well, this story certainly holds your interest, I read it in a few days as I wanted to know what was happening. The chapters are the perfect size too – just one more soon becomes fifty pages read! There are so many great, realistic characters in here – some you love and a couple you’ll really hate! It is a page-turner, it’s very twisty-turny, and full of surprises right till the end. And no, I didn’t guess whodunnit!

BLURB

Her Deadly Friend – the closer she gets, the more people die

The Suspect

Bullied by Steph Lewis at school, then betrayed by her lover, Amy Ashby still seethes with fury. Despite the decades-old resentment, she’s on the hunt for a new man and a fresh start. This time for keeps.

The Stalker

When both women are stalked by a figure from their shared past, danger threatens.

The Detective

Now Detective Inspector, Steph follows a tip-off to her old rival. After quarrels exploded beyond the playground and changed lives forever, she vowed never to see Amy again. But that was then.

The Deaths

Murder rocks the city. First one, then another. The body count reaches five, and all Steph’s leads point to Amy. But is Steph obsessed with a schoolgirl vendetta or closing in on a deadly killer?

Book 1 of Gleveham Killers Suspense series