The Silent Friend by Alison Stockham
Genre: Psychological drama, Suspense
Read: 30th July 2023
Published: 24th July 2023
★★★ 3 stars
DESCRIPTION:
When it comes to saving yourself, who will you betray?
Louise has a shadowy past that she wants to break free from and when she develops an unlikely friendship with Isabelle, her neighbour, she finally finds the family she’s always yearned for.
But Louise knows more about Isabelle than her new friend realises, more specifically about her imprisoned husband – and the circumstances behind his arrest.
Louise is faced with a choice: to continue lying to her only friend or tell the truth and ruin any chance she has of starting over…
MY THOUGHTS:
She could tell her what she knows...or she could ruin her life...
This was a very different read. A quick read that I plouged through in a few hours.
Louise has had a troubled life, born to parents who found her to be more of a distraction than the main event. Simply put, she was a mistake and they never let her forget it. She left home as soon as she could and, in her quest to belong, fell in with the wrong sort of people.
Having recently moved into her new flat, Louise is surprised by the blue flashing lights strobing from outside. Wrapped in nothing but a towel fresh from her bath, she steals a glance out the window in time to see a woman on the doorstep in tears whilst the police lead a-no-neck-all-shoulders man from the house and into a waiting squad car.
Isabelle appears to have a perfect life. She has a beautiful home she and her husband Carl have recently renovated and she is expecting their first child. Now she stands on her new neighbour's doorstep with a tin of biscuits to welcome her to the neighbourhood...despite the embarrassment of having her husband lead off in handcuffs last night for all the neighbours to see. It's just a misunderstanding. Carl is innocent and he'll soon be home again where he belongs.
Louise no sooner opens her door than Isabelle falls in a tearful crumpled mess. And soon everything comes spilling out. Louise remains tight-lipped. What can she say? She's not used to such overt emotional outbursts and Isabelle is clearly distraught. And then she sees why. She's pregnant. Hormones all over the shop. The entire neighbourhood saw Isabelle's husband carted off by the police but not one of them have knocked on her door to see how she is coping. No one. Not even her so-called friends. The only one who cared enough to take the time was Louise.
And so Louise and Isabelle begin an unlikely friendship. After all, both appear to need the other more than they knew. Isabelle seems to be unable to make a firm decision without someone taking the lead and Louise just wants somewhere to belong.
But Louise has a secret. She knows more about Isabelle's husband and his shenanigans than her new friend is aware. And so Louise finds herself faced with a dilemma - to keep quiet and protect herself? Or to confess, pay for her crimes and risk losing the closest thing she has to a family?
This is a very different book to what I was expecting. But it was an enjoyable quick read that will have you turning the pages to find out how it all turns out for Louise, Isabelle and baby Lottie. It wasn't an exciting story by any means or an addictive thrill ride. But it did keep me engaged enough to want to stick around till the end.
Overall, a compelling read that is unique in story and plot. A quick read easily read within a few hours.
I would like to thank #AlisonStockham, #Netgalley and #BoldwoodBooks for an ARC of #TheSilentFriend in exchange for an honest review.
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