Powerful And Disturbing

The Silent Friend by Diane Jeffrey is a gripping contemporary psychological thriller that will have you glued from the start.

The story is split into the time periods of ‘before’ and ‘after’ as well as alternating between two voices. It is cleverly and uniquely constructed, enabling the reader to become emotionally invested in both the main characters before a jaw dropping reveal.

Both main characters have similar traits – they both have strained family relationships and are consumed by guilt, continually questioning what they should or could have done to alter the outcome. I had empathy for both as their struggles were ‘real.’

Within the novel the reader witnesses a character face and overcome their fears. This showed tremendous personal strength and determination.

Part of the novel is in the form of letters and emails. The reader by then is privy to secrets and therefore the correspondence has a great impact on us.

The Silent Friend was a terrific read but also a scary one psychologically – not just the main event but the fall-out for the family. It was easy to put myself in both main characters shoes and imagine how I would feel – guilty and grieving, totally shattered, continually questioning myself.

Diane Jeffrey is a marvellous author and one of my (ever growing list) favourites. I always ‘live’ through her novels rather than just read them. The Silent Friend is both powerful and disturbing and a book I can highly recommend.

I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

JULIA WILSON