I have been waiting so long to read this considering I bought it on publication day. But, after clearing my NetGalley review pile, I finally got round to it. I think if anything, the wait made it even better.
Dorothy Koomson has been one of my favourite authors for a long time, and time and time again she reminds me why she's up there - The Friend is a case in point. At times it felt like a 'whodunnit' but always it makes the characters its central focus; and they are a motley bunch, orbiting it seems around Yvonne who is in a coma following a vicious attack which left her for dead.
The characters are of course well-written and the different voices of the women central to the mystery (Anaya, Hazel, Cece and Maxie) come through really well. The slow unravelling of their secrets is tantalising and engaging, and meant that I was unwilling to put the book down. That is perhaps the only problem with Dorothy Koomson books, I really don't want them to end, but I end up reading then far too quickly and then have to wait (what feels like ages) until the next one. And I'm not being flippant with that statement either - I do mean it!
I did want to know what happened to Yvonne but I have to say, not out of any concern for her - she really isn't that nice a person. No, I found the stories of the other women much more interesting to discover because they were all so different and yet they were bound by this shared friendship. And it is these dynamics which make Dorothy Koomson books so enthralling; the dynamics of each of the characters and their relationships with each other - it is such a strength of hers.
And so here I am, waiting. Waiting patiently, well maybe not that patiently, for the next book.
