Keep Your Friends Close by Paula Daly

Keep Your Friends Close by Paula Daly
Copyright 2014
Corgi (an imprint of Random House UK) - Suspense/Crime
399 pp. incl. Q & A with author

You already know I won Keep Your Friends Close and another of title from the author, Paula Daly, if you hang around here much. Well, I was just emerging from a slower-paced title and craving a quicker pace when the two books walked in the door. I kept looking at this one and I love the cover; it's appealing in a creepy way and just looked like something suspenseful enough to keep the pages flying. So, I gave in within 24 hours of the book's arrival.

Good decision. Keep Your Friends Close is the story of Natty, a woman whose family owns a hotel and house next door to each other in England's Lake District. How Natty and her husband Sean managed to acquire such a prime bit of property is never mentioned but they have succeeded due to a lot of hard work, drive extraordinarily expensive cars to show for it, and clearly cater to a wealthy clientele.

Natty is obsessive to the point of neglecting her husband and even her health. She's growing a bit too thin. Her children are her other priority. Alice is a bit sulky. Felicity is more laid-back. Felicity is on a school trip to France as the book opens and Natty is cleaning like a madwoman. She's so obsessive about cleanliness that it's almost a family joke; she even follows the maids, whom she thinks not quite dedicated enough to do the job right.

Natty's best friend from college is dropping by for a visit. Just as Eve arrives, though, Natty receives a dramatic call from Felicity's teacher. Felicity has fallen ill and is in surgery. It's unknown whether or not she'll survive. Natty hastily packs and Eve offers to watch after Alice and the hotel but Sean can only get a single ticket on the next flight and Natty insists that she must be the one to go. Their manager is on vacation so Sean ends up remaining behind at Natty's request, even when he's able to join her.

And, here is where the suspense begins. Eve is a dangerous woman who has set her sights on Sean, a man neglected enough that he's easily wooed. By the time Natty and Felicity return, Sean and Eve are a couple. Shocked to her core, Natty becomes irrational and gets into a bit of trouble. But, when Natty begins to suspect that there's something bigger going on than just a friend stealing her husband, she discovers that Eve is not the person she claims to be. Through the combined efforts of Natty and a detective named Joanne, Eve's history begins to form. But, will it be too late for Natty and her family?

Highly recommended - A genuine page-turner. There were some moments that I thought, "This is a bit implausible," but I didn't care. I found Keep Your Friends Close addictively readable and was astonished at how many times the author surprised me. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen next . . . nope, wrong again. And, every time I put it down I kept thinking, "Argh, I want to read!!!" I love that. I'm looking forward to reading the other Paula Daly book I won in that Twitter drawing and particularly recommend Keep Your Friends Close for beach, train or plane reading.

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