Friend Request

by Laura Marshall

Overview

A paranoid single mom is forced to confront the unthinkable act she committed as a desperate teenager in this addictive thriller with a social media twist.

Maria Weston wants to be friends. But Maria Weston is dead. Isn't she?

1989. When Louise first notices the new girl who has mysteriously transferred late into their senior year, Maria seems to be everything the girls Louise hangs out with aren't. Authentic. Funny. Brash. Within just a few days, Maria and Louise are on their way to becoming fast friends.

2016. Louise receives a heart-stopping email: Maria Weston wants to be friends on Facebook. Long-buried memories quickly rise to the surface: those first days of their budding friendship; cruel decisions made and dark secrets kept; the night that would change all their lives forever.

Louise has always known that if the truth ever came out, she could stand to lose everything. Her job. Her son. Her freedom. Maria's sudden reappearance threatens it all, and forces Louise to reconnect with everyone she'd severed ties with to escape the past. But as she tries to piece together exactly what happened that night, Louise discovers there's more to the story than she ever knew. To keep her secret, Louise must first uncover the whole truth, before what's known to Maria--or whoever's pretending to be her--is known to all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781478948506
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	09/05/2017
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	24,901
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Laura Marshall's debut novel, Friend Request, was a #1 e-book international bestseller and was shortlisted for both the Bath Novel award and the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize 2016. Three Little Lies is her second novel. Laura lives in Kent with her husband and two children.

Editorial Reviews

07/31/2017
At the start of British author Marshall’s suspenseful if heavy-handed first novel, recently divorced London single mom Louise Williams receives a startling friend request from Maria Weston, a high school classmate who disappeared on the night of their graduation party more than 25 years earlier, and was presumed drowned. Unfortunately, the emotionally vulnerable interior decorator can’t simply ignore Maria’s Facebook overture—which is followed by an invitation to a class reunion in their hometown of Sharne Bay, Norfolk, and a series of increasingly alarming messages—because of guilt over the part she believes she played in the tragedy, and fear that someone is finally about to make her pay. Raising the stakes is Henry, her young son with ex Sam Parker, another high school classmate (and about the only person who shares her guilty secrets). Marshall leaps skillfully back and forth between past and present, but her inexperience shows in hamfisted manipulation of characters to serve the plot, as well as transparent attempts at misdirection. Agent: Felicity Blunt, Curtis Brown (U.K.). (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Just try to keep the chills away."—Cosmopolitan

"FRIEND REQUEST by Laura Marshall is a cleverly plotted, enticing mix of suspense, regret and redemption. Marshall skillfully skips back in forth in time, building unrelenting tension in this utterly riveting psychological thriller. After reading FRIEND REQUEST, I will never look at social media the same way again." —Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and Not a Sound

"Suspenseful...Marshall leaps skillfully back and forth between past and present."—Publishers Weekly

"A brilliant novel."—Jenny Colgan, author of the New York Times bestsellers Little Beach Street Bakery and The Bookshop on the Corner

"An incredible debut novel that's not to be missed! Fantastic writing that instantly drew me in. I simply couldn't put it down - such a fast-paced, exciting thriller with some unexpected twists and turns. I loved it!"—Hollie Overton, author of the international bestseller Baby Doll

"Imagine getting a Facebook message from a school friend whose death you blame yourself for . . . That's the eerie premise for Laura Marshall's unnerving novel, FRIEND REQUEST, about mean girls and dark secrets."—Good Housekeeping

"A read-it-in-one-sitting thriller . . . Twisty and gripping but always relatable, FRIEND REQUESTis the ultimate it-could-happen-to-you read."—Erin Kelly, author of He Said/She Said

"A strong thriller debut featuring a compelling protagonist whose self-discovery and mounting paranoia create gripping suspense."—Booklist

"Laura Marshall ramps up the tension page by page until it's impossible to know who to trust. It's a book that should make everybody realize how vulnerable social media can make them. I loved it!"—Rachel Abbott, author of the international bestsellers Only the Innocent and Sleep Tight

"Sharp, relevant and tightly plotted, and with a fabulous twist, psychological thriller fans should definitely say yes to this impressive debut."—Sunday Mirror

"Fast-paced plotting and a gripping conclusion make this one of the better offerings in this genre."—RT Book Reviews

From the Publisher

2017-07-04
A Facebook message dredges up painful secrets from a woman's past, one that she's spent decades suppressing.London freelance interior designer Louise Williams works hard to maintain the life she's built for herself and her 4-year-old son, Henry. Sure, she doesn't have many friends and still wishes her ex-husband, Sam, hadn't left her for another woman. But she's still safe from her past deeds, which Marshall parcels out to the reader in dribs and drabs through halting flashbacks to Louise's high school years at Sharne Bay in Norwich. Semipopular by association, the younger Louise stayed on the fringes, loosely tethered to the cool girls by her friendship with sleek Sophie Hannigan. When new girl Maria Weston arrives, Louise thinks the two could be friends. But nasty rumors follow Maria, making her undesirable to the popular clique, so much so that she's shunned to the point of bullying. Then, on the night of an end-of-year party, things go too far and Maria disappears, presumed dead. Louise takes this tragedy with her as she does everything possible to distance herself from Sharne Bay…until an unexpected Facebook friend request pops up, from Maria Weston. The virtual reappearance of Maria sends Louise into a tailspin as she tries to see if anyone else from Sharne Bay has been contacted. With a high school reunion coming up, Louise debates whether it's worth attending and confronting her past head-on, as the messages from Maria become more threatening. The unveiling of Maria's fate and the person or persons responsible is not much of a revelation given Marshall's unfortunate habit of telegraphing plot twists. This debut suffers from a few too many clichés but contains important truths about the effects of peer pressure and bullying.

Kirkus Reviews