The Loyal Friend by A.A. Chaudhuri

 

The Loyal Friend by A.A. Chaudhuri.

Published 23rd June 2022 by Hera Press.

From the cover of the book:

She has your back.

And may stab you in it.

Wealthy, pampered Susan is living the perfect life in leafy Kingston. She’ll never let anyone see the darkness she’s concealing behind the diamonds and rosé.

Grace is new to the group, seemingly the perfect wife and mum. Yet no one knows the truth of what’s happening behind closed doors.

Loner Natalie hides the pain of her childhood behind a carefully ordered life. But how long can the past stay hidden?

Three unlikely friends, brought together for a weekly class run by beautiful, friendly, instructor, Jade.

But when Jade goes missing in mysterious circumstances, the group starts to unravel. And as their darkest secrets come to light, it seems that no one can be trusted. Even their closest friends…

A heart-in-your-mouth thriller that builds twist after twist, culminating in an unforgettable ending. This shocking, tense and gripping read will delight fans of T.M. Logan, B.A. Paris and Big Little Lies.

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A weekly yoga class in suburban Kingston, run by fitness instructor Jade, has attracted a diverse crowd and made some unlikely casual friendships. On the surface of it, these women seem like your average mix of types you find all over - brash, showy Susan, wife and mother Grace, and introverted Natalie, but their lives are not quite as they appear...

Susan, Grace and Natalie each have their dark little secrets, and when Jade goes missing it's not long before the cracks start to show. Perhaps these women are not quite so friendly after all?

A.A. Chaudhuri is highly skilled at delving under the surface of her characters, and ferreting out the darkness that lies within, to weave a cracking psychological thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat, and she has she hit the jackpot once more with The Loyal Friend! 

The story revolves around a fitness club in leafy Kingston, focussing on the regulars who attend a yoga class run by the beautiful, kind-hearted Jade. We meet the thoroughly unlikable Susan, who cannot help herself from making sure everyone knows about the pampered life she leads; the put-upon Grace, who projects the image of dedicated wife and mother, but is clearly struggling with the multiple directions she finds herself pulled in; and the reclusive, slightly odd Natalie, who doesn't really sit comfortably in any social situation, but who is trying to change her life with Jade's encouragement. Each of them gets something positive out of attending Jade's classes, and a loose friendship has developed between the four of them.

But appearances can be deceptive, and as Chaudhuri creates a vivid picture of each of these women, we begin to realise that the faces they show to the outside world are nothing like the dark and troubled reality that lies within. In fact, each of them has very dark secrets indeed, ones that they are desperate to keep hidden, and their connection to each other is not quite what we thought it was. When Jade disappears under suspicious circumstances, its very clear that trust is thin on the ground, and they all have a motive to wish her harm.

The story unfurls with a delicious slow-burn, through the separate narratives of each of the women, flipping back and forth in time, and dredging up their past misdeeds. Chaudhuri drops her perfectly timed reveals with precision, so that your perception shifts time and time again about where the story is taking you. The unsettling whisper that something is very off about the private lives of the characters and their relationships with each other builds nicely, and Chaudhuri keeps you constantly looking in the wrong place for the answers with clever misdirection. When you think you know who did what to whom, and why, it twists again, casting off red herrings before blindsiding you with the shocking truth. It's all so beautifully constructed!

Hidden within the most compelling of stories, there are a lot of interesting themes to ponder upon. There's so much about what really motivates people, and the pressures of modern life, especially the effect this has on your mental health - particularly through the story of Grace, who is the most sympathetic of all the characters. Disturbed childhoods, control, trauma, and the legacy of abuse also have a big part to play, but the overriding theme, and the one which makes this story so seductive, is the driving force of revenge. 

I was gripped by this book from start to finish, gulping it down in one page-turning bite. I cannot wait to see what comes from Chaudhuri's twisted imagination next!

The Loyal Friend is available t by now in paperback, ebook and paperback.

Thank you to Hera Books for sending me an ebook copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Danielle Price at The Reading Closet for inviting me to take part in this blog tour.

About the author:

A. A. Chaudhuri is a former City lawyer. After gaining a degree in History at University College London, she later trained as a solicitor and worked for several major London law firms before leaving law to pursue her passion for writing. She is the author of The Scribe and The Abduction, books 1 and 2 of her Kramer & Carver legal thriller series featuring the feisty Maddy Kramer, also published in audio.

Her first psychological thriller with Hera Books, She’s Mine, was published on kindle, paperback and audio in August 2021, her second The Loyal Friend in June 2022. 

Represented by Annette Crossland of A for Authors Literary Agency, she lives in Surrey with her family, and loves films, all things Italian and a good margarita!

Find out more about A.A. Chaudhuri HERE.