Best Friends Forever

October 15, 2017
How well do you know your closest friend? Alice Campbell and Kat Grant met three years ago waiting for a delayed plane back to their small Florida town and have been inseparable ever since. Despite the differences in their lifestyles--Kat owns an art gallery and comes from money, while Alice is a former math professor-turned-children's author with two school-age kids and ever increasing debts--they have an unbreakable bond forged through secrets shared during boozy lunches. Or so Alice thought. But when Kat's boorish husband falls from their balcony one night, the police come knocking at Alice's door, and suddenly, Kat goes dark, not returning texts or calls and actively avoiding Alice. The book skips back and forth in time from the present day to different points in Kat and Alice's relationship, revealing how they got so close and pointing out flaws in a supposedly perfect friendship. Seemingly innocuous moments from the past get reframed as new information comes out, and Alice tries to decipher what exactly she means to Kat. The time transitions, which could have been clunky, flow into each other and provide almost constant cliffhangers. The whole narrative constantly pushes forward, asking readers to question every conclusion and warning them to never completely trust anyone. It helps that the characters are well-drawn, speaking easily for themselves and standing out as unique people who feel real. While the novel never quite hits the high point it's hinting at, skittering to a conclusion, the striking last few pages make up for a weak climax and would reward a reread. Hunt's thriller races toward a lackluster conclusion but offers interesting characters and a twisting plot.

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 20, 2017
At the start of Hunt’s solid debut, two Jupiter, Fla., police detectives arrive at the home of Alice Campbell, the tale’s unreliable narrator, to question her about the death of Howard Grant, her best friend Kat’s financier husband. Three days earlier, Howard, an alcoholic and adulterer, fell from the second-story balcony of his and Kat’s mansion on upscale Jupiter Island. The police, who don’t think Howard jumped, interview Alice about her three-year friendship with Kat. Flashbacks chart Alice and Kat’s chance meeting at Kennedy Airport, Alice’s financial troubles, Kat’s broken marriage, and Kat’s sister-in-law’s warning to Alice that Kat uses people and discards them. Despite the unlikely pairing—the struggling suburbanite and the wealthy socialite—their relationship endures, until Alice’s arrest for Howard’s murder. The action builds to a huge reveal that leaves the reader wondering which of the two women is more twisted. Fans of psychological thrillers will be well satisfied. Agent: Ethan Ellenberg, Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency.

December 1, 2017
Logician turned stay-at-home-mom Alice and wealthy gallery owner Kat develop an unlikely friendship after bonding over a delayed flight. Three years later, their bonding has shifted to commiserating over marital woes. Kat's husband, Howard, is an alcoholic and a serial philanderer. Alice's husband hid his job loss for months, violating Alice's trust and sinking them into financial distress. Both marriages are rocky, but Kat's meets a shocking end when Howard plunges from the roof of their Jupiter Island, Florida, mansion while she's away on a business trip. Kat is certain Howard's death was a drunken accident until detectives appear at her door stating that a witness saw a woman push Howard. And Kat (who has ignored Alice's calls since Howard's death) has identified Alice as one of only two people with unrestricted access to the house. Suddenly, Kat finds herself pitted against one of the country's most powerful families as she searches for the truth about her friendship and Howard's murder. A staccato-paced frenemy thriller with a wicked twist.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)