‘The New Friends’ by Daniel Hurst

Synopsis

They are fun, wealthy, fabulous. Pray you never meet them.

Becky and Jamie are an ordinary hard-working couple trapped in the daily grind, dreaming of an easier life. On one of their rare vacations, they meet a wealthy couple, Phil and Mel, who seem to have it all – they are fun, well travelled, and very generous with their money.

But they are also very, very dangerous.

Because Phil and Mel are not who they say they are. And this is no random vacation friendship, they have chosen Jamie and Becky carefully, seducing them with the promise of a lifestyle just like theirs.

By the time Jamie and Becky realise what their new friends really want, it’s too late, they’ve lost everything, their hopes and dreams lie shattered.

The only question now is how far will they go to get even?

My Review

I have been a fan of Daniel’s work for a little while.  I have read a couple of his books but I have a fair few still to read, which I intend to do when I have the time.  I read the synopsis for ‘The New Friends’ and it certainly sounded like my kind of read – a psychological thriller with a twist or two.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The New Friends’ but more about that in a bit.

I was drawn into ‘The New Friends’ from the synopsis alone and the story within the book’s covers sealed the deal as it were.  It was as if the story developed a hold over me and it was a hold that I wasn’t willing to break.  I had my own theories as to what was going to happen and I had to keep reading to see if I was on the right track or whether I had wandered down the wrong path altogether.  To say that reading ‘The New Friends’ became addictive is a bit of an understatement.  I would pick the book up only intending to read a couple of chapters but I would become so wrapped up in the story and in the lives of the different characters, that I would still be sat there reading several chapters and an hour later.  The more of the book that I read, the more of the book that I wanted to read and the quicker the pages seemed to turn.  All too quickly I reached the end of ‘The New Friends’.  I found ‘The New Friends’ to be a tense, gripping and dramatic read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat.

‘The New Friends’ is extremely well written but then I think that to be true of Daniel’s books in general.  Daniel has an easy going writing style that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with.  He certainly knows how to grab your attention and draw you into what proves to be a compelling story.  The story hits the ground running and maintains a fairly steady pace.  The story is told in the form of chapters from the viewpoints of the four main characters.  The chapters interlink well and the story flows seamlessly as a result.  Reading ‘The New Friends’ felt like being on at times scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way.  I felt as though I was part of the story and that’s thanks to Daniel’s very vivid and realistic storytelling.

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The New Friends’ and I would definitely recommend it to other readers.  I will certainly be reading more of Daniel’s work in the future.  The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.