Addie Downs and Valerie Adler will be best friends forever. At least that's what nine-year-old addie believes when Val moves into the house across the street. But in the wake of betrayal during their teenage years, Val is swept into the popular crowd, while mousy, sullen Addie becomes her school's scapegoat.
Fifteen years on, Val has found a measure of fame and fortune as the local weathergirl, Addie meanwhile, lives alone in her parents' house, looking after her troubled brother and trying to meet Prince Charming on the internet. She's just returned from Bad Date No 6, when she hears a knock at her door. There, on the step, is her long-gone best friend, bllod on the sleeve of her coat. 'Something terrible has happened' she tells Addie. 'Can you help me?'
..... Outer back cover.
FIRST SENTENCE (Chapter 1): Don Swansea came awake in the darkness, not knowing for a minute who he was or where.
MEMORABLE MOMENT (Page 95): ....... 'You had two parents who loved you ...... ' Her voice caught. 'You had everything.'
KEEP IT OR NOT?: Not, I shall be passing this onto several other people though.
Hmm, I started off not really enjoying this book, only for the characters to grow on me (some as mould grows on a damp wall) as the story progressed ..... shame then that the book ended so weakly.
Not a novel it is easy to categorise - in part, as the title suggests, a 'best buddie' read, in part a crime/thriller and in part a romance, I couldn't help but feel that this had too much going on.
More strong on the character front than on plot, I did enjoy the way the main players developed even if I didn't altogether relish the victim mentality of Addie. How I wish that for once we could have an overweight lead who was strong and not portrayed as a bit of a loser, someone whose life only begins when they start to shed the pounds.
Anyway,
An ok read, not as light and a frothy as I had expected but still too much of a chick-lit read for my liking, Best Friends Forever was a typical summer read, almost, dare I say it, falling into Mills And Boons territory in the way in which (whoops! I very nearly included a spoiler), even according to some of my friends who are huge Weiner fans this is not one of the authors best books.
A free book purchased from a weekly woman's magazine, I paid P&P only, Best Friends Forever is book number 76 read for the 100+ Reading Challenge.
6 comments:
Umm your review itself puts me away from the book. Not that I will buy one, but not my genre. Again amazing your patience in reading books of all hue.
I own a couple of her books (including this one) and this lets me know that it shouldn't be the first book of hers that I read.
I haven't read anything by this author. This doesn't sound like the book to start with.
I don't mind the occasional "chick lit" novel and this one sounds like the suspense part might save it from being too bad. Still....I don't think I'm gonna run out looking for it to add to my TBR stack.
I do have this author in my TBR.
Too bad this one was a bit of a letdown. It's a shame about the lead character.
Have you read Ann Cleeves´ Vera Stanhope mysteries? Vera is a huge, shapeless woman, but also a brilliant detective. I love that combination :D
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