So whilst the title might not inspire much confidence Friend Request is an undoubtedly superior debut psychological thriller effort that taps into the insecurities of our teenage school days that we are often loathe to revisit.

As the reunion begins to loom some frankly risky encounters with Maria’s best friend, Esther and older brother, Tim ensue in which Louise attempts to gauge just what they know about the events of that night. But nasty rumors follow Maria, making her undesirable to the popular clique, so much so that she’s shunned to the point of bullying. Now recently divorced following Sam’s infidelity and left with a four-year-old son, Henry, Louise is very needy and as a self-employed interior designer and with few friends she is isolated and unable to escape the memories.

Imagine being stalked by someone you think is dead – they contact you on Facebook and seem to know enough about your daily life to suggest they are actually watching and following you offline! It reminds me why I decided to delete my personal account, the idea of people you barely know getting such a personal glimpse into your inner sanctum and keeping in contact with everyone you ever met from high school days seems an odd thing and the perfect basis for a revenge style vendetta so I did quite enjoy the storyline. Sharp , relevant and tightly plotted , and with a fabulous twist, psychological thriller fans should definitely say yes to this impressive debut. Odd, how you spend five years going to the same place every day, and then it’s over, you never go there again.

Throughout the novel there are occasional interludes in italics from an unknown party and disappointing it is from these these that I was able to intuit some of the unfolding denouement.It was definitely a page turner to begin with, but it slowly got less interesting and then ended on a downer. I’ve awarded 3 stars instead of 4, purely because it did its job so well as a psychological thriller and filled me with such anxiety I can’t confess to enjoying it! A decade after leaving school a chance meeting in London with Sam leads to a marriage with a man who shares her knowledge of the exact events surrounding the night and it is his acceptance and understanding that sets to tone to an unequal marriage with Louise feeling unworthy of his love. Sure, she doesn’t have many friends and still wishes her ex-husband, Sam, hadn’t left her for another woman. Now, many of us probably don't have to worry about dead old classmates coming back to life to haunt us, but it makes an excellent story in a book.

And that's saying a lot about Laura Marshall's writing ability because I was severely bullied in elementary school and am very sensitive with that topic. It’s an easy read that switches from modern day (adult) to back in the day (teens), mirroring both eras to help you make clear links between the past and the present. Instead of shying away from these topics, Laura Marshall does a brilliant job of handling them with ease.Though being dumped by her horrid husband, she is not mature enough to cut clean all the links with him. Maybe that had been the problem all along: Maria Weston had wanted to be friends with me, but I let her down. FRIEND REQUEST by Laura Marshall is a cleverly plotted, enticing mix of suspense, regret and redemption . Even though this book wasn't particularly long, it took forEVER to read because so much of it was build-up (and the pay-off really wasn't as satisfying as it could have been). Set in England, FRIEND REQUEST is the story of a woman named Louise, told in dual timelines: 1989, when she was a teenager; and 2016, as a middle-aged woman with a son.

I just thought it was going to be another throwaway thriller – fun while I was reading it, but nothing special. for a stand-alone about a police detective, a developmentally delayed boy, and a package everyone in North Dakota wants to grab. All in all this was an excellent read where I both detested Louise, but also rooted for her based on her self imprisonment. The other woman barely features in the book, but I don't have much compassion for someone who has an affair with a married man, knowing there is a very young child involved. I liked many things: the clever writing, how everything is kept tight to the plot, no unnecessary straying or indulgences; the brilliant descriptive employ of words to conjure up exact visual scenes in your head as you read; and the insightful references to childhood bullying, the traps of social media and the difficulties of relationships and the consequences of failure especially with respect to children.Maria's sudden reappearance threatens it all, and forces Louise to reconnect with everyone she'd severed ties with to escape the past. I can honestly say that young Louise did I not like especially much, but I can still understand her situation.