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The Best Friend
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
Non-member price: $38.95
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Tried Too Hard to Create Suspense
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Publisher's Summary
They say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer...wrong.
Louisa's new best friend has it all - the house, the status, the money. But she's also hiding a dark secret. And as Louisa is drawn deeper into her friend's life, events take a chilling turn.
What listeners say about The Best Friend
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Judith
- 29-04-2020
Last Shalini Boland book for me
This is definitely the Last Shalini Boland book for me! Badly written, childish and unbelievable - the ending was ridiculous.
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- Anna
- 27-11-2019
Average
The story line was ok, nice little twist, good pace but the narrator was not the best, actually I will make sure that I don’t get books if they are read by her. Shame.
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- bluedolphin0502
- 23-07-2019
Hard to put down BUT
This was very quick-paced, which was great, but was also very predictable and formulaic. So disappointing to find out the silly sociopathic reason behind the occurences. For a book with so much potential, it was a real shame.
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- Sasha
- 31-01-2017
Pretty good
The start was good, my kind of book, the ending was a big far fetched but the last chapter was satisfying
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- Lauren Hanejko
- 15-02-2017
The ending made up for it!
I listened to this book after listening to The Girl from the Sea, which I loved. At times, I found the main character in this book be frustrating because you would think a grown woman would know better. The story itself is good though, slightly predictable, but kept you intrigue because you wanted to see what was going to happen.
41 people found this helpful
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- Denyece Roberts
- 08-01-2017
The book was amazing it kept you on your toes I was shocked at the end good choice good plot Amazing
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in psychological thrillers I would also recommend this book to mental help and social work profession is alike I chose the rating of five because the book kept you on edge and it kept your interest
41 people found this helpful
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- Natasha
- 15-01-2017
Gripping!!!!!
If you are looking for a book in which you cannot put down, this is it. The performance by the narrator was outstanding, I will not hesitate to add another book to my collection containing this narrator. The storyline was gripping from the beginning to the end. Shalini's main characters was excellently played out. I was surprised at th ending, didn't see it coming.i will recommend this book right away, just get it!!
39 people found this helpful
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- Kerstin H
- 14-02-2017
started good but..
the book started out pretty strong and kept my interest, preventing me from falling asleep behind the wheel... I spend many hours every day in commuter traffic in the Bay Area and tjank god for listening to audio books.
Started good but then the story got more and more stupid. Alsi the main character Louisa was getting on my nerves, so annoying and so whiney.
If you want to listen/read a GREAT book check out "Find Her" by Lisa Gardner!!
66 people found this helpful
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- Tony M
- 30-07-2017
Skip this book
I wasted time on this book, it was like a combination of a bad Lifetime TV Movie/Scooby-Doo mystery. Do yourself a favor and save your money/credit.
15 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 29-03-2017
Better then I thought
Really great! I usually get bored when I know what will happen in a book. This one kept me interested and wanting to listen to every word.
20 people found this helpful
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- Vernastene Black
- 05-03-2017
Awesome story!
Could not put it down! I is an excellently crafted thriller. Can't wait to read more by the author!
22 people found this helpful
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- Wayne
- 04-02-2018
Most of the book and narration were boring!
The female antagonist in The Best Friend is truly evil; she's like Amy Dunne on steroids. Despite the boredom I'm glad I finished the novel. The last 3 hours of The Best Friend are really, really good, if you can stay with it through the first 4.5 boring hours. I recommend this novel only for those who like intense psychological thrillers.
8 people found this helpful
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- Jesuszette de G.
- 25-04-2017
Riveting
Fast paced and always means you wonder. Great narration and plot is excellently laid out.
16 people found this helpful
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- M. Ryder
- 03-08-2017
Kept Me Interested!
Bought this as the daily deal, and wasn't really expecting that much, but must say that I actually liked it. Even though I figured out what was happening pretty early in the story, it was still quite good, and made me want to listen to the whole audiobook in a single sitting. Scary to think that one person can enter your life with ill intent, and shake it all up. Thoroughly enjoyed the narration. Each of her voices for the characters was easily identified and believable. Don't know if I will keep this book, since probably won't reread it.
3 people found this helpful
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- Rowena Bennett
- 21-05-2017
Very enjoyable
Listened to this over three days as I kept wanting to know what happened next. Superbly written and narrated. Would definitely recommend this book.
5 people found this helpful
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- karen
- 12-09-2019
Good holiday reading
Good storyline with twists and good ending
Liked this one
W
Maybe try another from this author
2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 16-08-2019
The best friend
Loved the storyline. An unexpected psychological twist. Narrated very well. An interesting and enjoyable listen.
2 people found this helpful
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- Sarahlou
- 19-06-2019
Great Read
I like reading Shalini Boland as she write about Southbourne and Christchurch where I live and so I can relate to the places she talks about and even some of the people! I have read a lot of her books and especially like this one as it is an easy read and quite a good page turner.
2 people found this helpful
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- Molly James
- 16-04-2019
good book..bad narrator
loved the story, was thrilling. the narrator though..couldnt tell if she was being english/scottish/irish/american. whole accents had an american twang which ruined it for me really..
2 people found this helpful
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- Karolina P
- 18-03-2019
Ridiculous and predictable
This story made me angry almost from the begging. Loads of plot holes and unrealistic turns of events. The only thing that made it better was good performance.
1 person found this helpful
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- Bobbie
- 04-04-2018
Good
Not as good as Child next Door but still a good read , narrator helped it to be a good listen
1 person found this helpful
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- Marisa
- 06-01-2017
Thoroughly Enjoyable
What made the experience of listening to The Best Friend the most enjoyable?
Great story, with a most conniving villain dressed up as one of the sweet and generous mothers at Louisa's young son's posh new private school, who is eager to bring Louisa into the fold. Louisa needs a friend and her husband needs some connections, plus their eight year old sons are best buddies- what more could she want?
What did you like best about this story?
The characters were the most entertaining part of the story, each one drawn with just the right amount of 'a little too much' to make it fun while keeping the twists and turns edgy.
What does Saskia Maarleveld bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
Ms. Maarleveld is an excellent narrator with enough range to handle several different accents plus males and children, smoothly and pleasantly. Great job.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The end was unexpected and rewarding.
Any additional comments?
A fun book that kept me listening straight through. I recommend it.
5 people found this helpful
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- mary
- 29-01-2017
Pathetic
This book plot is very similar to that of "Swimming Pool". Rich girl befriends poor girl but there is an agenda which slowly unfolds. So I found everything about the Best Friend predictable. It is the sort of book that is rattled off in a few days without much consideration to the intelligence of the reader. The plot is almost childish and the characters in the book so incredibly stupid that you wonder how they reached adulthood without being locked up for their own safety. I don't know how this got past an Agent. It is easily the worst book I have read in long time. And I'm easily pleased.
5 people found this helpful
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- John Peter Jarvis
- 24-02-2021
More of the same please
What a great story . The first time I have had a story narrated by Saskia she has an enchanting voice please use her again.
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