With Friends Like These

A Novel

De: Alissa Lee

Narrado por: Joy Osmanski

“Deliciously twisty….A heady mix of dark academia, spiraling stakes, and tangled loyalties.” —Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author

A group of Harvard alums have played a secret game for decades but as the stakes rise, deadly consequences emerge from old lies. An unputdownable debut thriller for readers of the suspenseful novels of Julia Bartz and Katy Hays.

Harvard promised them everything.

At eighteen years old, six young women had ambitious futures ahead: bright careers, love affairs, an education that would open doors for the rest of their lives. Sara’s college roommates were the family she never had: Bee the political hopeful, Dina the academic prodigy, Allie the family girl, Wesley the hard-partying heiress, and Claudine, the Southern belle—the closest thing Sara had ever known to a sister. But their senior year, Claudine died, and everything changed.

Twenty years later, the five college roommates still indulge in a secret tradition they’ve kept alive since their campus days: the Circus, a harmless assassin-style game played across New York City. Inside the private rooms and down the hidden alleys of the city, they compete every year with water guns for "kills," despite whatever might be happening in their bustling lives. The game is a nod to their college selves and the sixth roommate they lost too young—but this year, Sara keeps catching inexplicable glimpses of Claudine, and she wants out of the Circus. But when Sara discovers there is a small fortune awaiting the winner of this final round, she agrees out of loyalty and desperation to play one last time. As the Circus unfolds, Sara begins to suspect the others aren’t playing by the rules, and as the danger turns real and the roommates start pointing fingers, she discovers that even her closest friends harbor secrets of their own—and those secrets have turned deadly.

Mystery, murder, but ultimately friendship

I went into this thinking it would be another dark academia book, but I was so wrong. This book is about how we pressure ourselves to be or feel a certain way, but always falling short in our own eyes. I love how there wasn’t any gore or torture to any of the characters, male or female. The ending is satisfying and all plot points are tied up perfectly. This is a unique book with a strong voice and I can’t wait to see more from this debut author.

Propulsive suspense with a beating heart.

With Friends Like These is the kind of book that reminds you why reading late into the night is worth the groggy morning after. Alissa Lee delivers a taut, elegantly constructed story that’s as emotionally savvy as it is relentlessly suspenseful. The friendships at the center feel real—messy, tender, competitive—and Lee mines those dynamics for both tension and heart. I especially loved how small choices ripple into big consequences; the plot clicks forward like a well-set row of dominoes, yet never loses sight of the human stakes.

Lee’s prose is crisp without ever feeling spare; she knows exactly when to go for the throat and when to let a quiet moment do the work. The twists are clever (several I truly didn’t see coming), but what elevates the novel is how those turns deepen, rather than cheapen, the characters. By the final chapters, I wasn’t just dying to know what happened—I cared about who it happened to.

Whether you’re in it for the secrets, the social commentary, or simply a masterclass in momentum, this is a must-read. Clear your weekend, silence your notifications, and enjoy the ride.