A Simple Favor

A Novel

By: Darcey Bell

Narrated by: Andi Arndt, Xe Sands, Matthew Waterson

The Inspiration for the film starring Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, and Henry Golding. Don't miss the sequel, Another Simple Favor, streaming soon on Prime Video!

""Riveting and brilliantly structured, A Simple Favor is an edge-of-your seat domestic thriller.""—Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author

A single mother's life is turned upside down when her best friend vanishes in this chilling debut thriller in the vein of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.

She’s your best friend. She knows all your secrets. That’s why she’s so dangerous.

It starts with a simple favor—an ordinary kindness mothers do for one another. When her best friend, Emily, asks Stephanie to pick up her son Nicky after school, she happily says yes. Nicky and her son, Miles, are classmates and best friends, and the five-year-olds love being together—just like she and Emily. A widow and stay-at-home mommy blogger living in woodsy suburban Connecticut, Stephanie was lonely until she met Emily, a sophisticated PR executive whose job in Manhattan demands so much of her time.

But Emily doesn’t come back. She doesn’t answer calls or return texts. Stephanie knows something is terribly wrong—Emily would never leave Nicky, no matter what the police say. Terrified, she reaches out to her blog readers for help. She also reaches out to Emily’s husband, the handsome, reticent Sean, offering emotional support. It’s the least she can do for her best friend. Then, she and Sean receive shocking news. Emily is dead. The nightmare of her disappearance is over.

Or is it? Because soon, Stephanie will begin to see that nothing—not friendship, love, or even an ordinary favor—is as simple as it seems.

Bell masterfully ratchets up the tension in a taut, unsettling, and completely absorbing story that holds you in its grip until the final page.

Kept waiting for it to get good

I had high hopes for this but was ultimately disappointed. I loved the Mommy Blogger voice of the narrator, spot on! Her male voice, when speaking as Sean, was terrible.

But, the storyline fell flat for me. The characters felt contrived and not at all relatable. I prefer non-fiction and after listening to this, I'm going back. Fiction characters shaped poorly just aren't three dimensional. As the end neared, I just hoped to get it over with. The set up was better than the ending.

Unfinished with Lots of Potential

This story had so much potential for a mind-blowing ending. I loved the insight from each main character. By the end, none had any redeaming qualities, which made for a good story of double-cross. Unfortunately, the ending left me as unsatisfied as finding that an amazing smelling pizza in the oven was made without cheese. Unless there is a sequel, there needed to be better closure, a better ending. Sadly, there was no ending.

A Gone Girl spin-off without the masterful writing

A mediocre dark drama with poorly developed characters that has too many similarities with Gone Girl but lacks the brilliant plot development and the unique voice of Gillian Flynn. The ending is not satisfying in the least and the protagonist's motivations remain very unclear; Emily's personality (or Sean's or Stephanie's for the matter) is not flashed out and her behavior seems forced. It is one of those rare cases when the movie adaptation is better. Or maybe I just like Blake Lively in suits;)

Just meh

It feels like either the twist happened too early (like 3 hours before the end!) or the author forgot to put one at the end. It wasn't horrible, but I don't think I'll listen to it again.

fantastic!

absolutely loved this! pulled me in from the beginning and I couldn't stop listening. Completely took me by surprise.