The School Friend

A Totally Gripping Psychological Thriller with a Brilliant Twist

By: Alison James

Narrated by: Jan Cramer

Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

I’m Lucy, and I have a secret
I have a beautiful home that I’m desperate to escape.
But that’s not my secret.
I tell my friends I’ve never wanted children when I always have.
But that’s not my secret.
My husband is a celebrated surgeon who tries to control me.
But that’s not my secret.

Adele knows.
Once upon a time, I knew everything about her and she knew everything about me.
Best friends forever.
But now our secret is beginning to surface.
I can trust her more than anyone. We made a pact.
And she’s never do anything to hurt me. Would she?

This absolutely gripping psychological thriller will have you forgetting everything until the last shocking twist. Fans of Behind Closed Doors, Friend Request, and The Girl on the Train will be hooked.

©2019 Alison James (P)2019 Bookouture

The School Friend

Really enjoyed this book, there were so many twists and turns. The narration is very good, you can picture the characters as you listen.

So so

This book was not a psychological thriller. It’s keeps your interest but the storyline is not the best. The narrator Jan Cramer is the best.

Narrator wimpish voice irritating

I would give a higher rating but the main narrator’s cry baby voice throughout story was awful. Also there were too many situations in the storyline where main character was made to look absolutely helpless and stupid which is insulting to womanhood.

Held My Attention

I enjoyed the book and nothing about it really perturbed me. Enjoyed the narrator as well… except maybe Adele’s voice. Overall, enjoyed very much. It’s very hard to hold my attention and this one did. Thanks for a great listen!

long

This book is so lonnnnnnnnnnng. But Jan Cramer is a treasure so I don't regret the credit.

Worth a read

This book was great. It had stories within stories and I love the fact that it didn’t drag and got to the point.

definitely worth the credit

I dont usually like this narrator (always sounds like she is bored) but she does a great job this time, together with a great story in The School Friend!

Interesting enjoyable story

The story seems a bit of a slow starter, but the first few chapters lay the groundwork for much later events. For most of the book, posh Lucy's childhood friendship with the rough Adele seems almost irrelevant. But as the story slowly unfolds, all the loose ends begin to tie up. The long drawn out twists of the plot become blindingly obvious to the reader quite a while before they are revealed, and reveal Lucy to be agonisingly dense and trusting of all the wrong people. Her loving, privileged childhood seems to have set her up as a target for bullying, violence and manipulation. Despite having an abusive husband and then a dangerous stalker, she obtusely doesn't go to the police for help until she has implicated herself in some trouble in her efforts to escape. However, despite all these flaws, the story still manages to be interesting, with engaging, very believable characters from wildly different backgrounds, making for an enjoyable read. The narrator is excellent, managing a variety of different accents, emotions and voices with ease, like a professional actress immersing herself into the emotions of each character. One minute a panicky, frightened and breathy young lady, the next a rough male voice heavy with sarcasm and threat. Her consummate reading contributes immensely to the enjoyment of the story.

Predictable storyline & lackadaisical narration

I won't return as I did listen to it all, but I felt completely underwhelmed and have no interest in trying anything else by this author

Not great, but not terrible either.

I didn't hate it, but it wasn't what I expected either. If you are expecting it to be a story about the mysterious event in their past, you will be disappointed. They act as a way to establish background and well, that's pretty much it. The narrator was good, but the way the main character was portrayed was infuriatingly whiney.
It is worth a listen if you like very slow burning books.

Sadly

This book was gripping right upto the last 50 minutes or so
I was so disappointed with the ending I fact I fast forward through the last 30 minutes because it was so daft
Not what I had come to expect from the author