Great concept, but it missed the mark — and ultimately didn’t live up to its promise.
A gripping start
I’m a long-time Claire Douglas fan, so this went straight to the top of my holiday reading pile, and for the first half it absolutely earned its place there. Douglas is brilliant at that slow creep of unease: a new friendship that feels a little too convenient, a family with more going on beneath the surface than they’d like to admit, and that constant nagging sense that someone isn’t being honest. The short, punchy chapters made it almost impossible to put down. “Bodies can be buried. But secrets never can.” — the tagline sets the tone perfectly, and early on the book delivers on it.
Where it lost me
Somewhere past the halfway mark, the plot started stretching credibility. The twists kept coming, but the more they piled up, the harder it became to believe the characters would realistically behave the way they do. A few decisions had me raising an eyebrow rather than gasping, and by the final act I felt like something was missing — more emotional depth, or maybe just tighter plotting. The premise was genuinely clever; the execution just didn’t quite get there.
The ending
No spoilers, but the resolution didn’t land for me. It felt rushed, with a couple of threads tied off too neatly and others left oddly unsatisfying. After such a strong build-up, I wanted a much bigger payoff.
Final verdict — 4 out of 5
Still a solid, very readable thriller, and I’d happily recommend it for a holiday or a rainy weekend. Douglas writes tension better than most, and even a weaker outing from her is more entertaining than plenty of others in the genre. Just don’t go in expecting the ending to be the best part.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Have you read The Family Friend? I’d love to know if the ending worked better for you than it did for me — let me know in the comments.
You can buy the book here https://link.amazon/B05TqPXyy
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