My Best Friend’s Murder – Polly Phillips

 

There are so many ways to kill a friendship . . .

You’re lying, sprawled at the bottom of the stairs, legs bent, arms wide.
And while this could be a tragic accident, if anyone’s got a motive to hurt you, it’s me.

Bec and Izzy have been best friends their whole lives. They have been through a lot together – from the death of Bec’s mother to the birth of Izzy’s daughter. But there’s a darker side to their friendship, and once it has been exposed, there is no turning back.

So when Izzy’s body is found, Bec knows that if the police decide to look for a killer, she will be the prime suspect. Because those closest to you are the ones who can hurt you the most . . .

 

My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Blog Tours for arranging my review copy and for allowing me to host this leg of the blog tour.

 

Bec and Izzy – friends through thick and thin for most of their lives.  Their friendship is about to be shaken beyond anything the pair have experienced before and before a truce can be negotiated Izzy will be dead.  It isn’t a spoiler, the blurb makes all this clear and the book opens with tragedy.

So how did these friends get to this stage? And is Bec right to think the police should be looking at her as a possible killer?

Polly Phillips shows the reader that Izzy is dead then takes us back in time to earlier in the year when the cracks in the friendship first start to show. We start with what should be a happy event as Bec has come to tell Izzy that she got engaged. However, Izzy’s reaction is not quite what Bec had anticipated and her upset at Izzy is compounded when it becomes clear Izzy had been consulted on which engagement ring should have been bought.

As we are given more background on the two friends we learn how Izzy has married a man Bec was attracted to. Izzy has the best of everything while Bec seems to be making do.  Even at work Bec seems to be hesitant to put herself forward or contribute to big decision making. There is a slight shift in this when Bec discovers she may have a chance to interview a Hollywood A-List star and she makes a stand in an editorial meeting to ensure she gets to conduct and be credited for the interview piece.

Bec’s personal life and her career seem to be picking up for her. However her relationship with Izzy is on a downward spiral. The two are bickering then disagreeing and it appears each time the two are together their relationship deteriorates.

The growing animosity between Izzy and Bec is not going unnoticed so when Izzy is found lying in a bloody, crumpled heap Bec does have concern she will be a suspect.  But could knowing the truth be even more hazardous?

I came to this book under a slight misconception.  I half expected a police procedural (for no reason other than that’s what I normally opt to read).  My Best Friend’s Murder hardly features the police.  This is the story of Izzy and Bec and the toxic elements of their friendship which define the last days of Izzy’s life – seen through the eyes of Bec who can’t understand why her friend is behaving the way she does.

Uncomfortable reading at times and a few surprises along the way which I enjoy. Domestic drama with barbs – like your favourite soap opera having the Queen Bee get their comeuppance.

 

My Best Friend’s Murder is published by Simon & Schuster and is available in paperback, audiobook and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B087QQW3V9/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0