Laura Marshall | Friend Request

I was lucky enough to get a copy of FRIEND REQUEST by Laura Marshall through GrandCentral Publishing and NetGalley a month ago and finally got my list down enough that I could squeeze this one in! I'm glad I did. The plot was addicting and reminiscent of the old 90s revenge horror movies that filled the theaters a couple of decades ago! Growing up, these were my favorites, so of course I was eager to check this one out! See my review below.

Plot:

"Maria Weston wants to be friends with you."

Louise had always known that when she was at school. But Maria didn’t fit in with the cool crowd, and the rumours that had followed her from her last school made her easy to bully in the summer of 1989.

So when Louise receives a Facebook friend request from Maria in 2015, she’s horrified. Because Maria died twenty-five years ago.

Didn’t she?

As Louise tries to find out who's behind the request and the chilling messages that follow, she's drawn back to her circle of old school friends, and when a tragic event drags the past into the present, she is forced to figure out who she can trust and to face the guilty memories she thought she'd left behind. 

Memories that include her own dark secrets – secrets that threaten to destroy her carefully constructed life.

Review:

FRIEND REQUEST by Laura Marshall starts off strong with a dark and stormy night in the past, our protagonist upset and defeated after a horrible unknown event has changed her life forever

Fast forward to twenty-seven years later and Louise has a beautiful life and seemingly has it all together, that is until a classmate who died sends her a Facebook friend request, sending Louise into a downward spiral as a reunion approaches just in time. Is Maria really still alive? Is this a cruel joke? Does someone know what happened that night almost thirty years ago? Someone's about to. 

With a plot like this one, it's hard to not have chills up your spine and hear a bump or two in the night. Marshall does a great job of building tension and giving the reader breadcrumbs of information from what really happened the night Maria Weston disappeared. While I did enjoy the back and forth from past to present, it seemed some details and characters were thrown into the mix with no purpose. Don't get me wrong, both storylines could have done well enough to each be standalone novels, but when a suspenseful or creepy scene happened, I felt as though the scenes in between kind of lacked something and I had a hard time keeping interest until the next scene of Louise thinking she's being followed or the next revelation occurred. 

The characterization in this was well written, really helping you either love or hate the main characters. While there were plenty that were just simply...there, I did enjoy the fact that the female characters were what really stood out with this novel. Many male characters did serve a purpose, whether they be crucial to the plot or serving as a red herring; but, the female characters were really driven and well drawn out. What I found interesting enough was that they were written to either love or hate. Similar to real life, not everyone is perfect and people will change over time and others won't. I especially liked the dynamic between Louise and former Queen B, Sophie. It was nice seeing a character who had come such a long way start to falter when placed in a situation where you are face-to-face with someone from high school who really brought out your insecurities. 

The key element of bullying and the repercussions it holds was a very interesting theme to have for a psychological thriller and suspense novel. I often found myself sympathizing with Maria and wondered if maybe Louise and Sophie got exactly what they deserved as they were losing sleep and being harassed. To have a thriller dealing with murder and mayhem have such a strong message was really unique and enjoyable with this read. 

The twists and turns in the last quarter of this book really saved it for me and made up for the slower pace and length between suspenseful scenes. Not to brag, but I'm usually pretty good at guessing a plot twist here and there. This was not the case. The final pages were so taut and suspenseful that I couldn't get through them quick enough, leaving only one stone unturned that could leave this open for a sequel. The finale chapter, showing how Louise's life had not only changed, but how she's changed as a person was very strong and well thought out. A happy ending with a black cloud looming over it is how I would describe the ending to this one. 

Rating: 3/5