Her New Best Friend

LoveReading Says

Fans of Batchelor’s well-received debut will instantly recognise her ability to have you on the edge of your seat right from the very first page of this, her second foray into her trademark brand of domestic noir.

With beautifully filmic opening scenes that play on the worst fears of every parent, this story segues smoothly into a world where the nature of friendships, the foundations of trust and the room for deception in friendships have terrifying potential consequences.

Bachelor’s particular talent is for the excellent plotting of a gripping tale set in immediately recognisable situations, and then moulding her story to illustrate her uncanny ability to manipulate the emotions of readers. She does this so well and all with a profound understanding of the motivations, weaknesses and insecurities of her all-too-credible characters. 

Where she really excels however is by really putting you in the heads of her protagonists, forcing you to ask yourself the question “What would I do?” as she ratchets up the tension to violin-string tautness.

Her New Best Friend is a real blast of book, a gear change up from Batchelor’s debut, and a superb read for thrill seeking fans of unputdownable anxiety-inducing fiction. 

It is so packed with well-crafted plot turns that this reviewer considers her to be the “Tsarina of Twists.” 

If you have young children, you might want to make sure that the baby monitor is on and working before settling down of an evening to read it.

The LoveReading LitFest invited Penny Batchelor to the festival to talk about Her New Best Friend. 

The digitally native, all year round, online literature and books festival, with new content released every week is a free-for-all-users festival.

What are you waiting for? Check out a preview of the event and sign up to become a member.

Reviewed by Paul Blezard
Multi award winning broadcaster, poet, author and literary commentator, Paul Blezard has for over twenty years spoken to, written about and worked with many of the world’s finest…
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About Her New Best Friend

'Keeps the reader guessing... Unexpected twists happen at every turn, and just when you think you've worked everything out, Batchelor adds another twist.... I loved it!' Reader review, 5 stars Mum-of-two Audrey only looks away from the stroller for a moment, as her daughter runs off across the park.

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