A Simple Favor [Movie Tie-in]: A Novel

I bought this book after seeing teasers of the upcoming movie being released this summer. It was a quick read and one that held my attention well enough to finish. The way the story is told in 3 parts by the narrator was interesting. I found the end of the story rushed and ended abruptly. It also seemed like there were too many unnecessary storylines. Overall, an easy and fairly good beach read...but not as good as Gone Girl (which you can clearly see influenced this author.)

This book kept me guessing but in the end left me disappointed. I constantly wondered if Stephanie was ever going to grow a brain and I even rooted for her to not be so cliche. Emily seemed to have luck on her side as pieces fell right into place in her game. Can people really be this dumb though?

When I saw the trailer for this movie months ago, I immediately fell in love with the mystery and intrigue (I’m also a huge Blake Lively fan). I finally sat down to read this book and buzzed through the first 150 pages that first night. Although it was very good, the actual wording and composition was strange. Many details were repeated, multiple times, so it annoyed me a bit. The last 20 or so pages were a bit bland, but overall, the story was excellent! If you’re looking for an easy, quick read, I definitely recommend it.

A Simple Favor is like a great game of cat and mouse. Just when you think you know which is which, the tide turns and there is a new cat and mouse. Sean, Emily, and Stephanie all have secrets. Emily's and Stephanie's are dark. Just how far the three of them will go to plot and keep secrets is at the crux of this novel.

You'll think you have the plot all figured out .... until you turn the page. It takes the most basic of friendships and puts them in the blender. You won't know which way is up, who you can trust.You'll just have to read it to believe it. Didn't want it to end! Please make this into a movie!!!!

To think so many things can transpire by just someone wanting to make friends with another mom. I as a mother related to Stephanie as a character (only the wanting mom friends part). This book had some very unexpected aspects that still worked well into the story line. Just when you think things will come to a resolution, more happens. A great read clear to the end

Okay I have feelings about this novel. The character Stephanie annoyed me. The book was very slow rolling in the beginning. It didn't pick up until after you heard from Emilys POV. The ending seemed like the author just gave up and decided enough was enough. It could have been better , but I enjoyed the plot for the most part. I look forward to seeing the movie!

I I would give it less stars if that were an option. This was the worst book I have ever read, from beginning to end, a total waste of time. I kept reading, thinking that there would have to be a redeemable moment somewhere. But alas, even the ridiculous ending established this as the most ridiculous book I have ever read.

I saw the preview for the movie they’re about to make after this book, I was excited and intrigued so I read it. The first third of the book you spend listening to a whiney character just praying you’re going to get to the good part soon. When will the “Gone Girl” power twist come into play? Then it comes....kind of... you just kept waiting for it to get... better, juicer, page turning. And it didn’t. It had the potential for sure, however when the book ended I was stunned. It’s just ends. With some catty power play and a lot of questions. I sincerely hope that the movie comes out better than this mediocre attempt at writing a “thriller”

If the names Alfred Hitcthcock, Diane Arbus, and Patricia Highsmith ring any of your bells, then you are sure to find alot to like in A Simple Favor-a very modern novel noir. Its a very ambitious story: 4 POV and numerous settings. The settings are especially good. I could feel the frenzied buzz of Manhattan's fashion scene and smell the old plumbing in the cramped crumby rowhouse in England.

The book tends to overlap and drag as each character offers their own take on the action, but I found Stephanie to be a hoot with her mom blog and (unique) secrets, matched only by the secrets of her new best friend, Emily. Very clever and lots of fun to read, I recommend this book to fans of twisty light suspense with a glimpse of the dark side in all of us.

My apologies if this seems too harsh but it’s exactly what came to mind shortly after reading “A Simple Favor”.

And to think that I was so excited to read this book. A movie based on the book is coming out soon. It is well-known fact that the book is usually better than the movie. If this is the case, the movie is going to be complete trash as well.

By the way, how was this book even able to make the cut for a movie?

Simply put, the plot lines, backgrounds of the main characters and “twists” are just absurd.
To be fair, “A Simple Favor” is comprised of the “ingredients” that make for a juicy book, such as destructive secrets, contrived marriages, fake deaths, suicides, murder-suicides, tantalizing trysts, psychological issues, incest, drug addictions, the “who done it” effects, etcetera, etcetera.
The author, Darcey Bell, seems to have put all of those “ingredients” in this one book; making it “junky”, convoluted, predictable and unbelievable.

It would be fair to have just dealt with the guilt of judging the book too soon and “tapping out” early, but was too intrigued to do so. Unfortunately, it would not be the writing that would piqued interest but curiosity. What else could Darcey Bell possibly add to this story?? How did she envision ending this collage of themes and genres?? Like the saying “curiosity killed the cat”, hope was a casualty of the ending.

I started to feel badly for Darcey due to the amount of negative reviews she received; including my own. Then I remembered that she was able to convert this book into a movie! Not just some low-budget Saturday afternoon special, but one backed by a major studio and includes A-List actors!! So, to hell with feeling remorseful for Ms. Bell! She and “A Simple Favor” got over big time!

Watching the movie trailer, it seems like the movie will be a complete rewrite; giving the project a chance at redemption. Let’s hope for Darcey’s sake (and those backing this in Hollywood) that it is indeed true.

You might want to do yourself a favor and find something else to read. You’re Welcome ?

definitely in the bottom ten. Not one of the three main characters is likable. The reader can’t root for any of them. People may be as evil as Emily, but is anyone as stupid as Stephanie? Finally, there is Sean – the stereotypical Brit. The plot/premise is beyond ridiculous. There is no character development. The ending is abrupt and leaves too many loose ends.

I cannot imagine how this author managed to sell this book not only to a publisher, but also to Hollywood. I hadn’t heard of it before seeing the trailer; the trailer intrigued me and I bought two copies for the library. Thankfully, they are cheap little paperbacks, so we won’t be out much money when they hit the recycling bin.

Don’t waste your time or money. Recommended for no one.

Book lovers rarely say they love the movie more than the book, as there are always a bit of changes made. Let’s hope for this movie’s sake – which I have to see now – that they made lots and lots of changes.

If it wasn’t for book club I would have tossed this book into the ocean during my vacation (although I would never litter, just being dramatic.) It wasn’t too far into the book when I felt this way, so if you want to give it a go you will probably know relatively soon if you can stomach it.

I commit to being spoiler free and its paining me not to scream what I want to scream to you all. All I will say is: Chris. (And in the end, a useless plot point: just yuck.)

What I am looking forward to is my book club discussion, it is sure to be a doozy.

Stephanie, a widowed stay-at-home mommy blogger, is in need of a friend. It’s kind of like single white female a little when she meets posh, professional mom, Emily. The polar opposites become fast friends and then Emily disappears. She never came to pick up her son, Nicky, from Stephanie’s house and Stephanie is worried. Even Emily’s own husband, Sean, didn’t seem too alarmed. When the police are finally involved the story will unfold chapter by chapter: mess after mess.

Is Emily missing? Did she run away? Is she dead? What the heck is going on? It could have been an interesting tale, but with unlikeable characters and the “yuck” situation this one did not hook me in.

One more gripe: Stephanie’s blog posts. Her narrative is super annoying and they made me cringe. I realize that his her character so it did a good job of making me dislike her so.

I really like the premise of this book -- the "mommy blogger" Stephanie worried about the disappearance of her sophisticated friend Emily -- but I didn't really like the book.

From the start, I didn't like the blog entries Stephanie wrote. I don't have children so I have no cause to read "mommy" blogs, but I hope most of the ones out there are less annoying than Stephanie's blog entries. Granted, the reader only sees a little bit of what the blog was like before Emily's disappearance, but even so, I really hated the parts of the book that were blog entries. And then, as the reader gets to know Stephanie a little better, you learn something about her that made me hate her as a character. There is something shocking in her background that sets up the believability of a couple really bad decisions she makes later on in the book. I understand why it is part of the book but it made me really hate Stephanie as a character and the later bad decisions only increased my dislike.

I can't give away too much else of the book without spoiling it. But suffice it to say there are a lot of twists and turns. Some of them that involve Stephanie were hard to believe, even with the evidence of her previous behavior. The book invites comparisons to Gone Girl, but I loved that book and didn't care for this one.

This book is being made into a movie. Given how I felt about the book, I almost certainly will not see the movie.

A contemporary mystery told by three people, one of whom blogs, so you read her blogs and her non-blog statements, which don't always match, and, of course, that's intentional. (And not at all unusual.) There is little dialogue, although that picks up, and you wonder if the author is simply uncomfortable with advancing the story through dialogue. The story will hold your attention, and I found myself more and more curious as to where the story would go. Much of the story is neither plot-driven nor character driven. Rather, the characters do what they need to do to make the thin plot work, rather than have their actions derive from their character.

Reason for two stars? The book is thin, and thinly plotted. Oh, there's an A story, to be sure. What happened to Emily? But there really isn't any B or C plot line. Stephanie, the principal protagonist and the blogger, is, to be nice, a dolt. How she functions every day is a mystery. She needs a caretaker. Who reads her blog is a mystery as well. If you tell her the sky is green, she will, in the middle of a field on a sunny day, believe you. More because believing the sky is green is necessary for the plot to twist this way or that. Sean, the husband, is a cardboard cut out of an Englishman. And Emily, the missing person, is Stephanie's best, and perhaps only friend, whom is able to do whatever she needs to get the plot to move in her favor. If she needs to get from here to there in an hour undetected, it will happen. The rest of us will be stuck in traffic.

Sometimes, I finish an amazing book and ask myself, “What did I just read?”—in a good way. I asked myself that same question after finishing A Simple Favor—but not in a good way. For the life of me, I could not figure out if this book was a genuine thriller or just satire. I’m still wondering.

Stephanie is a widow and stay-at-home mom to her five-year-old son. She has a blog targeted toward other moms (aka a mommy blog). Emily is a PR rep for a prominent fashion designer in New York. She and Stephanie meet because their sons are in kindergarten together. But Emily’s life couldn’t be more different from Stephanie’s: Emily’s a driven professional with a gorgeous British husband, Sean, who’s just as successful. Stephanie, on the other hand, doesn’t work and doesn’t really have friends. She has a pretty lonely life. So when she meets Emily, she latches onto her right away.

One day, Emily has an emergency and asks Stephanie to pick up her son from school for her (you guessed it, she asks for A Simple Favor). Stephanie is glad to help her BFF, but things quickly go south when Emily falls off the radar. She never arrives to pick up her son from Stephanie’s house and Stephanie can’t get ahold of her. Emily has disappeared.

Panicked, Stephanie blogs about Emily’s disappearance (I’ll get back to this in a moment) and pleads with her readers for help and information. A police investigation also ensues. Ultimately, the worst-case scenario is confirmed: Emily is dead. But what really happened to Emily?

This book had so much potential! I was riveted until the twist, then I was just…confused. Plot holes abound and were either brushed off, or were never addressed at all.

First, Stephanie’s blog. Much of the book contains her blog entries, but there’s little to no mention of community; her readers seem like more of an idea. I think it would have been more effective to include comments and discussions from her readers because the blog entries on their own feel very one-sided. The fact that she begins every entry with a cheery, “Hi moms!” and signs off with “Love, Stephanie,” also contributes to the one-sidedness of every post.

More importantly, I just couldn’t comprehend how there are so many plot holes when it comes to the police investigation surrounding Emily’s disappearance. Police presence seems like an afterthought, and for Stephanie to blog basically a play-by-play of the disappearance, investigation, and resolution? I suppose it’s not illegal, but it certainly seems like a very bad idea, considering Stephanie is so closely related to the case.

Then there’s the twist itself, which is a callback to other mysteries I’ve read and doesn’t feel unique at all. The story goes off the rails at this point and kept reminding me of a soap opera with its everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach to storytelling. There’s one plot point in particular that I think was intended to be shocking, but just left me scratching my head once again.

I picked this up in anticipation of the film adaptation, which I’m decidedly less excited about now. I might still see it, just to see if they’ve improved on the story at all. This was a riveting read until the reveal, after which I just felt unsatisfied. Sadly, I would not recommend this book.

My apologies if this seems too harsh but it’s exactly what came to mind shortly after reading “A Simple Favor”.

And to think that I was so excited to read this book. A movie based on the book is coming out soon. It is well-known fact that the book is usually better than the movie. If this is the case, the movie is going to be complete trash as well.

By the way, how was this book even able to make the cut for a movie?

Simply put, the plot lines, backgrounds of the main characters and “twists” are just absurd.
To be fair, “A Simple Favor” is comprised of the “ingredients” that make for a juicy book, such as destructive secrets, contrived marriages, fake deaths, suicides, murder-suicides, tantalizing trysts, psychological issues, incest, drug addictions, the “who done it” effects, etcetera, etcetera.
The author, Darcey Bell, seems to have put all of those “ingredients” in this one book; making it “junky”, convoluted, predictable and unbelievable.

It would be fair to have just dealt with the guilt of judging the book too soon and “tapping out” early, but was too intrigued to do so. Unfortunately, it would not be the writing that would piqued interest but curiosity. What else could Darcey Bell possibly add to this story?? How did she envision ending this collage of themes and genres?? Like the saying “curiosity killed the cat”, hope was a casualty of the ending.

I started to feel badly for Darcey due to the amount of negative reviews she received; including my own. Then I remembered that she was able to convert this book into a movie! Not just some low-budget Saturday afternoon special, but one backed by a major studio and includes A-List actors!! So, to hell with feeling remorseful for Ms. Bell! She and “A Simple Favor” got over big time!

Watching the movie trailer, it seems like the movie will be a complete rewrite; giving the project a chance at redemption. Let’s hope for Darcey’s sake (and those backing this in Hollywood) that it is indeed true.

You might want to do yourself a favor and find something else to read. You’re Welcome ?

Mothers, Friends, Secrets....Stephanie and Emily were mothers, ​they were ​friends, and they both had secrets even though they thought they knew each other better than they knew themselves.

A SIMPLE FAVOR begins when Stephanie keeps Emily's son, Nicky, after school because Emily is going to be late. But...after school turns into overnight, then after school turns ​into another day and ​another ​night, and then ​yet ​another day and another ​night with no Emily.

Stephanie didn't know where to turn except to her "mommy blog." Stephanie waits and waits and writes and writes. Stephanie finally calls Emily's husband, Sean, who was in London to tell him his wife has disappeared and that she has been keeping Nicky. Sean didn’t even know who Stephanie was.

Sean doesn't seem concerned since Emily said she was going on a business trip, but the problem is that Emily never returns from the business trip.

Sean, Stephanie, and the two boys spend a lot of time with each other until they find out the truth that Emily is dead.

As we read, Stephanie places her thoughts and emotions on her blog ​and also with Sean.

A SIMPLE FAVOR keeps having secrets pop up about all of the characters both current and past.

A SIMPLE FAVOR had a unique style with Stephanie's blog taking up most of the chapters ​and all the other chapters also being about Stephanie as she lives her daily life with her son and now Sean and Nicky.​ Chapters only about Stephanie change as the book continues, and the scare factor definitely moves up a few notches.
​
My interest in the book was very high simply because of the wonderful writing and story line. The characters were authentic, but it was difficult to believe someone could act that way and think of ways to hurt others.

I had my doubts about Stephanie's sanity and motives and about the life she lead. Stephanie was quite gullible and insecure.

Emily was a difficult one to figure out, a character I didn't like, and a character I grew to hate. She was conniving and evil.

Sean seemed like a nice enough guy that was caught in the middle of everything.
​
​A SIMPLE FAVOR is an excellent psychological thriller that kept me guessing and wondering what really was going on in the lives of the characters. ​

​Were they honest with each other, honest with themselves, or were they all just fakes?​ Can we really trust or truly believe anyone?

The story line became quite intense and very good as the book continued.

The wrap up is amazing. A brilliant debut. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

A Simple Favor is Darcey Bell's debut novel.

Miles and Nicky attend the same school. Miles's mom Stephanie, is a stay at home widowed parent and Nicky's mom, Emily, is a married working mom. The moms make seemingly unlikely friends, but they are. So, when Emily asks Stephanie if she can pick up Nicky from school now and then, Stephanie is happy to oblige.

But ..."It's been two days since she hasn't shown up or gotten in touch with me or returned my texts or calls. Something terrible has happened. She's vanished. I have no idea where she is."

A great premise that opens up a wealth of what-ifs and possibilities....

Stephanie is the narrator of part one of A Simple Favor. She's not sure what to do - Emily's husband Sean is out of town. Maybe Emily just got caught up at work, maybe she's on her way? But Stephanie does take the time to write a post on her mommy blog asking everyone to keep an eye out for her best friend. The tone of Stephanie's blog entries and self dialogue was pitch perfect. Somewhat obnoxious, self-serving, self-deprecating, self-righteous and self-delusional. As the search for Emily is finally undertaken, Stephanie makes herself available to help Sean and Nicky in any way she can.Any way. The reader is left wondering what has really happened - did Stephanie have anything to do with Emily's disappearance or perhaps Sean knows more than he is telling.

The second part belongs to Emily and the third part is Sean's voice. Each character is unlikable and unreliable. I'm not going to spoil things for you, revealing any more. But I do want to mention that I was very, very tempted to skip ahead and read the final chapters. But I resisted! Bell delightfully leads the reader down the garden path, leaving them wondering what will happen next. Lots of twists and turns on that path! I will mention that one of the characters has a fondness for Patricia Highsmith novels and Hitchcock films.

A great debut and I look forward to Bell's next book.

Bottom line:
If you want a psychotic female vs husband thriller, read Gone Girl.

SPOILERS:
The story line was predictable and cliche for the genre. Of course the husband is a pushover. Of course the wife conveniently has multiple back up plans, can spin a complex lie on a whim, and charm everyone in sight. Of course the friend is unbelievably naive and able to be played like a pawn. The good character stuff was never fleshed out. I typically hate first person POV books, but they do give opportunity for more in depth character development and emotions... not so here. Enough to keep you interested and reading, but not enough to really be engaged in the story or care about the characters. Then it just ends. It should’ve ended when Sean left his home. The awkward recap/epilogue-esque of the last 15 or so pages felt like the author was just trying to reach a word count. Pointless. Can’t even call it a cliff hanger because I just wanted the story to be done at this point. The only twist I didn’t see coming was Davis’ suicide. But again, what was the point? Stephanie never really fleshed our the emotions of that. It didn’t affect her future relationship with Sean. It was just there for more shock value, I guess. The whole thing just left me wanting more along the way. It felt shallow and unfinished.

Not a terrible book, but there’s better thrillers out there. Reading the book actually made me not care to see the movie.

I have read many, many books over the decades and I rarely write comments about them online. However, this author is brilliant. She has a very inventive plotline, told in the first person from the perspective of three main characters. The text is sprinkled with occasional, subtle humor and much insight about the oddities of human nature. It is, in fact, the author's awareness of personality types that makes her writing stand out among so much of the ordinary suspense drivel on the market. This book is not another dull police procedure, but an examination of psychological motive in the commission of crime, and the complex ways in which people lie to each other and to themselves. It is a book about the layers of secrecy and deceit possible in human relationships. She has also included blog posts in the novel, and these posts serve as another indicator of the new and creative ways in which we lie to each other in our contemporary electronic world. I am a professor of psychology, so this sort of thing fascinates me. I understand that this is the author's first novel; I sense she has tremendous potential. I think this book should be made into a film. And I promise I am not a family member or a friend of this woman--I do not know her. I am just an avid reader of suspense, and a student of human behavior myself, so I am very impressed by this book. I am looking forward to reading what she writes next!

I bought this because I really thought the movie looked interesting, and I'm a huge nerd who loves to compare books to their film counterparts. This book is just....not good. For starters, it's irritating to read. I found myself skimming often just to get through parts of it. Another issue? I hate the characters. I just don't like any of them, and I didn't really care about the outcome of the story. And when it did finally end, I thought it was stupid. I give it 2 stars only because parts of the book were really interesting, and it had the potential to be so much better. Here's hoping the movie surpasses the book on this one.

A roller coaster ride of psychological drama, secrets, and lies...

Stephanie, a single mom, a widow, has befriended the mother of her son's best friend. Emily asks Stephanie to keep her son Nicky while she goes off on a business trip. It's not unusual for Stephanie to keep Nicky overnight and he and Miles have a good time. The problem begins when Emily doesn't return for Nicky. Stephanie, a blogger, turns to Emily's husband, Sean, for answers. No one in this tale is quite the person they portray to the outside world...

The narrative unfolds and is told in alternating points of view from Stephanie, Sean, and Emily. There are twists and revelations that change the story as the pages fly by. Although I wasn't drawn to any of the characters, none are especially likeable, I was not really sure how I wanted this sorry saga to play out. Just a word to all -- don't be "the fish."

I enjoyed it, raced through it, and found it a very compelling debut mystery. I think it would make a great movie!

Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for the e-book ARC to review.

I had some problems with this book - at first I hated, hated, hated Stephanie the "mommy blogger" ("Hi moms" "Love Stephanie") with all her fake, phony everything is so wonderful, my kid is so perfect blog posts. Then you get to meet the "real" Stephanie during her side of the story chapters - unfortunately I hated her as well. Stephanie is as dumb as a box of rocks. Story picked up a little at the half way mark when we got to the Emily story, but she's no prize either (actually she's pretty much a psycho) and I didn't particularly like her (but she was, at least, amusing and hated Stephanie and her blog as much as I did). Even the husband was completely unlikeable. Ending was stupid and I didn't really care if Stephanie was going to take the fall for Emily's crime - my feeling was she was such a dumb bunny she deserved it and with any luck Emily would get caught as well. However I did read the whole book so I gave it an OK.

It's very rare that I don't finish a book that I start, but I couldn't get past the horrible characters and poor plot. This book gives bloggers a bad name. None of the characters were relatable. A big thumbs down.

I love books that grab you with their mystery, and this one did just that! I wanted to keep listening to find out what would happen next! There were a few parts that I could see being predictable, but an interesting twist at the end! Overall, a good book and I can't wait to see the movie variation.

I did enjoy this book, and on several occasions found it hard to put down. With a few exceptions, it was somewhat predictable, although a few twists did keep it interesting. I look forward to seeing the movie, for sure!

This book was very clearly influenced by Gone Girl. The writing and plot weren’t as good, but the story was intriguing enough that I wanted to finish it. Interested to see how the movie turns out...

I was hesitant to read this book due to all the bad reviews but I caved in and bought it. Immediately regretted it 3 chapters in. Horrible plot. Horrible characters. Horrible and maddening ending. Don't waste your time.

I picked up a copy because of the movie adaption coming up. Disappointing, repetitive, and predictable. The plot twists can be guessed from the first few chapters. Every secret is unclever and unoriginal. As Sherlock said “it’s never a twin.”

I wanted to like this book. I really did but none of the characters are likable. You can't root for anyone. The ending seemed so unsettled. He just walks away, she get away with it and the mommy blogger continues her delusional life. I truly hope that Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick can breath some life into it. I love them both and the promo for the movie is intriguing.

The trailer for the movie looked so good, so I decided to read the book first. All I can say, to reiterate other reviewers, is that Darcy Bell is one lucky lady to have landed a movie off of this book. Unless the movie drastically changes the book’s story, it must be a flop too. I hated all of the characters. The book is disjointed. There is no ending - and I don’t mean that it ends on a cliff hanger. It honestly just...ends. It’s kind of like the author met her word limit and decided to just stop writing at that point (not to mention that the previous 200-300 pages weren’t really worth it either). The author basically took every issue or disgusting thing that could happen in a family, marriage, friendship, life, and put it all in a mashed-up book. Avoid at al costs.

This was an interesting read. There were a few twists I didn't see coming and trying to divine the truth from all the unreliable narrators was a challenge. My main gripe was that none of the characters were very sympathetic. Everyone was self-absorbed or amazingly dense. As a result, I did not find the journey or ending very satisfying. While the book was entertaining, it left me feeling kind of aimless as as a reader, because I felt like I had no horse in the race and was just passively observing. I was hoping for someone to surprise me along the way and no one did.

In the same vein as Gone Girl and Girl on a train, this novel is formulaic fun. It features a beautiful, dangerous woman who inexplicably disappears leaving her best friend and her husband heart broken and confused. Emily is the glamorous PR executive who drops her young son off at the home of her best friend Stephanie. Stephanie is a widowed, stay at home mommy blogger who is wildly insecure and harboring an icky secret. She is awe struck by put together Emily and her handsome British husband Sean to the extent that she overlooks their narcissism, shallowness and dysfunction. When she finds unexpected comfort in Sean's arms, she puts herself in danger.

This is a rather silly story that doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Narrated by the three main characters, it trots out all the tropes. It rehashes the tried and true. Of the three characters, Emily is the most interesting. Sean is rather bland and boring and Stephanie is a dolt. Her blog posts are just annoying. For instance after Emil goes missing, she does a lengthy post supposedly asking her readers for help locating her. The post is all about Stephanie. Emily is merely a postscript. She doesn't get to the point until you have to slog through a boring recitation of her life before you get to the part about Emily being missing. stephanie is the type of character who deserves to suffer. Even if she avoids scary movies and books, it is hard to believe she is as stupid as she is portrayed here. The motive for the disappearance is just plain silly. The writing is basic and the chapters are short. The ending makes me wonder whether there is a sequel in the works.It was difficult to work up passion for any of the cardboard characters. Even when they when they were set up and wronged I did not feel any sense of outrage or injustice. The police are just clueless, lazy idiots. .This book reminds me of the store brand version of oreos. Yes they look the same and have filling in the middle. They satisfy an urge but are somehow just not as good as the original.

This book is Darcey Bell's first novel. You can absolutely tell. The general idea of the story was good, it makes you believe that there's something juicy going on between the front & back cover. Don't be fooled. It's not. The characters are bland. Stephanie's blog aspect of the story is childish & downright silly. The marriage of Emily & Sean is totally unbelievable. Stephanie's big secret is disgusting & I guessed it long before she admitted it to Emily. And the end was stupid. There weee no consequences for anything that occurred. Do yourself a favor, skip this one.

I believe that this is a debut novel and, if so, it is quite a promising start.
The positives are that it is a fast paced plot, plenty of action and a few twists. Three narrators contribute, Stephanie, Emily and towards the end, Sean. This does keep it fresh and makes it easy to read.
The negatives for me are that the twists are a little too obvious, the plot becomes too far fetched and too much is thrown into the mix. The characters are ultimately all unlikeable, not necessarily a bad thing in this genre, but combined with some threads in the story, I was left feeling a bit disappointed.
That said, it is a quick read and I was interested enough to want to know how it ended.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy.

A readable enough book for a day at the beach but be prepared for unlikable characters, unrealistic plotting, whining, gaps in logic, and the sense that you've just wasted your afternoon. I'm sure the author thought all the twists and turns and double-crosses were clever, edge of the seat reading but they were more annoying and hair pulling than anything else. The first part (almost half) of the book was slow. Stephanie's best friend is missing. Does she notify police? no. Does she gather mutual friends and search? no. When I thought this was a straight mystery I was really bothered by her passivity. Further along it became clear it wasn't supposed to be a story without character or depth, just tricks.

I thought that the blogging format was really innovative, but the whole story was just a wild ride and not in a good way. I guess I'm not the target audience for this kind of book. I thought that the trailer for the movie looked cool so went and opened the book. I did not like the end. It was just uncomfortable.

What a colossal waste of time. There is simply no excuse for writing this book. Incest (gross), murder, lying, subterfuge wrapped up in idiotic blogs. Don't bother. There are millions of good books out there. This is not one of them.

I only gave it two stars because I actually finished the book. It had a lazy story line and the writing was extremely redundant. The characters were unimpressive and if felt like a bad remake of a novel we've already read, but done in a much poorer fashion. Overall it was boring, so why did I finish it? To see how it ended of course, which I was unimpressed with, as the ending lacked creativity.

I’m shocked at the negative reviews bc this is (a year later) one of the best books I’ve read! I loved it and can’t wait for the movie. This was one of those books I stayed up half the night reading...and I love my sleep too much to do that very often! All I can figure is this is a love it or hate it book. I, personally, loved it.

Told from various points of view, you will fill that you may have already read books a lot like this. That's because you probably have. However there are slight variations here and overall the story will keep your attention.
Others have told a lot of the story line. Let it suffice to say that you really don't know what people's secrets are and they all have them.
Be careful who you trust...
Enjoy the read. Overall it's a good one. Already been optioned by Fox 2000...movie I guess.

Despite the pre-pre-release hype for this novel and the speed in which its film rights were sold, I have to admit, that I really don’t think that this will be the next book/movie sensation like Gone Girl or Girl on a Train. It’s actually a pretty silly story… And while I was not the biggest fan of either of those two books (Gillian Flynn’s first novel was my favorite of hers!), I did read them and found them to be compelling. This one is certainly not as entertaining.

Told in three perspectives, the main perspective of the novel is stay-at-home-mom/blogger and widowed mother, Stephanie. Throughout the book, her blog entries are peppered in, as the differences resonate between the spin on the entries and her narration. The main plot kicks off with Stephanie’s best friend and fellow mother, Emily, going missing. Emily’s perspective, and later her husband’s, is also added into the mix. But the dramatic tension, to me, never really feels all that real – mostly because all of these characters are so completely unlikable! Usually, I don’t mind a flawed character, but here – they are just all too damaged! Without giving too much away, Stephanie, her relationships aside even, is painfully annoying while Emily needs a mental health diagnosis and Sean is so weak-willed… and none of them get what they deserve!!!!

Initially, this seems like a fast-paced, if predictable read, but the more that I have thought about it, the more I am starting to genuinely hate it! I wish I had skipped this one!!

This book opens with a series of blog posts by Stephanie, one of our leads. She’s one of those pesky ‘mommy’ bloggers we read about. (And yes, I’m being sarcastic!) Though she does have the annoying habit of using the word ‘mom’ more than any sane adult would, opening each blog post with ‘Hi moms!’ and addressing her readers as ‘moms’ rather than ‘you’ or anything else… just in case a non-mom was to read it.

That aside, her posts set the scene for what’s to come and Stephanie soon finds herself with less time to blog as her life becomes complicated following the disappearance of her best friend Emily.

Stephanie mostly annoyed me in the early stages of this book. I enjoyed it more when we switched from her blog to her own narrative… and people disillusioned with social media and online lives will appreciate the fact Stephanie admits she is – at times – not completely honest on her blog. Her blogging diminishes but Bell cleverly uses her blog as a tool, giving us the chance to better understand Stephanie, her secrets and how she communicates.

There’s a Gone Girl-ish element as this book as we wonder if Emily’s disappearance was merely a case of a woman needing a break, or something more sinister. Or – of course – some bizarre combination of the two.

I mostly guessed one of the twists in this book though Bell draws it out pretty well, and there are a few surprise twists. And a few more added for good measure… seemingly delighting in catching we readers off-guard.

I’m not sure I was ultimately satisfied with the way things worked out (or the way we assume they’ll work out!) but it’s one of those frustratingly clever endings that plays on a reader’s mind for days after they close the book.

3.5 stars

OMG this is the craziest book I have ever read! How does one person become so psychotic over the course of their life. She's on a killing spree and playing the blame game all at one time. I didn't know what to expect when I began reading this book but I'm blown away by the plotting and devious was of one person. I also can't get past the naivete of another person, to just go along with the schemes of someone who also betrayed you. I read this in a few hours time, it had me wrapped up in it so much that I couldn't walk away until the end.

I'm actually a little upset at the amount of time I lost reading this book. It is definitely well-written and is a great idea for a novel. However, the ending felt rushed and lazy. Nothing really felt wrapped up and it was as though the author wanted to throw every plot twist imaginable at it until it just got frustrating and the book moved out of the realm of believable. Waste of a good story idea.

Up until Chapter 36, It held my interest. Then the characters and the plot got stupid and ridiculous. I read two more chapters and gave up. Talk about truly dispicible people! I could not find anything positive be to say about this book. I see that the film reviews describe it as a comedy. That's a surprise. Maybe that is because the whole thing is a joke.

Let me start by saying this story is very well written; especially for a first novel. The twists and turns are spaced perfectly and the characters are well designed. The story captures you and draws you in. You love stephanie and Emily's friendship; you despise the absent father. The further you read it though, the more it sounds like another great well known mystery; Gone Girl. Exactly like it... It's a great page turner in itself and if you like Gone Girl then you will love it; if you can get past the HUGE similarities.

Favorite Quotes:

She always wears the diamond and sapphire ring that Sean gave her when they got engaged. And because she moves her hands a lot when she talks, I think of the ring as a sparkling creature with a life of its own, like Tinker Bell flying out in front of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys.

I remember wondering: What counts as an “emergency” in the fashion business? The buttonholes are too small? Someone sewed a zipper in backward?

The company sent up a busload of fashion interns, and for an entire day, our town was swarming with underweight androgynous young people, all with asymmetrical haircuts and skinny suits, carrying armloads of flyers, staple guns for the telephone poles, and double-sided tape for shop windows.

This was the worst thing I’d ever done. By far. And the weird thing was: it felt so liberating. As if I were being absolved for all the bad things I’d done by doing something so much worse.

My Review:

A Simple Favor provided an intriguing, warped, and heinous cast of characters who were part repulsive, yet continually fascinating in their pathology. Each main character had a trunk full of secrets. While I was curious, absorbed, and entertained by the suspense and twisted nature of storyline, the callousness of the out of the ordinary and atrocious characters gave me pause - I cannot say that I was drawn to them or ever liked them, yet I could not stop reading and couldn’t decide whose narrative I enjoyed more. I did feel pity for poor Sean as he may have started out with a clear heart but had been so taken by his diabolical wife that he allowed himself to be emotionally blackmailed, to his ruination. The premise was interesting but patience was required as the plot developed and unwound at a maddeningly slow pace, yet I could not put my kindle down. All in all, A Simple Favor was an outstanding effort for a debut author.

This review is from the kindle edition.This story was ok. It's about two friends, Emily and Stephanie. Their children play together and one day Emily asks Stephanie to pick up her young son after school. this is nothing out of the ordinary until Emily does not come and collect him. Stephanie reaches out on her blog to try and find Emily. However Emily is declared dead when her body is found. Then Stephanie starts an affair with Sean, Emily's husband. So how will this all end? Read on!

I got this after seeing the movie trailer, which was intriguing. I hope the movie is better than the book. It started out interesting but quickly fell flat, and the incest thing was really not needed. Most of the twists could be seen a mile away, partially because I've already read Gone Girl and this is almost an exact replica. If you must read it, check it out at the library instead of spending your money.

Everything was glaringly predictable, but it did have some good entertainment value in the "Oh snap! Did she just say that?!" category. Stephanie got on my nerves endlessly. She was so doltish, I kept waiting for her to prove there was more there than meets the eye, but nope. She was a major let down. I think it's a solid effort, but not a fave.

The book was definitely a page turner, which I appreciated. It kept my engaged and curious as to what would happen next. However, I found the ending to be weak. I didn’t feel like all of the ends of the story were tied up in a satisfactory way. As much as I enjoyed the rest of the book, the ending left me feeling that it was, overall, a B+ experience. It’s worth reading, but not truly amazing.

Two "best friends", both unlikeable for different reasons; one disappears and the other is left picking up the pieces. One of them writes a blog (it's pretty hilariously boring), which gives the novel some unique plot twists. I can see the comparisons to Gone Girl, but this one had its own flavor.

It's not serious literature; I read it really quickly. It was entertaining, with a few surprises along the way.

I'd rate it 3 1/2 stars.

If u liked gone girl then u will like this book. I liked that I never expected what happened next. I may have seen a little of myself in the pushover character. You’ll know who I mean.. but the ending ... totally worth the read! I actually listened to the audiobook and the narrator was fabulous. Give it a go!

I'm not sure why everyone is raving about it being "terrible". I can definitely understanding a difference in opinions and varying preferences, but I would by no means describe this book as terrible. I enjoyed this read! If you're going into this book with the mindset of comparing it to Gone Girl, you're going to be disappointed. It's not a Gone Girl, but it's brilliant in its own way. There is a slow start, I would say try to get to the 100 page mark and from that point on, you won't put the book down. It really calls into question, what we would do for the ones we claim to love. You never really know someone, even if they're you're best friend. There's humanity even in our deepest darkest secrets. If you've been contemplating it, give this book a try!

Seriously what blogger would write this kind of thing? No. The very first page. Your best friend goes missing and you spend pages describing her and then write about cookies in the oven? For real? I get that you have to build a plot but like that doesn’t even make sense from any perspective. The writing is just BAD, and distractingly unrealistic.

I always have a few (3 or 4 at least) books I'm currently reading. This book took all my attention away. Every time I picked it up, the story could've gone in any direction. I gave it 4 stars because of the ending. I'll keep it at that so I give nothing away, but look forward to seeing how the movie lives up to this novel.

I wanted to love it so bad, but I was let down. I started reading the book before I saw the movie. It was not the same whatsoever- especially the ending. I would give it 3.5 if half stars were allowed, but overall it was just ok and way too many inconsistencies ??‍♀️. Blake Lively was fabulous in the film though.

One thing, which is a dead giveaway the author has not done much fact-checking (or probably has never been to Connecticut), is that there is no way the characters would live in Danbury and commute to Manhattan for work. Especially if they make a lot of money and the husband works on Wall Street. However, I read the book in one go, so for that I give it 4 stars.

Didn't enjoy the writing at all but read to the end to find out what happened... only to be let down. Became predictable as well as over the top. None od the characters are likable, which would be fine if we were given depth to them but they all seemed one dimensional and like bad people for no reason outside of bad childhoods.

I was pretty intrigued during the first half of the book but SO disappointed at the ending. How I wished Stephanie was going to outsmart them all and be cunning and one step ahead of Emily. I am looking forward to the movie even less now.....sorry to say.

If I would have read this book instead of listening to it I wouldn't have finished it. The story itself is fine but the execution was a miss for me. The ending felt unfinished like there could have been more. I feel like the author ran out of ideas and just had to end it. This will be one of the books where the movie is better. I would recommend to someone who wants a fast read but for story depth I wouldn't recommend.

Let me start off by saying that I have read thousands of books good and bad and have never felt compelled to write a review. Until now. You spend the entire book waiting for someone to root for. But there isn't. Every single one of the main characters in this book are so morally repugnant with absolutely no redeeming qualities what so ever. Not only that, but the author didn't feel it was necessary to provide any closure. There is no ending. Not one person learns a lesson or suffers any real consequences for their actions. How anyone read this book and decided to make a movie out of it is beyond me. What I do know is that I will not be watching it nor will the name Darcey Bell grace my bookshelf again.

One of the worst books I've read in a long time. We chose it for our book club and it was a huge disappointment. More than one of us wanted to quit it, and I could have abandoned ship at any point without caring a bit. I stayed with it only to see if any of my friends found anything positive. Nope! There was not a single character with any redeeming qualities. I could see it being made into a horrible movie though.

Everything in this book reminded me of something else, but a worse version. Emily is basically Amy from Gone Girl, but with less clear motivation or well defined character. Sean is some amalgamation of the men from from Girl on the Train and, like Girl on the Train, this book doesn’t know how to end itself. It has no discernible climax. Stephanie is unlikeable and one dimensional. The twists feel added on rather than integral to the story and end up going nowhere. Several of the peripheral characters are so poorly fleshed out that you wonder why they were there at all. I can only hope to movie diverges significantly so it might be nominally more entertaining.

It isn't easy to disagree with so many great reviews - and all the hype - gripping, thrilling, surprising - and the fact that this novel seems to have been optioned for a possible film - and the foreign rights have sold like hot cakes. I found it to be tedious reading. To be fair, the novel does have a fresh premise - it's about a disappearance but there's definitely a different twist involved - and not one you've run into over and over.

The story is told by three characters - Stephanie, the put-upon friend/blogger, Emily, the mother who disappeared, and Sean, Emily's husband. The first really disappointing feature in the novel is that all three characters sound exactly alike. Since there is very little dialogue, there is little opportunity to give them differences in their ways of communication. All three sound the same. All three run on, saying whatever pops into their heads - digressing - and making each of their chapters sound more like a journal or diary account.

Second, particularly annoying are Stephanie's blogs. It's beyond belief that a friend, before police are called, and an investigation is in place, would blog out all the details and invite phone calls of sightings, while at the same time interspersing personal thoughts, and feelings with random ramblings - those blogs are a mess!

Third, is the lack of likability of the characters - who seem cold, distracted and sometimes, unfeeling. How are we supposed to have the warm, fuzzies for them, if there is nothing there to like. As a reader, it's always satisfying to find at least one character you can fall into line with!

Perhaps all my negative comments are just due to my lack of appreciation for a fresh, new writing style. One reviewer has commented that the novel is "brilliantly structured" - and I find no fault with the structure. It is the page after page of sameness in the outpourings of the three characters that was so readily apparent - and made for an uncomfortable reading experience.

I wish the author all the best with what sounds like an epic beginning of a writing career. I'll be following it with interest, and hoping that I am in the minority of readers who could only give the novel two stars for its fresh premise.

You are going to be hearing a lot about A SIMPLE FAVOR. Debut author Darcey Bell manages to cram a lot of living, if you will, into a standard-length novel with some extremely contemporary, “right-now” elements and enough sordid episodes and surprises to fill a couple of books. Bell also infuses her story with a cinematic narrative, so it’s no surprise that the book was optioned for film development even before it was published.

A SIMPLE FAVOR is told in three parts from three different, occasionally alternating viewpoints. Chief among them is that of Stephanie, a widowed suburban mom who writes a mommy blog, of which many of the entries form a part of the book’s narrative. The blog posts provide a nice counterpoint to Stephanie’s own narration, which goes a bit deeper, and with more accuracy, into what is really occurring in her life. The plot is simple enough, at first. Stephanie’s son, Miles, is best friends with his kindergarten classmate, Nicky. When Stephanie meets Nicky’s mom, Emily, the two women become best friends. Emily seemingly has it all: a beautiful home, a glamorous job in New York, and Sean, her highly successful British husband.

Naturally, everything isn’t quite as it appears, and as Stephanie and Emily gradually bond, they tell each other some very closely held secrets. It develops that Emily’s life isn’t entirely perfect and that Stephanie has an extremely interesting past. The two moms also take turns hosting sleepovers for their children and even have keys to each other’s homes. Bell sets things up nicely. You know these women, or ones similar to them. You may even be one of them, up to a point.

Things change drastically when one day Emily asks Stephanie to pick Nicky up from school because she has to work late in the city and Sean is out of the country on business. She promises Stephanie that she will pick him up that evening. Stephanie is happy to do what she describes as a simple favor for a friend. Emily, however, never shows up to retrieve Nicky. Worse, she is not answering any phone calls or texts. She also has told different people conflicting stories about what she would be doing or how long she would be gone. Stephanie manages to convince herself that she possibly misunderstood her friend.

When Emily fails to appear after a couple of days and still does not answer any messages, Stephanie is afraid that the worst has happened. She asks her blog followers for assistance, but it is not until Sean comes home that the search for Emily truly begins. Absent any evidence of foul play, the police are inclined to believe that Emily simply decided to take a sabbatical from her life. That theory is shattered, though, when what is identified as Emily’s body is discovered in a lake close to a cabin owned by her family. Stephanie and Sean are devastated by their respective losses and gravitate towards each other. Then everything changes with a simple phone call, and the story turns upside down. You will come to doubt everything you know before the book reaches its conclusion.

While it is tough to predict such things, it is a good bet that you will be seeing Bell’s novel stuffed in a lot of beach bags this summer. It is engrossing, fascinating in parts, and very real-world in spots, enough so that someone reading it may hesitate to let a new person into their world, or bare their soul to him or her should they do it. A SIMPLE FAVOR is an entertainment, for sure, but is also a cautionary tale that urges the reader to keep oneself to oneself.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Not worth the time it takes to read. I was considering downloading it on my kindle until I read the reviews. Then I was at the library and they had it. Only good thing I can say is that it was a quick read. I agree with the other reviewers who said it was a combination of everything bad/taboo that could happen. It was too much. And if that wasn’t bad enough, it was extremely predictable!

This book was such a let down for me. Far fetched and cobbled together storylines with a lackluster and unbelievable ending. Do not waste your time on this one. Not sure how the movie will be but the book was a total waste of time and money.

This book was, as I was reading, something I decided that I could have written. And that's not saying much. It had enough interesting moments, but it fell short of my expectations. The only plus side is that the ending left me feeling that there could be a continuation. That's a plus because there is definitely something to be desired as far as the ending, or lack there of. (Writing this under my husband's the store account)

"A Simple Favor" followed Stephanie, a mommy blogger, after her best friend Emily, who works for a high end designer, disappears--leaving behind her son Nicky (who Stephanie had picked up from school along with her own son), and husband Sean--who at the time of the disappearance was abroad, doing business in London. The book starts off with blog entries done by Stephanie, and then quickly turns into a narrative (occasionally returning back to the blogging) ) whereby Emily's husband Sean returns to the U.S., picks up their son from Stephanie, and starts an affair with Stephanie, who is a widow. Meanwhile, it's revealed that before disappearing Emily had taken out a two million dollar life insurance police in Sean's name--giving Sean the biggest motive, but then how is this possible if it's verified that Sean was abroad at the time of Emily's disappearance?

I found the story easy to follow. There weren't too many characters, and the author keeps it simple. I thought the resolution was kind of stereotypical, and got a sort of been there, done that vibe. The characters, though hard to like, were perhaps more real life-like because of those same unsavory qualities. Overall, an interesting story.

Don’t waste your money on this. All the main characters were unlikable and showed no growth whatsoever. I kept waiting for one of the characters to change or do something different, but in the end I was disappointed. I was intrigued by the movie trailers so I picked up the book. I hope the movie is better, but I no longer have any desire to see it.

New author alert! I decided I wanted to read this book after I saw the previews for the movie that will soon be released in September. This book held my attention the whole way through & was full of suspense, thrill, and unpredictability! I loved this story! Will definitely pick up another one by this author again!

This was the worst book I have ever read. Ever ever ever. I felt like it was a book with an adult plot but written in a way for children to comprehend. Not to mention the storyline being completely all over the place, unrealistic and predictable. There were numerous times when a paragraph would make contradicting statements to the previous paragraph which was infuriating! The writer had many opportunities to run with a storyline and it would fall flat. The only positive about the book was that the fact that it kept getting worse and worse made it semi entertaining.

I stop reading this book because I neither believe the story nor empathize with any of the characters. Long story short: this is Gone Girl with a blogger, but in Gone Girl the characters matter. Just for die-hard fan of that kind of stories.

There was absolutely nothing to enjoy about this book! Ridiculous story ... awful characters, and I can't believe anyone would make a movie about this book which will only encourage this writer to write another stupid story!

This was a beach read for me. It was short and sounded a bit like Gone Girl, which I loved. The characters came across as soulless and stupid. Too much whining and neediness from Stephanie, Emily is self-absorbed and has somehow convinced herself that she is smart. Sean is predictable, spineless and dull. I was so glad to finally be finished with it. It was painful to read.

This book was absolutely terrible. It was extremely poorly written and every single twist in the story was spelled out for you - no thinking involved - like reading with training wheels. The ending was so anticlimactic. I only finished it because I was reading it for a book club. No idea how/why this got made into a movie.

Overall I liked it. Have liked similar books more. Didn’t haunt me when I was finished...that both good and bad I guess. Wasn’t as shocking as I expected, but maybe that’s because I had heard about unbelievable twists. This is a male horror story. To quote one of the female characters, “Bitches are crazy.”

It's very rare that I don't finish a book that I start, but I couldn't get past the horrible characters and poor plot. This book gives bloggers a bad name. None of the characters were relatable. A big thumbs down.

This was awful. I am an avid reader and I like all genres, but this was one of the worst books I have ever read. The characters are completely unlikeable and the story is disjointed and nonsensical. It feels like a jr. high student's attempt at Gone Girl. Don't waste your time, there are lots of great books out there and this isn't one of them.

I love books that grab you with their mystery, and this one did just that! I wanted to keep listening to find out what would happen next! There were a few parts that I could see being predictable, but an interesting twist at the end! Overall, a good book and I can't wait to see the movie variation.

I did enjoy this book, and on several occasions found it hard to put down. With a few exceptions, it was somewhat predictable, although a few twists did keep it interesting. I look forward to seeing the movie, for sure!

This book was very clearly influenced by Gone Girl. The writing and plot weren’t as good, but the story was intriguing enough that I wanted to finish it. Interested to see how the movie turns out...

After seeing the trailer for the movie I knew I wanted to read the book first. There were some good twists that I didn’t expect and parts where I thought, wow, this girl is twisted. I didn’t enjoy the fish as much, her blog was as annoying as she was.

Just bad. I was required to give a star to write a review. So many unnecessary plot turns. All the characters are so underdeveloped and lack any semblance of personal awareness. I’m still not really sure what the point of any of it was.

How on earth did this get a movie deal?! I don’t understand. It was very silly especially the second act. I didn’t like any of the characters, I didn’t care for all the holes in the plot. People said this was like Gone Girl but it certainly is not

I was hesitant to read this book due to all the bad reviews but I caved in and bought it. Immediately regretted it 3 chapters in. Horrible plot. Horrible characters. Horrible and maddening ending. Don't waste your time.

I picked up a copy because of the movie adaption coming up. Disappointing, repetitive, and predictable. The plot twists can be guessed from the first few chapters. Every secret is unclever and unoriginal. As Sherlock said “it’s never a twin.”

Just bad. I was required to give a star to write a review. So many unnecessary plot turns. All the characters are so underdeveloped and lack any semblance of personal awareness. I’m still not really sure what the point of any of it was.

After seeing the trailer for the movie I knew I wanted to read the book first. There were some good twists that I didn’t expect and parts where I thought, wow, this girl is twisted. I didn’t enjoy the fish as much, her blog was as annoying as she was.

I wanted to like this book so bad. The concept of plot seemed great but the writing style is awful. I hated how the story was written. I had huge expectations for this book. Suspense, mystery, lies, deceit, etc. but I read a juvenile, poorly written story. Definitely a debut author. Sad and disappointed

I was unable to put this book down. There was so much detail and the story was so well-written up until the end. So much time was spent building up the story and then the ending just happened way too quickly with not all the loose ends tied up. Almost as if the author got sloppy and realized how long the book was and was like "well I better wrap this up". I would have liked to hear how everything panned out a little more. Maybe this was to create the possibility of a sequel. Otherwise it was a great book. The ending was just a little disappointing!! I recommend this book!!

Ridiculous in every way. Plot, characters, ending. I wanted to scream with every new twist that was presented because they were really exceedingly bad. I don't know how this was made into a movie, but I will pass on that as well, unless they re-wrote an entire new story. It's just a poorly written book.

I'm not usually a twisty thriller kind of girl, I'd rather have a good sci-fi YA romance any day- but after seeing the trailer for the movie, I knew I needed to give this book the benefit of the doubt. I was right! What a rollercoaster ride! The book is better than the movie. Hands down. If you've already seen the movie- read the book, you won't be disappointed. Darcey Bell does a great job developing characters who are on one hand completely believable- they might live next door to you already- and yet just illogical enough to have you thinking WTF. Read this twisty thriller. It's worth it.