Friends and Liars

A Novel

By: Kit Frick

Narrated by: Ali Andre Ali, LaRaisha Dionne, Daniel Henning, Allyson Ryan, Jade Wheeler

From “edge-of-your-seat suspense” (Booklist) author Kit Frick comes an insidious thriller about four estranged friends trapped in a powerful family’s deadly games at a luxe estate in the Italian countryside.

It’s been five years since heiress Clare Monroe tragically died on New Year’s Eve at her family’s opulent Italian palazzo. Since that time, her college friends have harbored a dark secret—their lies and betrayals led to Clare’s untimely death.

What happened that fateful night was a horrible accident, but Luca, Harper, Sirina, and David are guilty, nonetheless. And their desperate decision to conceal the truth destroyed their once-close bond.

Now, the estranged friends are each the recipient of an invitation from the Monroes to return to the lakeside palazzo for a long-overdue memorial for Clare. Accepting the Monroes’ invitation means playing with fire, but they can hardly refuse.

Luca, Harper, Sirina, and David have barely settled into their idyllic accommodations on Lake Como before someone at the memorial party begins targeting them. Haunted by little “gifts” left in their rooms, taunting notes, and the unshakable sense of being watched, it soon becomes clear that someone on the guest list knows the whole truth about the night Clare died—and the secrets her friends have been keeping. Nothing is as it seems at the palazzo on the lake, and under their tormentor’s vengeful gaze, their secrets—and their lives—are in danger.

Critic reviews

"An outstanding full cast narrates this thriller about secrets, lingering guilt, and terrible friends. Five years after the death of the obscenely wealthy Claire Monroe, each of her friends is called back to the estate on Lake Como where she died. Expecting a memorial, the friends soon discover that crimes they thought were long forgotten haunt the estate as much as the memory of Claire. Each narrator delivers a segment of the story from the perspective of one of Claire’s friends or her diary, and shocking secrets come to light. As the ensemble of narrators crafts their characters, listeners will enjoy all the twists and turns of this thriller."

Unoriginal

Rating a Kit Frick novel so low pains me. Her young adult books have so much heart and soul. I care about the major and minor characters. In FRIENDS AND LIARS, I couldn’t make myself care.

I’ve read a number of stories about college friends reuniting years later, torn apart by a death/murder. FRIENDS AND LIARS doesn’t stand out as exceptional or memorable.

The voice of Luca, the token gay best friend, stood out as particularly tropish, right out of central casting from the 1970s when people thought all gay men spoke with exaggerated femininity. I could barely listen to his parts. I don’t believe Kit Frick would sanction such stereotyping so I have to believe someone of a higher pay grade overrode her.