Laura Marshall (1)

1st of all it took me forever to read this book. I saw a lot of 4 to 5 star reviews so I thought, why not? Louise is the main character & the book skips back & forth between high school in 1989 & present day 2016. She's still caught up over 20 years later on how she wasn't popular in high school & how she & her "friend" Sophie she clung to be with popular & the new girl Maria who she befriends but ultimately betrays through peer pressure. Present day Maria (who's dead) sends a friend request on facebook to Louise who had something to do with her death & the book is downhill from there. Louise is so weak & needy & desperate in high school & still in present day & can't let go of the guilt of whatever happened to Maria. Louise is divorced with a young child who she would rather spend time with that pursuing healthy adult friendships. I thought the book was too long, convoluted, & whiny. It wasn't worth the time & effort to read but I always finish a book.… (mehr)

Louise receives a friend request on Facebook from Maria Weston, but Maria Weston has been dead for over twenty five years – or has she?

Friend Request switches between 1989, when Louise was a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl, and 2016 with Louise newly divorced and a mother to a four year old child. The story is told mainly from Louise's first-person point-of-view with italicised chapters from an unknown narrator interspersed throughout. While alternating between the past and present is a common device for thrillers nowadays, Laura Marshall manages it well, building tension at a nice pace and adding layers and themes from the impact of social media upon modern life, to bullying and desperately wanting to “fit in” with the right crowd as a teenage girl. The characters in both time periods are well developed although most of them are either untrustworthy or unlikable !!!!

A rather first-rate debut psychological thriller from Laura Marshall.
… (mehr)

Tu vida en las redes sociales ya no será la misma.
Cuando Louise Williams recibe un mensaje procedente de alguien de su pasado muy lejano, su corazón da un vuelco. "Tienes una solicitud de amistad pendiente de Maria Weston" El problema es que Maria Weston despareció hace más de veinticinco años, tras la fiesta de fin de curso del instituto. Todo el mundo cree que está muerta y, especialmente, Louise, que ha vivido todo este tiempo custodiando un terrible secreto. Sin embargo, los mensajes de Maria continúan y cada vez son más escalofriantes. ¿Quién los envía? Al reconectar con los viejos compañeros y tratar de averiguar qué sucedió realmente aquella noche, Louise descubre que hay muchas cosas que desconocía. ¿Qué le ocurrió realmente a Maria?… (mehr)