Book Blurb:
THE PERFECT LIFE
Juliana Daniels finally has the life she’s always dreamed of. A loving husband, a career as an attorney, and a cozy apartment in Manhattan to call home.
But when she gets a message from an old college friend, her blood runs cold. Remember me?
ONE DEADLY LIE
Juliana drops her phone as though she’s been scalded. The name Jenny Teller shines out from the screen… but Jenny can’t have sent that message.
Because Jenny is dead.
Juliana’s other college friends have all received the same message. The four of them are the only ones who know the truth about the night Jenny died. It’s a secret they have kept buried for thirteen years.
WHO DO YOU TRUST?
With ‘Jenny’ now blackmailing them and threatening to expose their secret, only one thing is certain. Someone else knows the truth about that night… or one of them is lying.
My Review:
Juliana Daniels (Jules) has managed to secure for herself a scholarship to a pretty exclusive university where she feels the deep divide between her middle class upbringing and that of her new monied classmates. It might have been a serious struggle had not Tori (her new roommate), Nessa, and Emily included her into their little clique.
Emily is the obvious alpha, taking Jules on quietly as a “project” and grooms her to be as narcissistic as herself. With her new status, she feels important, looked up to, and just as quietly abandons old friends, counting the minutes when the holidays with her parents are over and she can return to campus life where she’s learned to party hardy.
“It wasn’t enough to just be desired; if I was going to keep up, I had to learn to desire nothing in return.”
The narrative settles into chapters alternating between “Now” and “Then.” The Now describes her inclusion as a successful attorney, a Manhattan apartment, and a loving, attentive, supportive husband, Jason.
Then swings us back to her university years where she experiences something that will haunt her during the intervening ten years until she gets the same taunting message as her so-called snobbish, titled friends, “Remember me?” But it can’t be her—they all know that—because she’s dead.
UGH! I liked Jason. But Jules, Tori, and Nessa not so much. Emily was meant to be disliked and she was truly nasty, raising the blood pressure every time she had the focus. Their shared horrific event brought them together again, trying to discern who could possibly have sent the first and then additional messages, as well as intrusions into Jules home. And none of it shared with Jules’ husband. Oh, these deep, dark secrets!
As they are all summoned together for a tenth year reunion, matters come to a head, the pace escalates into the conclusion. There were twists and turns, some expected, some not, though I had not anticipated the final reveal.
I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.
Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Women’s Detective Fiction, Noir Crime, Domestic Thrillers
Publisher: HQ Digital
ASIN: B09HMNK836
Print Length: 378 pages
Publication Date: November 26, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s):
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
The Author: Stephanie is the USA Today best-selling author of The Guilty Husband and Deadly Little Lies. She is a graduate of Binghamton University and St. John’s University School of Law, and she currently lives in New York with her husband, their two daughters, and their very spoiled cat.
©2021 V Williams 
Rosepoint Publishing 