My Ex-Best Friend: A Novel of Suburbia

by Beth Brophy

Journalist, wife, and mother of three, Claire Newman juggles work, soccer games, birthday parties, and errands. A successful writer at Nationweek , America's second largest newsweekly, she makes her living by being, as she says, "a relentless snoop," but she never was able to figure out why her best friend of twenty-three years, Lydia Finelli, dropped out of her life with no explanation. Claire hasn't seen Lydia in five years, and her unresolved hurt and anger still linger, brought to the surface by a chance encounter at the local bakery. When Lydia calls Claire and asks for her help, urging her to come discuss the situation in person, Claire figures it is one of "life's rare opportunities to tie up a loose end."

But when Claire arrives at Lydia's house, she finds her ex-best friend dead. While all the obvious signs point to suicide, Claire can't shake the feeling there's something very wrong. The irrepressible, feisty Claire starts investigating, and soon the list of suspects includes Lydia's neurologist husband, her psychiatrist neighbor, and even her son's handsome soccer coach. As Claire uncovers the secrets of her friend's past, and their relationship, the puzzle becomes even more complicated, and she finds that she really didn't know Lydia very well at all.

But knowledge comes with a price, and as Claire unravels the mystery of Lydia's death, she puts herself -- and the people she loves -- in harm's way.

Smart and funny, with razor-sharp storytelling, My Ex-Best Friend is the debut of a fresh new voice in contemporary fiction.

Genres: Mystery

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 2003

Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Claire is a busy mom and wife who juggles this with her journalism career. She is hoping to rekindle a friendship with long time friend Lydia, but when she goes to Lydia’s house, she finds her dead in her bedroom! Lydia’s death is ruled a suicide, but Claire doesn’t believe it and decides to do some investigating for herself......
Did somebody kill Lydia or was she so depressed that she did in fact commit suicide? You will have to read the book to find out! Several unexpected twists kept me interested throughout the story, and I like that the ending isn’t all neatly wrapped up in a fairytale type ending......
Solid three stars, and a fairly easy read!

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engaging thriller.

[Calen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, it definitely wasn't my favorite read, but I did rather enjoy it. I predicted the ending, but that's only because I'm really good with plot twists. It was a good conclusion in all honesty - definitely how I wanted it to end. The process by which the main character arrived there, however, was a bit annoying. I'm not going to say much because I don't want to spoil the book, but there were places through the story where I seriously caught myself shaking my head at her because she was acting so ridiculous. But when it comes down to it, I think we all probably know people who overdo it sometimes especially when they're stressed.

It isn't a novel that I would read again, but it was definitely worth a once-through.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was kind of turned off from the beginning of this one because it starts out almost EXACTLY like a Jennifer Weiner book I read a few months back. Sad thing is, if anyone stole the plotline it was Weiner because this book has been out since like 2003. No original ideas left out there I guess...

This actually ended better than I thought it would. It was a fun read. Nothing earth shattering, but good :)

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could, I'd give this 3.5 stars. There were parts that were rather mediocre and where the protagonist was completely unbelievable. But I got sucked in to the ending and was rapidly reading to see how it all played out.

[Lana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, we're talking BAD here people. It cost $.01 on Amazon...that should have clued me in.

[Peg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Available through Oyster. Filled a very hot, humid day in the South.