My Ex-Best Friend : A Novel of Suburbia

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating work of psychological suspense.
Review: After twenty-three years of friendship, Lydia Finelli has dropped out of the life of Claire Newman just when she gave birth to the twins. A hurt Claire goes on with her life, balancing her family's need against her full time job as a star journalist at Nationweek. When Claire runs into Lydia at the local bakery, she asks Claire if she can call her, Claire who'd desperately needs to know why Lydia cut her off so completely agrees.

Lydia sets up an appointment for Claire to meet her at her home. When Claire arrives, she finds Lydia dead in her bed, the victim of an apparent suicide. Claire reestablishes her relationship with Lydia's husband Matthew and his son Collin but can't help wondering why Lydia killed herself. As she starts investigating she finds small, but almost insignificant clues that prove that Lydia may have been murdered and she goes all out to confirm her theory even when she knows she is putting her own life in danger.

Beth Brophy's underlying theme throughout the whole book is that evil often wears the face of goodness so people can't tell the monster living amongst them. Readers' hearts will go out to the heroine, a woman hurt by her friend's coldness, but who still cares enough about her to bring her killer to justice and make sure that her son is psychologically healing. Claire treats Lydia's death as she would a news-breaking story, investigating all reasonable theories and following up on the smallest clues. MY EX-BEST FRIEND is a fascinating work of psychological suspense.

Harriet

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating work of psychological suspense.
Review: After twenty-three years of friendship, Lydia Finelli has dropped out of the life of Claire Newman just when she gave birth to the twins. A hurt Claire goes on with her life, balancing her family's need against her full time job as a star journalist at Nationweek. When Claire runs into Lydia at the local bakery, she asks Claire if she can call her, Claire who'd desperately needs to know why Lydia cut her off so completely agrees.

Lydia sets up an appointment for Claire to meet her at her home. When Claire arrives, she finds Lydia dead in her bed, the victim of an apparent suicide. Claire reestablishes her relationship with Lydia's husband Matthew and his son Collin but can't help wondering why Lydia killed herself. As she starts investigating she finds small, but almost insignificant clues that prove that Lydia may have been murdered and she goes all out to confirm her theory even when she knows she is putting her own life in danger.

Beth Brophy's underlying theme throughout the whole book is that evil often wears the face of goodness so people can't tell the monster living amongst them. Readers' hearts will go out to the heroine, a woman hurt by her friend's coldness, but who still cares enough about her to bring her killer to justice and make sure that her son is psychologically healing. Claire treats Lydia's death as she would a news-breaking story, investigating all reasonable theories and following up on the smallest clues. MY EX-BEST FRIEND is a fascinating work of psychological suspense.

Harriet

Rating:
Summary: Very well-done
Review: Beth Brophy's new mystery has everything: sympathetic characters, believable plot, and good writing. It's...well, cozy!

Claire Newman's best friend, Lydia, dies just as Lydia has moved to re-establish contact after five years of extrangement. At first the death appears to be a suicide but of course we soon begin to share Claire's suspicions. Claire's investigation takes her to a psychiatrist, a soccer coach and, of course, Lydia's husband, a neurologist.

The action unfolds smoothly and it is easy to care about the characters. Most people will guess whodunit, but that's not a big deal. Even Claire's investigation fits her character: journalists learn how to dig behind the obvious.

I hope we hear more from Beth Brophy. It's a welcome surprise to find a new writer who's got "it."

Rating:
Summary: A dreadful waste of time
Review: By page 51, I figured out the entire plot without any effort. Dreadful. Don't waste your time!

Rating:
Summary: Did I miss something!?
Review: From the first page, I felt the book was badly written and even more badly edited. So I read some more. My opinion didn't change and the story got so dumb that finally I did something I hardly ever do - I stopped reading it.

I really wanted to enjoy it but with this one, don't waste your time. The main character is annoying, the writing sloppy and the ending beyond believable.

Rating:
Summary: Did I miss something!?
Review: From the first page, I felt the book was badly written and even more badly edited. So I read some more. My opinion didn't change and the story got so dumb that finally I did something I hardly ever do - I stopped reading it.

I really wanted to enjoy it but with this one, don't waste your time. The main character is annoying, the writing sloppy and the ending beyond believable.

Rating:
Summary: My Ex-Best Flop
Review: I was excited to read this book because it was featured in the Washington Post, a newspaper which normally is fair and honest with its book reviews. What I found though was this is book is similar to all the other Bridget Jones Diary-wannabes who try to make a modern suburban angst book.

The plot was determinable within the first 30 pages. I read the book from cover to cover because I wanted to see whether I actually had guessed the who-done-it and I in fact had. It was filled with cliches from start to finish and seemed to be a conglomeration of every genre the author has read and seen since birth. The conversation, retorts, thoughts were all predictable and really boring.

The aspect of the book that bothers me the most is the name-dropping of location and materialistic what-have-you. I too live in the same area in which the author lives and I too understand the "Bethesda-Potomac-Metropolitan DC" mind set. However, it seems to me that the author is more at a crux as to whether she is for or against the very lifestyle she embodies. She obviously tries to show disdain for it but at the same time she pathetically shows how much it means to her to identify with that certain mentality. ...

At any rate, this is one of the most sophomoric books I have read to date. Given the fact that I am relatively young but well read, it bothers me that this book was so poorly written, was so poorly developed and yet still got the reviews that it needed to be entered into a credible newspaper. I think that we have beaten the horse dead enough, people. We don't need any more present day reality books written. I think they have become a dime a dozen and the modern reader can read more than the drivel this book has to offer.

Do what I should have done. Save your money; buy this book on clearance or wait to borrow it from a friend or the library.

Rating:
Summary: My Ex-Best Flop
Review: I was excited to read this book because it was featured in the Washington Post, a newspaper which normally is fair and honest with its book reviews. What I found though was this is book is similar to all the other Bridget Jones Diary-wannabes who try to make a modern suburban angst book.

The plot was determinable within the first 30 pages. I read the book from cover to cover because I wanted to see whether I actually had guessed the who-done-it and I in fact had. It was filled with cliches from start to finish and seemed to be a conglomeration of every genre the author has read and seen since birth. The conversation, retorts, thoughts were all predictable and really boring.

The aspect of the book that bothers me the most is the name-dropping of location and materialistic what-have-you. I too live in the same area in which the author lives and I too understand the "Bethesda-Potomac-Metropolitan DC" mind set. However, it seems to me that the author is more at a crux as to whether she is for or against the very lifestyle she embodies. She obviously tries to show disdain for it but at the same time she pathetically shows how much it means to her to identify with that certain mentality. ...

At any rate, this is one of the most sophomoric books I have read to date. Given the fact that I am relatively young but well read, it bothers me that this book was so poorly written, was so poorly developed and yet still got the reviews that it needed to be entered into a credible newspaper. I think that we have beaten the horse dead enough, people. We don't need any more present day reality books written. I think they have become a dime a dozen and the modern reader can read more than the drivel this book has to offer.

Do what I should have done. Save your money; buy this book on clearance or wait to borrow it from a friend or the library. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book!
Review: This is a story that has a plot like so many others out right now, the suburban mom, one who works outside the home, or maybe is a stay at home mom, but who gets involved in trying to solve a murder.However, this book is a notch above the others. I'm not sure if it is the fact that there is more than one mystery going on, was it suicide or murder, why did the friendship falter, and who was that person in the friendship? Do we really know our loved ones, the people we trust and depend on day after day?
Ms. Brophy is a wonderful writer, and although I must say I was not surprised at the outcome, there were a few questions. It didn't matter that I had it figured out( mostly!), because the ride along the way to get there was well worth it.I look forward to her next book.