Darcey Bell

Now a major film starring Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively as a pair of mismatched best friends, each with something to hide...What happened to Emily?When her best friend, Emily, asks Stephanie to pick up her son from school she agrees happily.Their children are classmates and best friends. And five-year-olds love being together - just like she and Emily. As a widow and stay-at-home blogger mum living in suburban Connecticut, Stephanie was lonely until she met Emily, a glamorous and successful PR executive.The trouble is that Emily doesn't come back. No matter what the police say, Stephanie knows that she would never leave her son. Terrified, she reaches out to her fellow mummy bloggers.And she also reaches out to Emily's husband - just to offer her support.What Stephanie hasn't shared are the secrets buried in a murky past.For fans of Gone Girl and Big Little Lies, A Simple Favour by Darcey Bell ratchets up the tension in a taut, unsettling, and completely absorbing thriller that holds you in its grip until the final page.

A Simple Favour

Both leading ladies do amazing with the characters. 

With movie adaptations I try to circle back around to the book and see what they kept and what they changed. 

Not much changes, minis the ending and some minor details. 

Though the change in POV every few chapters throws you for a loop it's still a great read. 👍🏻 

Shanelle M.

Loved the movie. 

Both leading ladies do amazing with the characters. 

With movie adaptations I try to circle back around to the book and see what they kept and what they changed. 

Not much changes, minis the ending and some minor details. 

Though the change in POV every few chapters throws you for a loop it's still a great read. 👍🏻 

Izza

3 stars | (low 3 stars). THE MOVIE WAS BETTER. I mean it's Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively after all. I opted for the audiobook version and boy. It was meh. The fake British accent was cringe-worthy. If you're going to hire a full cast, why not hire someone that is actually from London? I don't know. I'm super disappointed.

DARCEY. BELL

A Simple Favour is a twisting free-fall ride filled with betrayal, reversal, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty. Darcey Bell ratchets up the tension in a taut, unsettling, and completely absorbing thriller that holds you in its grip until the final page.It starts with a simple favour - an ordinary kindness mothers do for one another.When her best friend, Emily, asks Stephanie to pick up her son from school she happily says yes.Their children are classmates and best friends. And five-year-olds love being together - just like she and Emily. As a widow and stay-at-home blogger mum living in suburban Connecticut, Stephanie was lonely until she met Emily, a glamorous and successful PR executive.The trouble is that Emily doesn't come back. No matter what the police say, Stephanie knows that she would never leave her son. Terrified, she reaches out to her fellow mummy bloggers.And she also reaches out to Emily's husband - just to offer her support.What Stephanie hasn't shared are the secrets buried in a murky past.

sarah 

Skye Sherman

A suspenseful thriller! I listened on audiobook and couldn’t stop playing it all day long. Lots of twists and turns, and I love a conniving and crafty protagonist. I’m still pondering what happened. Can’t wait to see the movie!

Now a major film starring Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively as a pair of mismatched best friends, each with something to hide . . . 'Packed with betrayal, secrets and plenty of twists and turns' - Telegraph What happened to Emily? When her best friend, Emily, asks Stephanie to pick up her son from school she agrees happily. Their children are classmates and best friends. And five-year-olds love being together – just like she and Emily. As a widow and stay-at-home blogger mum living in suburban Connecticut, Stephanie was lonely until she met Emily, a glamorous and successful PR executive. The trouble is that Emily doesn't come back. No matter what the police say, Stephanie knows that she would never leave her son. Terrified, she reaches out to her fellow mummy bloggers. And she also reaches out to Emily's husband – just to offer her support. What Stephanie hasn't shared are the secrets buried in a murky past. For fans of Gone Girl and Big Little Lies, A Simple Favour by Darcey Bell ratchets up the tension in a taut, unsettling, and completely absorbing thriller that holds you in its grip until the final page.

An edge-of-your-seat thriller with a chilling twist

Fehér Tünde

It was a little bit boring sometimes but all in all it was good. I don't think I would reread this tho.

Jessica 

Blog | Twitter | Instagram | This review was originally posted here on Booked J. 

A Simple Favour was a rare read for me. Not because of its content, but because I didn't know it existed until after I watched the film which it is based upon. Admittedly, I only watched it for three reasons. (1) I love thrillers. (2) Blake Lively. (3) Anna Kendrick. BOOM. They are good reasons. For me.

Because they are novels turned into films that have a lot of complex women, unreliable characters with mysterious disappearances attached to them, A Simple Favour was instantly compared to Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train. I mean, of course it was. While they share similar qualities to one another, they are each *pretends to be shocked* different.

So, here's what I'm going to say about A Simple Favour: I think I might have liked the novel more if I had read it first instead of seeing the film. Once you see Blake Lively call someone a, and I quote, "f*cking yeast infection" on screen, it's hard to really beat that experience. I think there's a pretty good chance that I'll revisit the book in the future, once the film is less present in my mind, so it is likely my rating will change.

Darcey Bell has a really keen eye for mystery and unlikable characters. I think this needs to be praised and hasn't been--I felt a variety of things for Stephanie and Emily. Hatred. Shock. Attraction. Dismay. Disgust. Excitement. When I say that my emotions were spread across the board for these characters, I mean it. A Simple Favour is by no means a simple story and borders on trashy fun rather than thriller, but that was clearly Bell's intention.

I really liked the general premise of the novel, and found it to be perfect for fans of Sara Shepard rather than Gillian Flynn, which is probably why I enjoyed it a lot more on screen vs. on page. It has a stylish flare to it but sometimes it lacks on the in depth development. It had its moments, I'll give it that. But, for the most part, there was a lot of underwhelming feelings involved in it.

While I don't think A Simple Favour was inherently bad, it was a bit lackluster and felt like it was venturing into parody territory rather than mystery. I finished it, and felt moderately entertained, so my experience with the novel was neither good nor bad--it just was.

Annabelle

Cadrian Mayfield

Ellie Miller

Samantha Huster

Natalie

Natalie Noble

A Simple Favour is a twisting free-fall ride filled with betrayal, reversal, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty. Darcey Bell ratchets up the tension in a taut, unsettling, and completely absorbing thriller that holds you in its grip until the final page.You look after her child. What if she doesn't come back?It starts with a simple favour - an ordinary kindness mothers do for one another. When her best friend, Emily, asks Stephanie to pick up her son after school she happily says yes. Their children are classmates and best friends. And five-year-olds love being together - just like she and Emily do. As a widow and stay-at-home blogger mum living in suburban Connecticut, Stephanie was lonely until she met Emily, a glamorous and successful PR executive. The trouble is that Emily doesn't come back. No matter what the police say, Stephanie knows that she would never leave her son. Terrified, she reaches out to her fellow mummy bloggers. And she also reaches out to Emily's husband offering her support.

A Simple Favour

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