Title: We Were Never Really Friends

Author: Timothy King

Releases: May 12, 2026

Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0GJ3HSSFS/

Summary

A gripping horror survival thriller of isolation and revenge, from bestseller Timothy King.

Trapped on an island. Nowhere to hide. The hunt has begun.

For Roger, Jerome, Ryan, and Chris, a trip to a private island mansion off the coast of Louisiana was supposed to be a grand reunion. It was a chance to relive their high school glory days with their wives, fueled by billionaire-status luxury and endless drinks.

But as the sun sets over the bayou, the group realizes that the foundations of their friendship are rotting from years of hidden resentment, infidelity, and cold-blooded secrets.

The vacation turns into a gruesome nightmare when a masked killer emerges from the dense forest. Armed with a bow and a set of elite surgical skills, the hunter begins picking the group off one-by-one, turning the island into a literal killing field. There is no cell service, the boat is sabotaged, and the radio is smashed.

As the body count rises, the survivors must face a terrifying reality: the most dangerous threat isn’t the man in the ghillie suit—it’s the person standing right next to them.

In a game of shadows where old loyalties are incinerated, only one thing is certain—the blade has been drawn, and it must taste blood before the night is over.

From Timothy King, the bestselling author of Port Luck and Seven Rabbits, experience a gripping thriller of isolation and revenge, where the ghosts of the past come to claim the living.

My Review

4/5

A group of friends head to their wealthy friend’s private island expecting nothing but sun, cocktails, and carefree fun. Instead, old grudges simmer and the dream getaway turns into a nightmare. One by one, the friends start dying. Trapped on the island with a killer in their midst, the survivors are left asking two terrifying questions: who’s behind it and will any of them make it out alive?

This is a tense, blood-soaked slasher that completely hooked me. I had such a hard time putting it down because every chapter raised the stakes. The paranoia, the shifting suspicions, the sense that no one could be trusted. I had to know what would happen next and who, if anyone, would survive.

The last chapter, though, knocked it down from a five-star read to a four because I struggled to wrap my head around that ending.  

Still, this is a solid slasher book, and if you loved Seven Rabbits, you’ll gobble this one up!

**I received an advanced copy for my honest review**