The Good Ones is Polly Stewart's new novel.
Lauren Ballard was the 'it' girl, the queen bee who ruled her kingdom. She married the rich boy, the football captain, had a beautiful baby. A perfect life...until the day she went missing. Nicola Bennett was a friend to Lauren. Or was she - in Lauren's eyes? Twenty years on, Nicola is still pondering that question.

We see everything through Nicola's point of view, and come to know her better through her memories. Or we would, if she would admit her part in things. This is where Stewart hooks the reader. Nicola alludes to events in the past, only fully unwrapping them on her timeline.

Nicola is a complicated character. I was on board with her in the first bit of the book - and felt sorry for her. But as the book progressed, I began to truly dislike her. She's self-serving and is a self described 'wrecking ball.' Lauren is no different for me. She's the quintessential mean girl. Actually she's beyond mean and has both feet firmly planted in cruel. I had a hard time with supporting player's lives being used as fodder for her entertainment. Stewart has done a good job of writing this aspect of the plot. But I questioned if someone would truly put up with her games.

The book is told in a back and forth, then and now narrative. The question of what happened to Lauren did intrigue me and kept me turning pages until the last chapters. The answers are there, but I will leave you to discover them.

In addition to the mystery, The Good Ones is an exploration of friendship and relationships that's somewhat uncomfortable to read. ( )

Nicola returns to her home in Tyndall County after nearly 20 years away. Her mom has died and she plans to just stay in town long enough to sell her mom's house. As she begins to connect with people from her past, she finds herself drawn into the mystery of her best friend's disappearance years before. Her friend Lauren, a popular but also mean girl in school was married to the star quarterback and they had a small baby when Lauren just disappeared without a trace. All of Nicola's friends have moved on with their lives but she is still stuck in the past thinking about Lauren's disappearance. She has gotten hooked on true crime podcasts and continues to search the internet for clues about Lauren. Was she alive somewhere or had she been killed? And if so, by who? There are certainly a lot of suspects - her husband, her husband's brother and some of the people that she'd been mean to during her life. As she starts to find answers in the small town and the truth begins to unravel, will she be able to quit thinking about her friend or continue to search for answers?

This book kept me guessing to the end. Just when I figured out who was responsible for the disappearance, the author would throw in something that made me completely change my mind. The ending was perfect and answered all of the questions that existed throughout the book. My only problem with the book is that I didn't really like any of the characters - Nicola was too obsessed with Lauren and her disappearance and her entire life seemed based on the Lauren. Even though I didn't like her much, I felt sorry for her and hoped that she'd get her questions answered. I didn't like Lauren at all. She was a spoiled rich girl who treated everyone as if they were beneath her. She used people for her own enjoyment and as many people that she was mean to, it was no surprise that she'd disappeared.

The entire mystery around Lauren's disappearance makes this book an interesting read. Also the realization that there are still lots of secrets about the disappearance in this small town even 20 years later. This was a debut novel for Polly Stewart and I look forward to her future books. ( )