With Friends Like These: A Novel by Alissa LeePublication Date: November 4, 2025
Pages: 240
Add on: Goodreads
Rating: ★★★½
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological
Publisher: Atria / Emily Bestler Books / Simon & Schuster
“Deliciously twisty….A heady mix of dark academia, spiraling stakes, and tangled loyalties.” —Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author
A group of Harvard alums have played a secret game for decades but as the stakes rise, deadly consequences emerge from old lies. An unputdownable debut thriller for readers of the suspenseful novels of Julia Bartz and Katy Hays.
Harvard promised them everything.
Ambitious futures, peers who pushed each other toward their absolute best, and an education that would open doors for the rest of their lives. And though they started out as roommates, Sara, Bee, Dina, Allie, Wesley, and Claudine soon became family. They had their whole bright lives ahead of them—until their senior year, when a shocking tragedy changed everything.
Twenty years later, five of the roommates still indulge in a secret tradition they’ve kept alive since their campus days: the Circus, a harmless elimination-style “killing” game played across the private rooms and hidden alleys of New York City. The game is a nod to their younger selves and a tribute to the sixth roommate they lost too young. But this year, Sara wants out of the game—until she discovers there is a small fortune awaiting the winner of this final round.
As the Circus unfolds, Sara begins to suspect that the others aren’t playing by the rules, and as the danger turns real and the old friends start pointing fingers, she discovers that even those closest to her harbor secrets of their own…secrets that could kill.
REVIEW
Alissa Lee’s debut, With Friends Like These, grabs hold with its blend of privilege, betrayal, and the kind of friendships that can ruin your life. The story orbits a tight-knit group of Harvard roommates, Sara, Bee, Dina, Allie, Wesley, and Claudine, whose connection seems unbreakable until a tragedy in senior year detonates their world. Two decades later, their reunion is less a stroll down memory lane and more a reckoning, as ghosts from the past and the fallout from a secret game they once played begin to surface.
Narrated by the razor-sharp Sara, the novel hops between past and present, revealing how the group’s invented game led to consequences that none of them can outrun. Lee’s cast is messy and real, each friend carrying their own blend of ambition, insecurity, and simmering resentments. Loyalty and betrayal collide, shaped by their elite backgrounds and the constant pressure to live up to impossible standards.
The writing is quick, witty, and addictive, a perfect match for the book’s high-stakes drama. Dialogue snaps with the kind of honesty only longtime friends (and frenemies) can get away with. The Ivy League setting adds a layer of Dark Academia intrigue, exposing how privilege twists even the tightest bonds.
Lee’s greatest strength is her knack for capturing the complicated, sometimes toxic magic of old friendships. The suspense is tight, and the shifting timelines keep the reader guessing. If there’s a flaw, it’s that with so many characters, some feel a bit out of reach; the emotional punch occasionally lands softly compared to the book’s plot twists. Still, the mix of humour, tension, and heartbreak keeps the pages turning.
With Friends Like These is perfect for anyone who loves their thrillers tangled up with secrets, sharp dialogue, and the dark side of loyalty. Alissa Lee delivers a debut that’s as smart as it is suspenseful, a reminder that some friendships never really let you go, no matter how hard you try to escape.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
