Her Last Best Friend (Shadow Lake Ranch Murders)
Psychological Thriller
1st in Series
Setting – Shadow Lake Ranch, a working ranch in Montana
Publisher ‏ : ‎ A Novel Idea Publishing, LLC
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 23, 2025
Print length ‏ : ‎ 316 pages

Synopsis

A friendship. A betrayal. A body. Welcome to Shadow Lake Ranch…where friendships come to die.

Quiet Lindsey isn’t sure about spending twelve weeks at Shadow Lake Ranch. Her best friend, Mel, swears the luxury retreat will be the perfect escape—horseback riding, yoga, emotional bonding. A killer summer.

But from the moment they arrive, something feels off. Lindsey can’t shake the dread curling in her stomach. And when she meets Travis—the charming cowboy who seems to only have eyes for her—things get even more complicated.

Especially when it seems Mel has set her sights on him, too.

As the lines between truth and paranoia blur, Lindsey begins to question everything—her friendship, her relationship, even her own mind.

And when Mel turns up dead, Lindsey becomes the prime suspect.

Was she the jealous best friend who finally snapped? Or is someone else hiding a much darker secret?

At Shadow Lake Ranch, nothing is what it seems. And there’s only one truth: You can’t trust anyone.

Her Last Best Friend is a twisty psychological thriller perfect for fans of Colleen Hoover’s Verity, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, and Ruth Ware’s The It Girl.

    
“I was left guessing what was coming next, and kept flipping through page after page.” — Readers’ Favorite

Read now—if you don’t mind losing sleep.

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Excerpt

Kara – Present Day

I stared down at the photographs of the injuries Mel sustained in her final moments as I stood at my desk.  The angles of Mel’s body were wrong in a way that prickled my skin–arms bent oddly, skin bloated slightly from where the river had tried to claim her.  These weren’t just crime scene photos.  They were proof of panic, pain, and the final moments of a woman who might have been clawing for air…or mercy.

Murder was definitely on the table–in fact, it was the likely cause of her death.

With the bruising, it was unlikely she’d been shoved around and then accidentally drowned on her own.

“Still convinced Lindsey Hartwell is innocent?” Nolan slid a steaming cup of what this station called coffee onto my desk

I snatched the cup and took a sip, grimacing at the awful taste.  “Still convinced she’s guilty?”

“Come on, Brandt.  We’ve got a murder on our hands, and a woman who admitted to hating her.  She’s our best suspect.”

“I don’t disagree that she’s a suspect.  I’m just not convinced she’s guilty yet.”

Nolan collapsed into his chair, a squeak filling the air as he kicked his feet up on his cluttered desk.  “I know.  You’d prefer a full, taped confession and reenactment.”

I let out a chuckle as I eased into my own lumpy chair, rolling it closer to my own desk to avoid the icy air spilling out of the duct above me.  “No, but I would prefer a solid motive along with a few other things.”

“She hated her.  She said it.”

“Hate and murder may be kissing cousins, but that doesn’t mean they’re always together.”

Nolan threaded his fingers, cradling his head as he rocked back again.  “You really think she could be innocent.”

“It’s not outside of the realm of possibilities.”

“Come on,” Nolan groaned out, a grin on his features.  “It’s not a probable outcome.  We’ve got a woman with a lot of hatred brewing and what seems to be a love triangle building.”

I shuffled through the pictures again.  “We don’t know that.”

“So, what do you want to do?  Go back in there and get more of the story?”

Review

With friends like Mel, who needs enemies?

I really enjoyed this psychological thriller, the alternating chapters between past, present, and characters, and the twist ending that I did not expect.

Set at a working ranch, Mel and Lindsey are set to spend the summer bonding and getting away from it all. Granted, this doesn’t sound like my kind of summer, at least not the whole time, but it is supposed to be an adventure. As the days pass at the ranch, you get a better sense of the relationship between these friends. It is not a friendship that I would want if I were Lindsey, but she is a unique person who has a hard time trusting and making friends. Maybe it is the wounded bird persona that attracts Travis and Jesse to her. However, Mel can’t stand that they prefer Lindsey over her, and this is where problems arise. Mel sabotages Lindsey and Travis’ budding relationship and sets off to do the same with Jesse. It’s really quite sad, but in the epilogue, we learn a bit more about Mel’s past.

While there isn’t a huge cast of characters, the killer is not one I suspected. I suspected a few others, but not this person. I was very surprised, but learning the reasoning made sense. It explained so much.

There will be another book in this series, and I am intrigued to find out what it will be about and whether any returning characters will appear. But until then, pick up this book if you enjoy a good psychological thriller. We give it 4 paws up.

About the Author

Nellie H. Steele is a storyteller who doesn’t just write books—she writes the stories her characters tell her. With distinct voices and minds of their own, her characters often take over, guiding her through tales of romance, mystery, adventure, and suspense.

A lifelong bookworm, Nellie vividly recalls sitting on the concrete floor of her childhood library, eagerly devouring Nancy Drew books and dreaming of solving mysteries of her own. Now an award-winning author, she spends her days crafting immersive worlds and unforgettable characters that feel like old friends. Her house is a zoo—literally—thanks to her rescue animals who seem perfectly happy napping while she writes.

Nellie’s writing process often involves background TV she never actually watches because she’s too wrapped up in her characters’ antics. When she’s not spinning stories, she works as a professor of statistics, where students who know her as an author are often surprised to find she really does teach math.

If you love twisty mysteries, soap-opera-style romance, and thrilling adventures, dive into Nellie’s books today and discover worlds you won’t want to leave. Connect with Nellie on Facebook—she loves chatting with readers about characters, stories, and more!

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