Horror Book Spotlight: We were never really friends by Timothy King
You think you know your friends, but they can just surprise you.
This week’s Horror Book Spotlight is on WE WERE NEVER REALLY FRIENDS by Timothy King.
Published by AETHON: Wicked House in May 2026, the book is on the best seller’s list in the Horror Suspense and Occult and Supernatural eBooks categories.
The book has gotten positive reviews from readers who have pointed out that the climax was unsatisfactory.
But let’s take a look at what We Were Never Really Friends is about.
WE WERE NEVER REALLY FRIENDS Plot Summary
Roger, Jerome, Ryan, and Chris head off to a private island mansion with their wives.
While they spend their days enjoying the luxury, soon enough it becomes obvious that their friendship is based on resentment, infidelity, and cold-blooded secrets.
Their vacation turns into a nightmare when a masked man begins to take them down one by one. The survivors realize that the real threat isn’t from the masked man but the person standing next to them.
WE WERE NEVER REALLY FRIENDS My Take on the Preview
The prologue never tells us who the story is being told through. All we know is that this person has lost his friends and is hellbent on revenge. We see him enter the village and venture into the first hut he sees.
He stands over the couple sleeping peacefully, contemplating his next steps, then, remembering what he has lost, uses his knife on the couple. The description is vivid and gory. Whatever has happened to this character, it has pushed him into becoming a murderer. After he watches the couple die, the noise catches the attention of the neighbor.
The killer doesn’t seem to care that his next victim is old or that there is a mother and son cowering in the corner. He is acting out of numbness as he goes after them.
In the first chapter, we meet Ryan and his wife, Taylor. They are packing and getting ready for a vacation. Ryan is Roger’s brother, who has apparently invited them to his mansion on his island. Taylor is tracking her ovulation, keen to start a family with her emotionally abusive husband, but she seems to have thoughts about his friend Chris and his ripped body a lot more than she cares to admit.
Ryan isn’t happy in his marriage either and has already seen a divorce lawyer who has advised him not to proceed with a divorce because Taylor would likely get all his assets.
As their chapter draws to a close, you can’t help but hate Ryan a little bit. He does call Roger’s wife Stacey names and seems indifferent to Taylor when she cries.
Next up is Jerome and his wife, Amelia. They are speeding on a highway, which causes Amelia to get scared and beg Jerome to slow down, who does so reluctantly. She makes a remark about Jerome being a little too close to Hayley, Chris’ partner, which causes Jerome to get angry.
We get to see that when he accelerates again. Clearly, Jerome has some anger issues, and Amelia is insecure about being around his friends.
By the time the chapter comes to a close, Jerome runs into Chris and Hayley at the gas station.
READ OR SKIP?
Ryan and Jerome come off as insufferable characters in the initial chapters. They clearly do not care about their partners at all. Considering the name of the book is WE WERE NEVER REALLY FRIENDS, it’s not surprising that the author chose to write the characters in a way that makes you want to grimace at them but at the same time wonder if they are going to be one of the survivors or not.
The author cleverly gives the characters personalities while also indicating the possible dark secrets that will lead them to trouble.
The novel reads like a good slasher movie, where you get to learn about the characters, sympathize with some of them, and hope the annoying ones get cut before the innocent ones.
But who is after these friends and why?
This is a READ for sure.
Who doesn’t like a good slasher and mystery in one book?
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