The terrible toll bullying takes on the bullied, those close to them, and even the guilt years later of the one who had a part in the bullying. She is still emotionally hankering after her ex-husband who left her for a younger woman when she got pregnant. The book tells the unfolding of events that happen after this request, as well as gradually revealing details about the past. When Louise first notices the new girl who has mysteriously transferred late into their senior year, Maria seems to be everything the girls Louise hangs out with aren’t.

There are of course such atypical creatures - my Mum is one of them, but it appears most of us do dabble in one or the other social account, and share personal lives on several platforms. We all found the social media aspect of this novel quite clever and it added a scary and spine tingly feeling for us as we read this story.To her horror, it appears Louise may finally have to confront her demons, acknowledge what she did to Maria all those years ago, and find out exactly what did happen to the girl whose life she made into a misery. Probably this is just my own limited empathetic skills preventing me from being able to fully appreciate the fear engendered by this contact from a girl believed dead so long ago, but it took me about half way through the book to appreciate that her paranoia had some grounds, and it wasn’t til the ending that I understood her and completely appreciated her fear. Even though I was disappointed I still think this would be a good book if you don’t normally read this genre. The red brick of the school buildings lurks in the background, familiar in a way but strange too, as if it belongs to someone else’s memories, not mine. Louise Williams doesn't just get a friend request on Facebook from someone she knew years ago and doesn't actually like, she gets a friend request from someone who died twenty-five years ago.

The idea behind a Facebook friend rising from the dead and making contact after 25 years was definitely a spine chilling prospect and you really wonder about the absurdity of the whole Facebook thing and how open and vulnerable you become when you expose yourself on such a public forum as this book demonstrates. After two pretty heavy-going books – The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, which I really enjoyed, and Macbeth, which I didn’t, I was ready to get back to my happy place. Nicki came up with such an excellent ending about Maria that I was so sure she had got it right because it would have been amazing! Sure, except this girl, ‘Maria Weston’ vanished on Prom night way back in 1989, and has been presumed dead.For me Facebook is a way of connecting with people with whom I'd otherwise wouldn't be able to keep in touch, like some of my school mates, or friends who live abroad. Sometimes just looking at someone's Facebook page can bring back teenage feelings, insecurities from a time when all you wanted was to be liked. I welcome being wrong or stumped but I also like being able to think/look back and see subtle clues that were there all along. We all really enjoyed the voice of this unknown narrator and liked discussing and guessing who we thought it might be. Looking at it from that prospective, it feels a little unnerving, knowing that sometimes people are lurking around your page and can access a wealth of information about you, quite easily.

Though being dumped by her horrid husband, she is not mature enough to cut clean all the links with him. Teenage girls can be so vicious, yet they suffer too in their own lack of esteem and self importance. Women who lived that life at school – who felt like they existed only on the periphery of the popular crowd – are likely to emphasise with her.

In 1989, Maria transfers to Louise's school in the late senior years, and initially Louise finds her a refreshing change. This would also make an incredible book club pick as it would generate some pretty interesting discussion and debate.

When Louise receives the friend request from Maria, you can only imagine how freaked out she becomes. And when she starts getting threatening Facebook messages from Maria, she is absolutely is terrified as she has a lot to lose.My only complaint is that the character of Louise isn’t that likeable, so I wasn’t really rooting for her like I do with most characters. One thing struck me as I read this book and that is that one should not post too many personal details about one's life on Facebook, nor should you befriend a person you thought was dead and that you feel guilty about.