Kitty Johnson

Publication date: 6th May 2025
Publisher: Lake Union
SYNOPSIS
Breaking free from the past is one woman’s greatest challenge in an emotional novel about love, friendship, and the courage to overcome the worst of times by the author of Prickly Company.
Best friends Lily and Inga do everything together—they even meet their future loves at the same bar. After one serendipitous night, it seems like it’s going to be Lily and Alex and Inga and Matt forever.
But life gets more complicated. A job offer moves Inga and Matt from Norwich to London. Lily, who craves stability after a traumatic childhood, is already struggling with the change when Inga confides in her a secret that could tear the group apart for good. At the same time, Lily’s friendship with Matt deepens, and she wonders if she was always meant to be with him instead of Alex.
As the two couples try to hold on to their dreams and one another, Lily’s life is further upended by the reappearance of her long-lost sister—and all the terrible truths she brings home. Lily needs her chosen family more than ever, but in order to heal the rifts, she must find the courage to be honest with herself and reveal the secrets she’s kept hidden from her loved ones for too long.
MY REVIEW
Thank you to the author for reaching out to me and offering me the chance to read an arc of Closest Kept. I loved Prickly Company so I jumped at the chance.
This another character led story of complicated relationships and how traumatic events experienced as children can follow us through our lives. Focusing a lot on mental health issues as our characters face difficult times in their lives. Being abandoned. Unplanned pregnancy and abortion. Controlling relationships. Deaths of a parent.
The story is told from Lily’s POV. I loved her friendship with Inga, with all its ups and downs. Then on a night out they meet friends Alex and Matt and their lives change.
We all gave our ups and downs in life, and this could be the story of any of our friends. We need to keep supporting each other and asking are you okay? Are you sure?
Absolutely loved it. Another cracking page turner which kept me reading well past my bedtime last night!
Thanks Kitty xx
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kitty Johnson lives in Norwich, Norfolk in the UK, with her partner and teenage son. Her novel Five Winters was recently awarded the Star Award 2024 by the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.
A nature lover, Kitty enjoys walking in the local woods and by the sea in Norfolk with her dog. Also an artist, she paints and makes collages in her studio when she has time. Kitty enjoys a challenge and once performed stand-up comedy as research for a book – an experience she found very scary but hugely empowering. Kitty has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and has also published as Margaret K Johnson.


























