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Keep Your Friends Close by Cynthia Murphy

Keep Your Friends Close

Cynthia Murphy

Random House Children's Books · Paperback · September 2, 2025

An explosive dark academia thriller set in the world of the BookTok sensation Win Lose Kill Die, where secret societies and lethal ambition run the show.

YA MysteriesYA Crime ThrillersBoarding School YAromance
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thrillersthrillermystery
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Who it’s for
At Morton Academy, ambition and secret-society rivalries take a lethal turn.
Genres
YA Mysteries, Boarding School YA, YA Crime Thrillers
Published
Random House Children's Books, September 2, 2025

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For older readers: Perfect Little Lives, Listen for the Lie, No Body No Crime

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About this book

An explosive dark academia thriller set in the world of the BookTok sensation Win Lose Kill Die, where secret societies and lethal ambition run the show. "A thriller author to watch!"—Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying Chloe Roberts is on top of the world. After a stellar first year at the prestigious Morton Academy, she’s a shoo-in for Head Girl and a coveted position in the school’s secret society, Jewel and Bone.

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But her dreams are shattered when her best friend, Nikhita Patel, unfairly snatches the top spot—and steals Chloe's boyfriend at the same time. Heartbroken and humiliated, Chloe discovers a shocking truth: Jewel and Bone isn’t as secret as she thought. The rest of the school despises the Jewels, and there’s even a “Book of Crime and Punishment” cataloging their misdeeds. Things take a very dark turn when the names in the book start to correlate with murders of Jewel and Bone members on campus. Suddenly, anyone could be a suspect. And now, Chloe must navigate a web of lies and deceit to get to the bottom of this twisted game before she’s next on the kill list. Keep Your Friends Close is a gripping thriller that explores the dark side of ambition, loyalty, and the lengths people will go to claim what’s theirs.

Ambition Turns Dark

At Morton Academy, ambition and secret-society rivalries take a lethal turn.

Come here for

  • Boarding-school rivalries with a dark, competitive streak
  • A secret society and a book cataloging its members’ misdeeds

Expect

  • A tense mystery where anyone could be a suspect
  • Lies, shifting loyalties, and murder on campus

Where it sits

YA Mysteries59%
YA Crime Thrillers39%
Boarding School YA36%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • YA Stories About Girls & Women
  • Boarding School YA
  • Thrillers & Suspense
Authors
Cynthia Murphy
Publisher
Random House Children's Books
Published
September 2, 2025
Format
Paperback
Reading lane
YA Stories About Girls & Women