Title: Follow Me

Author: Kathleen Barber

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Rating: ★★★★☆

Why I read it: Random library find

Returning to my beloved mysteries and thrillers after a long hiatus, and this felt like a breath of fresh air.

Follow Me unfolds through multiple points of view to tell the story of how Audrey, a social media influencer, navigates her move to Washington D.C. from New York City, and the trials and tribulations of having an online presence. Additional points of view include her stalker, simply identified as “Him”, and her best friend Cat, a promising lawyer, who may not be as goody-two-shoes as she seems. 

I have four stars for this work mainly because I love the concept! The author included a blurb detailing her inspiration for the book, which kicked off the tone from the start. As someone who recently started a blog and has been actively posting on Instagram for the better part of a decade, this hit home for me. 

It isn’t a five-star read because I found it to be a bit predictable, and at the beginning, I was having trouble keeping track of all of the characters. I understand what the author was trying to do by introducing many suspects, but it came across as a bit forced. I greatly enjoyed the parallel of the art exhibit and would have liked to further exploration of how it plays into Audrey’s story. 

It was a fast read and I was hooked almost immediately and spent many many pages guessing who the stalker was. I appreciated that it took a while to get the big reveal, but then the ending was confusing. The surprise factor was there, but not in the way that I was suspecting. I wish the author had chosen a more complex and dynamic ending and less out-of-left-field. Also, I don’t think the stalker is that dumb to be caught that easily, but maybe I’m giving him too much credit.

One thing I will call out – don’t expect to like the characters. Audrey comes across as vain, her best friend reeks of jealousy, and the stalker is simply a creep. None of the other side characters are particularly interesting, and believe it or not, I was rooting for multiple of them to be involved in some type of conspiracy because that would have been a more interesting ending.

After reading multiple memoirs and romance books this was the palate cleanser I needed, and for that, it earned its four stars.

TL;DR: Would I recommend it to a friend? Definitely! If you are looking for a quick read that will hold your interest, this is it. It doesn’t have a “wow” factor, but it more than makes up for it in eerie real-life parallels.