[Review] Follow Me - Kathleen Barber

Summary: Audrey Miller has an enviable new job at the Smithsonian, a body by reformer Pilates, an apartment door with a broken lock, and hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers to bear witness to it all. Having just moved to Washington, DC, Audrey busies herself impressing her new boss, interacting with her online fan base, and staving off a creepy upstairs neighbor with the help of the only two people she knows in town: an ex-boyfriend she can’t stay away from and a sorority sister with a high-powered job and a mysterious past.

But Audrey’s faulty door may be the least of her security concerns. Unbeknownst to her, her move has brought her within striking distance of someone who’s obsessively followed her social media presence for years—from her first WordPress blog to her most recent Instagram Story. No longer content to simply follow her carefully curated life from a distance, he consults the dark web for advice on how to make Audrey his and his alone. In his quest to win her heart, nothing is off-limits—and nothing is private. (Pub Date: Feb 25, 2019)


This is actually some scary story about cyberstalking.

Told from three points of view, we meet Audrey a digital influencer who's up and coming and just moved to Washington where an old friend now lives. Her friend Cat, who's now a lawyer doing he best to become partners at her law firm. And the stalker, who falls in love with Audrey at first sight since she reminds him so much of another girl he once loved. And He could be anyone.

One of the great things about the book is obviously that we don't know who the stalker is, we just know he exists. He does confirm most of his deeds through his chapters, but I wish he wouldn't. How fun would it be not to know if it was really he who did this or that? Also, the thing about he could be anyone is too forced on us, Audrey and Cat suspects everyone, all the time. Of course a girl alone in some unknown city will be suspicious of stuff but I don't think it would have been to that point. I actually found it silly at times. And she was so alert but only found out who it was by accident, instead of while actively investigating—she tried this too with little success.

This is a scary topic per ser and in some parts the book gets it right. But in most of them it fell flat, simply because it was much telling. I know I'm repeating myself but this is a percent of how much the book did this—we didn't need to hear every single page that the character felt as if she were being followed. I'm not even getting to the point of how dumb she was because the gaslighting on Audrey was also there, and for that kudos to the writer for finding a way to make her not go to the authorities.

This book has its perks too, don't worry. The conclusion was mostly unexpected—although too lenient on the stalker, almost forgiving of his behavior—and actually made me think, so I can't say the book is all that forgettable. We had some other twists that I enjoyed; though nothing that big, it got me to keep turning pages. Moreover, it didn't feel like a telltale of how we should protect our privacy, despite being sold as such to make readers more scared (I know I was very freaked out by my webcam while reading).

I think that's a positive point not to blame the victim. This person since the first chapter had been stalking and abusing his victims, the internet only made it so he found someone farther from his social circle but it didn't make him do it.

The characters here aren't likable but it's part of the intention, make you doubt the main characters and everyone altogether. At the same time, they never bothered me beyond what the writer wanted me to feel for them.

This is an average thriller, that could have been more inspired, but you'll probably be second-guessing yourself even if you find out who the culprit is.

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Rating: 3 out of 5.