Twenty-five years ago, Elise Rockwood’s world was shattered when her older sister, Robin, was murdered. It left her and her brother, Kyle, the remaining children of a mother who was never able to escape the grief of her oldest child’s death.

Elise now owns the Creekside Cabins in Willow Canyon, a secluded area in the hills of Northern California. Kyle and their mother live nearby, and they all three still struggle with the loss of Robin. Elise is a recovering alcoholic who has very few friends, Kyle spends his time with computers and video games, and their mom is still disabled by depression.

One evening, Elise notices a name she knows on her arrivals sheet: Daniel Serrano, a friend since childhood. Kyle comes out to visit, and they all have a night around the fire, talking about old times. Unfortunately, their old times are full of tragedy, and the talk of Robin’s death hits Elise hard. She’s still in a funk about things when the police come to her house…asking if she knows a man named Christian Valic, who has just been found dead. Elise plays it cool, but the truth is she’d had an affair with Christian while he and his wife were “on a break”. He recently reached out, and she declined an invitation to meet.

Now, she’s a murder suspect, but when Christian’s business partner is also found dead, she and Kyle really start digging into things. The murdered men were all part of a Silicon Valley tech company that has had its share of problems. Could these men be targets because of Stratum, and does any of it relate to Robin’s death?

This started off well, then really slowed down and got a bit convoluted in the middle, taking my rating down a notch. The ending was great though; I didn’t see any of it coming, and it wrapped up the storyline nicely! This is a good, but average, mystery/thriller. 3.5 stars.

(Thank you to Lake Union Publishing, Victoria Helen Stone and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on June 4, 2024.)

Victoria Helen Stone is an author i took a chance on once, and never had to worry about content again. She never misses, and this book has continued with that trend. Past traumas, a murder that altered many lives, and new things coming to light. Couldn't ask for anything better in a murder mystery story, and this one certainly had me entertained.

Elise has done her best to move on after the murder of her sister Robin, even though her mom and her brother Kyle have not. And now Kyle's conspiracy theories might be more important than she thought because her own ex has been found murdered. This is a thriller that's really about family trauma and grief. Good characters and fine storytelling (along with a twist) make it a good read.

I read and loved the Jane Doe/Problem Child duology by Victoria Helen Stone, so I was very excited to read this new book.

It's an emotionally charged thriller about trauma over a murdered loved one. Elsie's sister was tragically killed when she was a teen ,which crushed the family. Mom is housebound from grief, and her brother is paranoid, riddled with conspiracy theories.
I loved the small town vibes, and the compelling characters. It's much more than a mystery. It explores grief, the "right" to grieve and letting go and moving on and Stone nails the complexities of it.

It's definitely a slow burn but kept me on the edge of my seat. I'm sure thriller lovers everywhere will enjoy it..

This was such a quick read with a unique plot! It was hard to know which characters to trust and if there was any merit to Kyle's conspiracy theories. I loved all the twists and turns and suspense! The ending was so surprising, and I'm hoping there will be a second book to answer the questions I was left with!

Thank you, @thrillerbookloversthepulse @netgalley and @lakeunionpublishing for the #gifted e-arc!

This thriller follows familiar beats of a family traumatized by tragedy, but I liked the way that it focused a lot on the actual trauma and how that has effected the various family members, and how the mystery at hand felt more like a consequence rather than a focal point. I enjoyed Elise as a main character, as I thought she was well drawn and properly complex, but I really liked her brother Kyle, whose response to their missing older sister was to fall heavily into conspiracy theories and hyperfixation on improbabilities because at least it was closure. I do wish that the story had held strong to that focus, as there were things that kind of undercut that (that's all I will say about it). Overall I found it to be a compelling thriller with some serious pathos.

4.5⭐️

This was so good! I thought the characters were realistic and you could really sympathize with Elise and her mom about their loss, though Kyle with his conspiracy theories was a bit harder. The murder of Elise's ex (married) lover was done really well and while I had inklings of what might have happened, it was still a satisfying conclusion to the book when you found out what happened. I've never read anything by Stone before but I'm definitely checking out her backlist after this one!

So glad @thrillerbookloversthepulse put this on my radar!

I love Victoria Helen Stone's books because she always creates spicy, strong female characters who are gutsy, funny and fearless in bad situations. This book is no exception. Elise is a very interesting and relatable protagonist, despite being (as we learn) the "other woman" who is implicated in the death of her lover. Elise also works at a fun and popular little campground hotel in a park, and it just so happens that her sister went missing years before. Could these events be related?

Victoria Helen Stone's writing is addictive and page-turning and the plot here is full of suspense, red herrings, clues and twists. I couldn't stop turning pages to figure out whodunit, and I laughed out loud many times while being fooled and twisted and turned through the plot. Stone is an exceptionally talented suspense writer and I can't wait for her next book!

Three words I would use to describe this book: Atmospheric, tense, and stunning.

I enjoyed this book so much! I felt the author did a good job hooking me from the start and it moved at a great pace throughout the story. The plot was strong, and it was a very character driven book. Elise was very relatable but so was her mother. I wasn’t sure what to make of her brother but I can tell you what I did think was wrong. The ending completely caught me off guard and left an insane impression. This was my first book by Victoria Helen Stone and she now has a new fan!

Thank you so much to @thrillerbookloversthepulse , Netgalley, @victoriahelenstone, and @amazonpublishing for my advance reader copy!

Thank you, Victoria Helen Stone, and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book. The opinions are my own and freely given

Elise's sister, Robin, disappeared, and for years the cops thought she was just a runaway until a local man committed suicide and left a note confessing to her murder and dumping her in the river.
Elise's mom won't leave the house for fear that Robin might come back, since a body has never been found. And Elise's brother, Kyle, is obsessed with conspiracy theories. After years of drinking and drugs, Elise has finally cleaned up and moved back to her hometown. She owns a "tiny cabin" resort and is flourishing. That is until one day she finds out her ex-boyfriend has died, and the police are looking at her as the prime suspect.

So, I absolutely loved the setting. Out in the "wilderness" surrounded by the mountains and a creek. With the tiny homes for rentals and the touristy set up. I found this to be a little on the slow side, and even the car chase scene didn't really get my heart pumping. The standoff with police however did. While Elise is trying to prove her innocence, so can't figure out who to trust and she lets her brother's conspiracies get into her head.

I am very curious about the end, because (without spoilers) Elise looks like she is going to continue to investigate what really happened way back when. (You'll just have to read it for yourself to find out what I am talking about). Overall, I enjoyed this book. Again, another author I have been meaning to read, but haven't gotten a chance to.

This is my first novel by this author and I really enjoyed the premise of this story. I buddy read/listened to this with the ‘usual suspects’ and our theories were all over the place!🤣

I was on board with all of Kyle’s conspiracy theories which sounded quite plausible to me, and at one stage he had me suspecting each and every single person in the book. That’s why the ending was so utterly surprising!😳

We follow Elise as she tries to put her life back together after a traumatic experience years ago disrupted her family.

25 years ago, her sister Robin disappeared and a local boy confessed to killing her shortly before committing suicide.

Now, Elise rents mountain cabins near her home town and tries in vain to ignore all the conspiracy theories her brother Kyle still regularly puts forward about her sister's death...
...Until the body of her ex is found near the lake where her sister's killer claims to have disposed of the body.

Thanks #netgalley and #amazonpublishing for my ARC!

✨Review ✨

If you’re into fresh plots, complex characters and small town settings, this one’s for you!

The FOMO is real when the @thrillerbookloversthepulse group chat starts talking about a book I haven’t read yet. This time, it was Follow Her Down. Naturally, I put aside my other books and jumped right in - I was immediately hooked!

Elise is a strong lead – you can’t help but root for her even when she’s at her lowest. Elise’s family dynamic adds depth to the story and I loved seeing how it developed throughout the book.

Stone’s storytelling skills are top-notch. I like how letters were used to bring the past to life and give us a sense of Robin’s personality. Stone also nails the complexities of grief. The “right” to grieve and the hierarchy of grievers is a reoccurring theme and something that has stuck with me. The scene between Elise and Savannah just broke my heart.

AND THE ENDING 😱I can’t really talk about it and keep this spoiler free, but let’s just say it was an unexpected twist and I need more!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the gifted copy.

WHAT.

I’m gonna be real honest, I didn’t expect this to hit so hard but the very end MADE THE BOOK.

Elise is (understandably) a very detached and hollowed out person, which makes it hard to connect with her as she’s unreliable even to herself. That’s a very hard line to walk with a book, and it’s balanced SO delicately.

I also do not like Elise because she… makes a lot of very harmful choices without care to those around her. However in spite of not liking her I still wanted her to get answers.

And then the end??? HELLO???

I need to take a nap

So many enjoyable thrillers this year, including this one! This was a tense, taut read that had a thrilling sense of unease throughout and some riveting, tense scenes. Throw in conspiracy theories (which at first seem over-the-top), a troubled young woman dealing with past trauma, a remote cabin setting, a broken family, and murders and this one kept me turning the pages. And then that unexpected ending really caught me by surprise, in a good way!

I’m so happy I got to read this one as part of Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse and agree with them that this one should be on your TBR! A great way to pass a lazy summer afternoon.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Brilliance Audio/Netgalley, #partner for the ALC of Follow Her Down in exchange for my honest review.

I became an instant fan of Victoria Helen Stone when she wrote Jane Doe. That was such a crazy psychological thriller – so unique and twisted, and so fun to read that I knew I would be reading everything this author writes and I pretty much have! Plus, I’m constantly recommending her books to thriller readers…you really can’t go wrong with her books!

This is such an emotionally charged thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time! It is completely atmospheric and full of suspense. It is also a story about emotional trauma over a loved one’s murder and I loved seeing how that played out within a family – from the mother suffering from crippling anxiety to the brother and his paranoid conspiracy theories to Elise who is just so emotionally broken she can’t seem to find herself. All these characteristics were so vividly portrayed with each character, especially Elise.

This book had so many twists and turns and it went in directions I did not see coming. I think I suspected nearly every character at one point. It’s such a complex, layered plot and the setting – that small-town feeling, with the little cabins isolated in the woods – only adds to the overall tension of the story. Be sure to clear your schedule when you pick this one up because once you start reading it, you are not going to want to put it down!

This is my first book by this author but I will be adding her others to my TBR. This book was definitely a slow burn to begin with but it picked up and I didn’t want to put it down. I almost made my family listen to the audiobook while on our trip yesterday because I wanted to know what happened! But I decided against that. When I did finish, I was so surprised. That was not what I had expected at all! This is a great, suspenseful whodunnit. I did want a little bit more on the murder and disappearance of the sister. Maybe we could get a prequel?!

🚨𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪 𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡🚨
𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺: 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦
𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺: 𝘓𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯
𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘢: 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘶𝘭𝘴𝘦
𝗣𝗨𝗕 𝗗𝗔𝗬: 𝗝𝗨𝗡𝗘 𝟰, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰

🍷🍷🍷🍷 / 𝟱⭐️
𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚: 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺

📚🍷💃🏻

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘚 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺!

𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 "𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯" 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘏𝘖𝘓𝘠 𝘏𝘌𝘓𝘓 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴! 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘝𝘌𝘙𝘠𝘖𝘕𝘌'𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥... 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘻𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳!

𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶...𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳.
𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 😉

#BookWineClubToronto #WINEnot ?!
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Follow Her Down was my first book by Victoria Helen Stone, and she completely blew me away. This story was nothing short of amazing. Gripping, twisty and utterly unputdownable. It will definitely be one of the top thrillers of the year! It's definitely on my all time favorites list.

Title- Follow her down by @victoriahelenstone
Rating -⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This title has been making waves over here at Pulse, and for good reason! It’s been a hit with everyone who’s laid hands on it. As a newcomer to this author’s work, I was blown away by their masterful storytelling and I’m confident that I’ll be coming back for more. The story had a fantastic pace that kept me hooked from start to finish, and I can’t help but hope that there’s more to come from this incredible author. Fingers crossed for another installment!

The murder of Elise Rockwood’s sister shattered her family. Their mother’s anxiety kept her housebound. Elise’s paranoid brother, Kyle, saw conspiracies everywhere. Elise numbed her grief in an aimless lifestyle that left her emotionally broken. All of them victims. A local boy eventually confessed, but the damage was already done.

Years later, Elise is reinventing herself. She’s bought a mountain lodge to be close to home again and to find stability. Not even an email from her ex tempts her into revisiting the past. But Kyle won’t let it go. He still believes there’s more to their sister’s murder—and the confession—than meets the eye. When Elise’s ex is found dead in the same forest where her sister went missing decades before, Elise is finally willing to listen.

The traumas of the past are reemerging. So is the truth. Elise’s greatest fear now is who will survive it.

QOTD- have you ever gone swimming in the ocean?

Thank you to @netgalley and @amazonpublishing @victoriahelenstone for this advance copy in exchange for a review.

Atmospheric, adrenaline pumping and small towns vibes! It started slow and built up to reveal after reveal!