Thank you @thrillerbookloverspromotions @lakeunionauthors @victoriahelenstone #partner for the free copy!

📢What it’s about:

Elise Rockwoods sister was murdered rocking the world of everyone in it. Her mother suffered tremendously with anxiety and her brother never stopped looking for the theory of what really happened to her. He suspected people to be at fault any chance he got. It destroyed any sense of normalcy in their life. A local boy admitted fault and which should have left them feeling better but unfortunately it left them shattered.

Wanting to start new, Elise opened up her own mountain lodge business where passersby or vacationers could rent a room. She is a one woman show having recently broken up with her ex. When he comes back around she ignores his attempt at communication but Elise’s brother can’t let it go. He is convinced there is something more there. When her ex turns up dead, Elise finally starts to listen to her brother!

💭This is my second by Victoria and I will say she does an amazing job building up stress and tension! I think this book explores grief and letting go, obsessive behaviors, and some down right crazy conspiracies. I really liked Elise’s character as she was a strong female who tried to take back control in her life when dealt a really crappy hand. Who doesn’t love a woman who has her own tools and cleans up dead animal carcasses?! 👀 The ending wasn’t what I had expected and I certainly didn’t guess all the twists! This one releases this summer and is the perfect binge worthy vacation read!

Follow Her Down is dark mystery centered around unique characters with complex pasts. Elise was a strong protagonist and I really empathized with her on her journey to put her demons in the past and create a better future for herself.

This book has some really stellar surprises and it absolutely got me. I thought I had some elements figured out early on and I was completely wrong which is always a major plus for me. How the mystery unfolded was really exciting and thought provoking and I felt like Stone did a great job weaving the narrative.

Elise's family dynamics were so complicated and I appreciated Stone's depiction of the manifestation of grief in different people. Kyle's conspiracy theories were well thought out and while there was some suspension of belief, he made clear arguments.

I also liked the element of the past and present being interwoven. Elise's sister's death being potentially connected to the murder of her lover and his business partner was unexpected and added a layer of complexity to the story.

All in all, this book was really entertaining and the plot felt really fresh. I liked the characters and the setting and definitely recommend!

Thank you to Thriller Book Lovers Promotions and Lake Union Publishing for the copy.

I could not turn these pages fast enough! I loved the cabin setting and that there was always something happening. I questioned all of the characters until the very end. I enjoyed this book a lot! Fantastic thriller!

I can see this as the first book on a series. It starts with the murder of an old flame of Elise. Elise owns a group of cabins that she rents and loves it. She struggles with demons in her past and present. I loved the plot and the setting. This is my first book by this author and I love the writing style. You feel as if you are in the book. The ending.. Wow!!!

Follow Her Down
By: Victoria Helen Stone

Elise Rockwood and her brother Kyle are still reeling and coping with the death of their sister which happened when they were younger. Their mother is also shattered.

Elise is now back in her hometown running a little a lodge and her brother is a conspiracy theorist who is glued to his computer.

Elise’s old flame is found dead and police are questioning her? Hernandez past has come back to haunt her! What could she know? The only other person to know about her old flame is her brother!

This novel was long, detailed and gripping. The ending was left open for a possible series! I have to say that I did not see the ENDING at all, which is always satisfying for me.

This is a well written psychological thriller about the effect, ever lasting of violence on a family. The main character , Elise is trying to rebuild her life after her sister's murder, coping with alcohol, affairs and pushing people away. She becomes a suspect, when her ex is killed and there may be a connection to her sister. I got involved right away and cared about the characters and the quest for the truth and justice

This book would be ideal for lovers of plot, who like to think of all the places the story could go and get invested in seeing which way the book takes things.

thank you to @netgalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for review.

Im not really sure ow to feel about this one. We follow Elise Rockwood, who has lost her sister to murder and has spent her time putting herself back together. When her ex-love is found murdered, the investigation she once thought was closed, reopnes again with more questions. My problem with it felt like it came from the reaching of trying to connect the storyline to certain things. I have heard of the author's other stories being great so I am looking forward to reading those. This one just missed te mark for me.

If I'm completely honest, I didn't make it far in Follow Her Down. The writing style felt wordy and as a result, I couldn't connect with the narrator's voice. Other reviewers raved about the story, so I'm sure many readers will connect with it. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me.

I always enjoy this author's psych thrillers and this book did not disappoint. The characters were layered, relatable, complex - much more important than being boringly likable.
My mind was in high gear the whole time I was reading, trying to figure things out. Another great story from Stone.

"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."

This was my first book by this author. The story was interesting and I enjoyed both the mystery of her sisters murder and the current murder. I liked that it showed how the trauma of her sister's murder had impacted her life and the decisions, both good and bad, that the has made throughout her life. I was not necessarily expecting the conspiracy theory aspect and that felt like a stretch to me. I will say the mystery of finding out if the confession regarding her sister's murder in the past was true and finding out who murdered her ex kept me interested. In the end it was an enjoyable read and made me interested to check out more of this authors work. I do feel like if you are a reader who enjoys a constant fast pace this may not be the book for you. The book felt slow to start with and I feel like the story didn't really pick up until about 45-50% through the story.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest Review

I read her Jane Doe series a while back and loved it. They were so good, so “fun”—if those kind of books can be fun—and I immediately wanted to read this.

I’ll be honest, something about the beginning didn’t pull me in. Maybe the writing style? I wasn’t rushing to read it.

All in all, it was alright. The ending was open and I didn’t mind that, but some of the plot just wasn’t super engaging. I think it’s a me issue and not the book. Maybe it caught me
In a mood.

Follow Her Down
By: Victoria Helen Stone
Genre: Suspense/Thriller/Mystery
Ebook
3/5 stars


Book Synopsis:
“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.”

What I Liked:
-A small mountain town with an ex that shows back up and a new love interest comes into play at the same time. But not a love interest like you would think…
-The opening scene was eerie but got me interested right away.
-Amber was a favorite character of mine and soooo funny.


What I Didn’t Like:
-I normally hate conspiracy theories but this one made sense. But conspiracy theories in general are a no go for me.
-The brother was annoying but pushed the suspense part, so I understand his character, but still wasn’t my favorite.

Overall:
Kept my interest piqued and I had to find out what happened. I didn’t have the bad guy pegged for quite a while until about 3/4 of the way through. So, because of that, the suspense was definitely there and the ending was not expected, at least in my opinion.

Elise Rockwood is finally living her best life, running a small mountain resort of several cabins, and doing all the hospitality and maintenance work herself. But then her ex, Christian, is found dead nearby, in the same river where her sister’s body was disposed of 25 years ago. Now it brings back all the sad memories, how it took 10 years to discover what happened to her sister, the news delivered via a suicide note of the killer. Her brother Kyle’s staunch insistence that there were more people involved, that it was part of something bigger. It’s hard for her to process grief for her ex when she still doesn’t feel she’s done so for her sister.

As Elise leans on Kyle for support, she worries that he’ll start delving into conspiracy theories again. But it’s soon made clear that Christian’s death is suspicious and his death isn’t the only one. Maybe she needs to give her brother more credit. And if he was right about the current crimes, could he have been onto something with their sister? Deciding she has nothing to lose, Elise immerses herself in Christian’s past and her own to determine the full truth. But is she putting her own life on the line to do so?

I enjoyed the story, but I can’t say it’s one of my favorites by this author. It’s slower-paced and there’s a lot of internal monologues about her grief and her refusal to get close to another man because she doesn’t feel she deserves to. Which doesn’t make sense and isn’t a way of thinking I’ve ever related to. Same with the whole ‘chopping your hair off because you’re single now’ idea that is as old as time according to the author. Changing your looks because you’re no longer with a man is almost as bad as changing them for a man. They are not related. Look however you want to look for yourself, period. Moving on from a relationship doesn’t have to be so dramatic.

Regardless, it was a good read, and the ending leaves it open for a sequel which could be interesting. I always hope for that when some plot points leave you hanging. But that’s not realistic and I respect that. I’m always up for the possibility, though!

When Elise Rockwood's sister Robin is murdered, it shatters the lives of all her family members. Her mother goes into a downward spiral that she never quite recovers from, her brother Kyle develops paranoid tendencies and a preoccupation with cryptids and conspiracy theories, and Elise herself tries to drown her loss in alcohol and casual relationships. Needless to say, none of these strategies prove to be particularly effective.

But after Elise has actually begun to get her life back together, including finding work that she enjoys, everything is once again put at risk when her ex-lover is found murdered in the same area where her sister was killed. The police consider her a suspect, though Elise knows she is innocent. Yet if the person who confessed to Robin's murder was put in prison, then who could be behind Christian's killing? Or is it the case that his death is entirely unrelated to his one time relationship with Elise?

I really like this author's books and I have particularly enjoyed some of her more recent offerings, but this one somehow did not hit right. The events in the story seemed too much of a stretch, and the writing was not up to the standards I have come to expect from Stone's usually insightful offerings. I am sure it will appeal to some readers, but this novel was, sadly, not for me. I do still look forward to her next book!

The book is twisted, unpredictable and unputdownable. The characters are multifaceted and the book has hidden secrets. As soon as the secrets begin to unveil, the mystery and suspense increases encapsulating the dark past behind Robin’s murder/suspicious death and then after some years the death of Christian, Elise’s Ex raised questions in mind as Elise becomes the primary suspect. And his death has some connection when Robin’s death. The two seem to be so connected. The past is intertwines the present blurring the line between deception and truth. Will Elise be able to figure out the truth?

The description of the lodge is creepy. Raccoon part made me shiver. The characters not only had a mysterious demeanour but they were also multifaceted. I liked Kyle’s character. I liked the bond between sisters. The truth was frightening and twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. The events in the book felt like a nightmare and all the unthinkable happenings made me curious to dive more into the mystery. The ending was twisted and unpredictable. I couldn’t put it down until I figured out the mystery. The writing is compelling.


Thanks to the Author, Publisher and Netgalley.

I kind of feel as though the author was reaching for the stars when trying to make connections between the mysteries in this book.