Quite the atmospheric thriller debut! Sherri Smith puts herself on my radar with this one. Rarely does an author actually earn the comparisons to early Gillian Flynn. Much to my pleasure, Smith does that in Follow Me Down. The story is a twisty one. Mia goes back home when she receives news of her twin brother missing. A teenage girl was found dead. And he's the suspect at large. Mia finds it hard to believe and tries to find him while also helping to clear his name. The small town is an excellent setting for this taut, complex thriller. There are several pieces to this puzzle slowly revealed helping the novel to maintain its pace. The story kept me reading. The characters are fascinating. And Smith's writing is outstanding. Cannot wait to see what she writes next! I highly recommend to fans of Gillian Flynn or if you enjoy a great psychological thriller. This is an excellent read!

Mia fled the small town in North Dakota that she grew up in with her twin brother Lucas and alcoholic mother, and now has a new life in Chicago. When she gets a call from the local police telling her that her brother is being accused of having a sexual relationship and subsequently murdering of one of his underage students, she immediately returns home. Convinced that he is innocent, Mia wants to do everything she can to help her brother - she just needs to know why he ran...

Overall, I loved Follow Me Down! It was super twisty, and I was questioning everyone and everything! I had no idea who to trust and who was reliable. As the story progresses, we learn about how intertwined things can get in a small town.

I will say that it took me a little bit to get into the book, but once I got about a third of the way in, I couldn't put it down! I was dying to find out what happened and could not wait until the resolution. I loved how dedicated Mia was to her brother's case and that her support and belief in him never wavered.

Despite Mia's obvious issues and struggles, I really liked her as a narrator. She was constantly trying to figure this mystery and crime out, and let nothing stop her from doing so, even when it was apparent that she too was in danger. She felt like a strong independent character who relied on no one, and I enjoyed reading that.

There were so many twists and turns in the book, and I loved that! Each little detail that was revealed had me analyzing every character and the actions they took trying to figure out whether or not Lucas really was guilty, or if there was someone else to blame. When the resolution was revealed, I was totally blindsided! The ending was fast paced and kept me hooked until I finished the book.

Follow Me Down is a dark, twisty thriller that I'd recommend for all fans of the psychological thriller genre. It got 4/5 stars from me! Thank you to Netgalley, Sherri Smith, and Forge Books for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Follow Me Down is out TODAY (3/21/17) so be sure to pick up your copy now!

I love it when I accidentally stumble across a book that is exactly the type of taut and atmospheric thriller I enjoy reading – and from an author I had previously not discovered, which hints at many more reading pleasures yet to come (please keep writing, Sherri Smith!).

Mia and Lucas Haas had a tough childhood growing up with an alcoholic mother, Mimi, who despite the siblings’ pleas has never revealed the identity of their father. After an accident that left Mimi brain damaged and living in an assisted care facility, the siblings were propelled into an early adulthood with responsibilities far beyond their years. Whilst Mia has made her life far from home, working as a pharmacist in the city, Lucas has returned to their hometown in North Dakota, teaching English at the local high school and shouldering the responsibility of visiting Mimi regularly. Whilst the twins are still close, the geographical distance means that they don’t get to see each other very often. When Mia receives a phone call from the police informing her that Lucas is missing, suspected of having murdered one of his teenage students, Mia is horrified. It is impossible that her brother, one of the town’s battlers made good against all odds, who manages to charm everyone with his good looks and gentle nature, is capable of such an act of violence. And yet there are many witnesses who claim to have seen Lucas and the dead girl together, and Lucas is nowhere to be found to defend himself. As Mia investigates some of the rumours going around town, she becomes increasingly afraid not only for her brother’s reputation, but also for his safety.

“His need to be known as a good guy was almost pathological. We were the approval seeking byproduct of our histrionic alcoholic mother; we just went about it differently. I cared less about being likeable than being considered impressive, whereas Lucas really wanted to be liked, the guy everyone wanted around, and that was who he’s always been. Unless. Unless he’s dead too.”

But since the police are convinced that he is guilty, they refuse to take her seriously. To clear her brother’s name, Mia has no choice than to start her own investigation. Even when it may put her own life in danger ....

Follow Me Down offers everything a good thriller should: featuring a gutsy, if flawed, main protagonist who takes on the role as sleuth, slowly and methodically unveiling layer after layer of secrets and scandal to finally reveal all in an explosive, action-packed and totally unexpected finale. I hungrily devoured page after page until late into the night, only reluctantly putting the book aside from sheer exhaustion and the knowledge that I had to look semi-alive at work the next day.

Mia is a wonderful protagonist. Whilst flawed (or maybe because of it), she is the type of gutsy female that drives a storyline and makes you fear for her as she faces one obstacle after another, not cowed by the town folk’s hostility or the danger she is putting herself in. And of course there is the guilt and doubt she lives with on a daily basis, which gives her the kind of dry humour and no-nonsense outlook on life I find refreshing. It made a welcome change from what seems to be a current trend in crime fiction, of presenting feeble confused females as unreliable narrators (which works well sometimes, but can be very irritating if not done correctly). Mia was relatable, from her loyalty and love for her twin against all odds, and her brave perseverance in the face of adversity and hostility from the people she has grown up with. By endowing her with a dysfunctional parent and a traumatic childhood, Mia’s background provides an interesting and three-dimensional base on which her whole character is built – warts and all.

Well done to Sherri Smith for tackling a completely new genre with such finesse! Follow Me Down is a taut, compelling and well-constructed thriller that kept me totally enthralled until the very last page. I recommend it highly and will be looking out for more books from this talented author in future.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free electronic copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Twins Lucas and Mia are opposites in nearly every way. He's blond, confident, and outgoing, whereas she's brunette, diffident, and introverted. He stayed in their small North Dakota hometown, where he works as a high school teacher and hockey coach, while she went off to pharmacy school and moved to Chicago.

Mia returns home when she learns that Lucas is suspected of an abduction (if not a murder) of one of his students and has gone missing. Mia knows he didn't do this. She never allows herself to suspect that he did, and she becomes an amateur sleuth, desperate to find out who wants it to look like Lucas committed these heinous crimes.

What makes Mia such an intriguing character are her own flaws. She is judgmental, she has addiction issues, and given the choice between flight or fight, she chooses flight nearly every time. With Lucas, though, she finds herself having to fight.

Sherri Smith maintains a steady, increasingly anxious pace, letting you get to know Mia and the supporting cast while also slowly ratcheting up your fears for Lucas. Is Mia too blind to her brother's faults? Is she reliable, given her own weaknesses? Smith also throws in a sort of ancillary mystery, one that helps coalesce the various threads. She keeps you guessing about the identity of the villain, making you suspect different characters as the book progresses. When you look back, you can see how she planted clues. I did suspect the bad guy at times, but my attention would be diverted to other suspects.

In order for this book to be successful, Smith has to establish an nearly impenetrable bond between Mia and Lucas. Theirs was not an idyllic childhood by any justification, and you can both understand why Mia wanted to leave and why Lucas wanted to stay. Theirs is not a perfect relationship, but it's one forged from a shared need to survive an unstable mother. Lucas would never abandon Mia, nor she him. Despite her many flaws, Mia is someone you connect with, someone you want to win.

Sherri Smith keeps you guessing, just as she makes you more determined to hope for the best for Mia. This is an enjoyable, taut thriller that occasionally plays with your head, as all good thrillers should.

"Follow Me Down" by Sherri Smith is set in the fictional town of Wayoata, North Dakota. In typical small town USA fashion, Wayoata likely has five or six traffic lights, a local grocery store, and a high school sports team for everyone to rally around- and rarely, a serious crime. The town is shocked when a beautiful high school senior girl is murdered, and one of her teachers, the lead suspect, goes missing. Like Mia, the main character, I was equally charmed and wary of Wayoata - never knowing who to trust, or what might happen next. And just like a good small town rumor mill, "Follow Me Down" sucked me in....
Loved the main character and her return to hometown

Before starting "Follow Me Down" I was intrigued and attracted to the premise, particularly Mia's return to her small hometown in North Dakota. The city girl returning to her hometown roots spoke to my love of movies like "Sweet Home Alabama" or "Hope Floats" - embarrassing, perhaps, but really there is just so much story telling potential there! The connections and relationships are older, stronger, and also potentially broken, with a long, rich history already established. This was certainly the case for Mia and her return to Wayoata, North Dakota. Mia's mother lives in a rehabilitation center due to a previous alcohol related accident, the police chief investigating her brother's disappearance is far from a family friend, the police officer working with Mia was a middle school friend and her first kiss, and many of the parents of the students involved in the murder investigation are former classmates as well. At times the murder mystery plot fell away, but in its place were some incredibly interesting relationship dynamics. The author, Sherri Smith, did an excellent job using this story telling formula to make a rich and engaging community of characters.

Good twists and turns
Through the course of the book, there are a handful of characters you consider for the "whodunit". One of my favorite elements in "Follow Me Down" was this constant guessing game for Mia. Mia's internal dialogue was frequently a run down of why any one character might have killed Joanna or her brother. It was at times hilarious, the story Mia could so quickly build in her mind about how or why a character might've had motive to commit the crime. But between the laughs, I was also eyeing the characters, feeling no one could be trusted, and wondering who the real suspects might be. Sherri Smith created a community of suspicious characters, but they are also very real and their actions, while at times suspicious, also felt justified. While reading, it felt like each turn of the page left me hoping that the solution to the mystery was just around the corner. This book is definitely a page turner!

Things I Struggled With
Okay, so yes, I do love "Hope Floats" and "Sweet Home Alabama", and a common thread in those movies are immediate love interests - and while they are swoon worthy in those movies, I don't love them quite as much in my reading. Sherri Smith has such a solid murder mystery here, and such great characters, that the romance plot lines cropping up quickly felt a little unnecessary and took away from my enjoyment of the mystery's suspense. Also, my type A personality really struggled with Mia's decision to drop her job in Chicago with no notice. She leaves suddenly, and understandably when she finds out that her brother is missing, but then spends an additional 16 days there with little discussion of the job she has left behind.What? She talks about the extreme expenses she is responsible for, from her apartment and infirm mother- yet seems fairly unconcerned that she may no longer have an income? Just seemed a little off.

When Mia takes a call at her nighttime pharmacy job from the local police in her old home town enquiring if she knows where her twin brother Lucas is it sets a fantastically brilliant series of events into action.
The book centres around Mia who returns to her hometown to try and find her missing twin brother who is a "person of interest" in the murder of a popular teenage girl.
It is very rare that I have wanted to reach into a book and grab a charachter by the shoulders slap them across the face Hollywood style and tell them to get a grip....with Mia I absoloutly did! She muddles through in a pill popping fog uncovering clues and then uses the information stupidly.
I'm not going to lie. About a third of the way into the book I thought I had it all figured out...yep I sat there reading willing Mia to connect the dots and be as clever as me but man did I ever get led up the garden path. I was so far wrong that even as it unfolded in front of me I was kicking myself for not picking up on small little details dropped along the way.
This book is just fantastic it is so eloquently written and the characters really grab you. Pack the kids off for the day because once you start reading this no one is getting fed!!

A woman returns to her small home town after her brother is accused of a sexual relationship with a student and then her death and then he disappears. Mia goes home to straighten everything out. (If only!) I will admit: I did not guess who did it. But, I almost didn't care who did do it. There were so many things to think about while reading this book: whether Lucas was really having the affair, what was going on with Mia and her functioning drug addiction, whether the town police had covered up what really happened with their mother's car accident years ago, and whether Mia should be sleeping with Eric or Garrett. A lot to think about! And for me, it was difficult to think about "who done it" when Lucas was still missing. That wild card left everything in limbo. Admittedly, I also felt like all those other questions made things a little confusing in the middle of the book. A character would come back in to the story and I would have to stop and remember who they were and where their place was in the mayhem. End result: hell hath no fury like a woman scorned would be the perfect tag line for this book, for more than one reason!

Really interesting, compelling thriller which kept me riveted. Would highly recommend to others and look forward to more from this author.

I know this comparison has been overused, but allow me another go at it: this book really reminded me of Gillian Flynn a la “Sharp Objects” or “Dark Places.” It’s a gritty, dark mystery with a screwed-up female lead you’re not sure if you can trust. And it’s really very good.

Mia Haas is forced to return to her small North Dakota hometown after learning that her twin brother, Lucas, a high school English teacher, has disappeared amidst rumors he seduced and murdered one of his students – a dancer with a “golden girl” image. But Mia’s convinced that he could never do something so heinous, despite their mother’s own tainted past. And as she finds out when she investigates further, a lot of people in Wayoata are hiding things.

This book has so many things which make it great: a dark atmosphere in a grieving small town; family secrets; murder; and an unreliable narrator who we learn early on has many good qualities, but is also a pill-popper learning to deal with her own drama. These all blend perfectly to create an air of suspicion. Mia finds she can come up with several theories about Joanna’s death – including that Lucas is indeed guilty.

And the ending is….shocking.

But that’s also where my 4 stars come in. The ending is indeed every bit as dark and twisted as the story sets it up to be, but in the back of my mind, I can’t help but think that some of the theories Joanna came up with would have been a more satisfying ending. It’s like, that ending was good, but I might have enjoyed seeing the outcome of another one of Mia’s theories MORE.

But that’s not to say that I hated the ending or anything. It just wasn’t wholly satisfying in the way that, say, “Sharp Objects” was (ONE OF MY FAVES BTW).

But there are clues along the way, and it does wrap things up nicely. Overall, this book kept me hooked from page one. It was a great ride and I look forward to more from this author. She’ll probably be on my “definitely buy” list from now on.

Follow Me Down, the debut thriller by Sherri Smith, had been on my radar for a few months. When I found out that Chevy Stevens, my newest author obsession, gave a blurb on the front cover of this one, I knew I had to move it to the top of my TBR pile.

So I did. And I am thrilled to say that this was an excellent choice.

The novel opens with Mia, a struggling addict with a less than stellar childhood, receiving a call from the police. A teenage girl is dead. Her twin brother (Lucas) is missing. And he is the suspect at large. Mia, trusting in her brother’s innocence, rushes home (back to her small town life) to try to find him and clear his name while addressing her own past demons.

I found Mia, our central character and the novel’s narrator, to be an incredibly likeable character. She was strong willed and stuck to her guns. She was also very damaged and clearly held on to a lot of trauma from her childhood. I loved watching her tenacity throughout the plot. I don't have a twin, but I do have two brothers, so I felt connected to her as she fought for her sibling.

To be honest, I was finding around the midway point that this one was a little lacklustre for me, I was engaged in the story and I found that I read it easily but not much stood out for me…until the end. That’s when Sherri Smith flipped a switch and suddenly, the brilliance of her narrative came to life. That ending came out of left field for me! It was absolutely riveting. The last one hundred pages flew by and I turned the last page feeling breathless.

As I always do when I am reading a book, I did a little research on the author and I was incredibly impressed to find out that Smith had previously written two historical fiction novels and then she came out with this?? The ability to switch gears and write with such diversity, that is raw talent. AND she lives in Canada! Needless to say, hello new author obsession!!

If you want something that is easy to read, a little bit lighter but still packing a killer punch, I would definitely consider this one as your next choice! I’m calling this as something to bring to the beach and lazily enjoy.

Can’t wait to see what she will write next!

FOLLOW ME DOWN by author Sherri Smith is her first thriller…and a psychological thriller, my favourite! This novel packed a punch and kept me guessing until the very end. I was so involved in this story that I resented any interruptions. Just leave me alone and let me read! I loved this book!

“LOCAL TEACHER PERSON OF INTEREST IN STUDENTS MURDER.”

“Mia Haas has built a life for herself far from the North Dakota town where she grew up, but when she receives word that her twin brother is missing, she’s forced to return home. Once hailed as the golden boy of their small town, Lucas Haas disappeared the same day the body of one of his high school students is pulled from the river. Trying to wrap her head around the rumours of Lucas’s affair with the teen, and unable to reconcile the media’s portrayal of Lucas as a murderer with her own memories of him, Mia is desperate to find another suspect.”

But why did he run?

Mia Haas, the protagonist worked as a pharmacist in Chicago, while her twin brother, Lucas was a local teacher in a small town Wayoata, North Dakota. But when her brother is named by the police department as a person of interest, Mia confronts her past and returns to her hometown to prove Lucas’s innocence. The victim, Joanna was a student of Mr. Haas and only sixteen years old.

But Mia tells the police that her brother is not responsible for Joanna’s murder. “Lucas is a kind and gentle person, incapable of violence. Whoever did this is still out there and needs to be brought to justice.”

Mia comes from her own difficult past, but now her strength is reactivated and she must investigate the murder and prove her brother’s innocence. She is one gutsy lady!

I will not give away any more of the plot, for risk of spoilers. I can just recommend highly this mystery thriller. Any fan of mystery or whodunits will love this book.

One of the best thrillers I have read in 2017!

Many thanks to Sherri Smith, Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Nothing is better than reading a book that lives up to its gorgeous cover (LOOK AT IT. IT'S SO PRETTY). I am jealous of anyone who manages to get ahold of a physical copy of this book, since I only got an e-ARC. But I'm so glad that I received this one through Netgalley, because it was oh so good.

(Also, stay tuned! I got the opportunity to interview the author, and it will be below the review!)

I was definitely pulled into requesting this one because of the synopsis, and I'm so glad to say that it definitely delivered. I'm a huge fan of thrillers in which the main character used to live in a small town, and has no choice but to go back to the bad memories to solve a conflict, and this one definitely reminded me of why I'm such a huge fan of them. If you were a big fan of Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, you'll probably fall in love with this one like I did.

The pacing of this book was A+. Once I started this book, I could barely put it down, especially near the halfway point where we kept discovering new things and clues kept popping up and I just absolutely needed to know what was going to happen next. Personally, I thought this book was pretty much perfectly-paced, and a fantastic balance between being extremely tense, but slowing it down when it was necessary. I thought the way that the entire case unfolded was quite realistic, especially regarding the police work (even though that 100% frustrated me to death that the police wouldn't listen to Mia, I swear to God). Not to mention that I was completely mislead about where this book was going, and it's always a mark in my book when a thriller can truly surprise me.

The main character of this novel is Mia Haas, who was quite interesting. Usually, I'm not one to care too much about characters in thrillers, but who can resist a pharmacist who's addicted to pills herself? I also really loved the relationships between her and her family, which was a great way to build character. Even though Lucas isn't in the book too much, I definitely got that sort of twin bond between the two of them, and you could definitely feel the love that she had for her brother, which was what made her complex feelings towards the case so real. And we also get to see the complicated relationship between Mia and her mother growing up, and even in the present, which I really loved. A lot of relationships get explored often in thrillers - married couples, parents and their children, best friends, even siblings - but I've rarely seen such a huge focus on characters and their parents, and I really enjoyed it and thought it included a pretty interesting perspective.

Overall, if the premise interests you and you love small towns with big secrets, you should 100% read this book!

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley. A huge thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Sherri Smith for granting me a copy!

Mia Haas moved far away from the town she grew up in. She has made a life for herself as a pharmacist in Chicago. She gets a phone call from the local police of her hometown that her twin brother Lucas has disappeared and he is a person of interest in a murder investigation of a young girl. Lucas is a high school teacher and Joanna was one of his students. There are plenty of rumors going around about Lucas and Mia is determined to find her brother and prove he is innocent. This was a great thriller of a book and kept me guessing until the very end. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for an ARC of this book for an honest review.

Follow Me Down is a well written and cleverly crafted murder mystery that kept me hooked to the pages from beginning to end. The dark atmosphere adds to the quality of the story and the unfolding of events are taught and thrilling. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and impressed with Sherri Smith's storytelling ability and based on this novel, I would gladly read more of her novels in the future.

This novel is about a dead teenage girl, a missing teacher who is being targeted for the crime, and the twin sister of said teacher who will stop at nothing to find out what really happened. Did her brother kill his student? Or is something much more sinister at play? Family secrets, and deadly consequences are the cornerstone of this edgy read and readers will continuously guess "who dun it" until the very end when everything comes together.

This is a sinister yet highly thrilling read and I honestly cannot recommend it enough to those who enjoy murder mysteries and psychological thrillers. One of the only downfalls that I found within this novel is that it's a bit long and drawn out in some parts. This is my own personal opinion though as I prefer a bit of a "lighter read". Other than this, its PERFECT.

Amazing! Loved this story! Awesome debut! Highly recommend!

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this book.

I read it in one day one of those that you can't seem to put down as you want to know what happens next. Kept me guessing till the very end. Great book!

Big fan of this one. I seem to be on a run of really excellent books at the moment.

Follow Me Down is a taut and atmospheric psychological thriller/small town drama which is enhanced by its main protagonist, Mia, who is divisive and multi faceted – as she hunts for the truth surrounding her brother’s disappearance she will challenge your ability to sympathise with her whilst absolutely making sure that you do.

Set in its majority over 16 days, each day brings Mia new challenges, both personally and in her search for Lucas, that will keep you utterly gripped as events unfold. The author writes so beautifully, both in her portrayal of a sibling relationship haunted by the secrets of an unstable mother and in the deep seated mystery elements surrounding the death of a teenager – all levels of Follow Me Down bring something new to the table.

The character dynamics are all hugely fascinating – from the tiger mother to the pot head student who nobody pays attention to, all of those you will meet within these pages whether peripherally or more deeply have emotional resonance – in a town full of secrets Mia faces down a wall of assumptions. Her own actions are informed by her own demons, her familial relationships and the small town vibe she thought she had left behind her – as the puzzle begins to unravel Sherri Smith takes you on a twisted and eloquent road to the truth.

Nuanced and riveting, Follow Me Down intrigues and enthralls from first page to last.

Highly Recommended.

I am always surprised when a debut novel is this good! And as psychological thrillers are my preferred genre, this one did not disappoint! It was a roller coaster ride from page one! When Mia's twin brother, Lucas disappears after rumors that he was involved with a young student later found murdered, Mia sets off to her hometown of North Dakota to find him. Sure he is innocent, she is hindered by the police, grieving families, gossip, and secrets--all of which confuse her as she begins to wonder if the rumors are possibly true. But she perseveres to find the truth and discovers much more than she bargained for--including her own family secrets and betrayals. Fast-paced and witty, this novel is one of my favorites this year!

Sherri Smith has written a suspenseful thriller with Follow Me Down. Mia is a persistent, loyal, and intelligent protagonist, never stopping no matter how many times she gets the side-eye, or the verbal abuse, or the physical abuse. The reader is torn between wanting to believe Lucas for her sake to suspecting he just might be at fault. Follow Me Down will keep you guessing to the end. I can't wait for more from this author. This book reminds me a bit of early Gillian Flynn, but with more likeable characters.

Mia Haas never intended to return to the small town in North Dakota where she grew up, but a family emergency drags her back. Her twin brother, Lucas is missing and one of his students is dead, found in the local river. Rumors abound about Lucas having an affair with his underage student. Mia finds it hard to believe the brother she knows would be capable of such a thing, let alone murder. But where is Lucas? Is he a killer and on the run or is something even worse going on. Don’t start this book unless you have time to finish it, or you’ll be calling in sick or making your excuses to someone about why you won’t be showing up