Unreliable narrators, the illusions of social media and the voyeurs of their lives combine to make an irresistible thriller, you won't want to put down.

I had hoped Unfollow Me would be a thriller about mommy vlogger Violet. Instead, the story really focuses on two of the four narrators: Lily the unbalanced stalker, and Yvonne the possibly unhinged ex-girlfriend of Violet's husband Henry. We occasionally hear from Henry as a narrator too, and Violet herself wraps up the book with the epilogue.

When Violet disappears from social media, Lily and Yvonne join thousands of other women in wondering where Violet has gone ... or do these two women already know?

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book. I found it difficult to follow because the author wanted to keep too many pieces secret until the end. I could not identify with or appreciate any of the main characters. Trigger warning of miscarriage, loss of a newborn, abortion.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Unfollow Me by Charlotte Duckworth is a standard thriller following Violet who is a popular social media influencer and "mom" vlogger with over a million followers. When all of her social media accounts are suddenly deleted, fans start to question what happened. Some think Violet simply decided to quit it all, while others believe something more sinister has happened.

I always enjoy books that have social media in some way in the storyline. I haven’t read a book about an influencer before so it was different. Found keeping up with the characters quite confusing. I’d read more from this author

Thanks goes to net galley and the publishers for providing me with a copy in exchange for a honest review.

Violet Young seemingly has the lot – a gorgeous house in London, a successful husband and adorable kids. She’s also a YouTube influencer with a million followers. But when her social media presence suddenly goes dark, her fans go into meltdown. Conspiracy theories abound as to what’s happened to their icon as they set out to find out the truth behind Violet’s disappearance.

I should admit at the outset that I’m seriously bored with domestic noir. I gave Unfollow Me a go because the social media angle sounded intriguing – and it’s undoubtedly the book’s strongest point. As for the plot and the characters … Well, that’s quite another matter.

Unfollow Me appears to recline under the psychological thriller banner. There’s a soupcon of psychological and virtually zero thriller. When the reveal comes, it’s a case of ‘was that it? And …?’ One element of the ending, though, did give a chilling take on what the book could have been.

The lack of tension and pace isn’t helped by the multiple narrators structure. Most of the book is told by Lily, a single mum, and Yvonne, who is desperate to have a baby. There are occasional walk-ons from Henry, Violet’s husband. As you might expect, there are shady events from the characters’ pasts and the usual doubt as to who’s telling porkies. But the constant swapping of points of view means the book never builds up any head of steam.

You don’t have to like a character to care about them and to root for them. But you have to feel something – and I didn’t, for any of them. Ironically, perhaps the best fleshed-out character is Violet, who is a shadowy figure in the book (and that’s not a spoiler). If your life doesn’t revolve around kids, then you might want to avoid Unfollow Me.

What does redeem the book is its sharp take on the skewed world of social media influencers, whose seemingly picture-perfect world can hide a deeply flawed core. And Duckworth makes the reader question how women are portrayed online – the often demonised single mum, the woman who will do almost anything to have a baby, and those who seemingly have it all.

As a thriller, Unfollow Me doesn’t deliver. As an unflinching look at the murky and paranoid world of social influencers, it has far more possibilities and hints at what could have been a strong story.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

What would make a popular mummy blogger suddenly delete all of her profiles without any warning?

And just who is behind the rather creepy emails that she is receiving?

And can it be at all healthy to obsess over just one influencer to the extent that your actions could be considered illegal?

Well all these questions are more are answered in Unfollow Me, a compelling look at how two women in particular respond to this youtuber's disappearance.

And let's just say nothing is as it seems and if I was to try to go into any detail I may accidentally spoil things.

Suffice to say that for my first foray into this author, I was impressed, and highly curious as to what would happen next at all points of the plot.

Thank you to Quercus and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This book was told from lots of characters perspectives. It touches on the subject of social media which plays a big part in our society today. Some great twists that you didnt see coming. The story was very well written. I know Charlotte has written another book and I will definately be reading that one too. Highly recommend.

Okay, so even though I enjoyed reading this book I'm only giving it a 3*.

It can get a bit confusing as it wrote in different peoples perspectives. Although does all make sense in the end. Although I'm still not totally sure why one of the ladies whole life was basically in this book it didn't seem all that significant... I guess in a way toward the end it was though...

Was a good easy read though and it was quite interesting too. I would recommend if you can keep up with it and the different point of views.

Really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to see things through Lily and Yvonne's eyes and slowly uncover their secrets. Good twist at the end too. Looking forward to reading more from Charlotte Duckworth!

Unbeknownst to single mother Lily and photographer Yvonne they have something in common with each other and millions of other internet users, an obsession with the vlogs that journalist - turned - mummy - influencer posts on YouTube. Watching her everyday life unfold online is the highlight of their lives. But then, one day Violet disappears from the online world, her entire social media presence deleted overnight, with no explanation.

Conjecture and suspicion spreads across social media faster than a online virus. Where is Violet?.Has she simply decided that sharing her life online is no longer a good idea or has something terrible happened to her?

Violet's fans are obsessed with finding out the truth but in this enthralling tale of secrets, lies and deceptions, some characters are not who they appear to be and discover that sometimes actions have serious consequences.I

The chapters of this thriller alternated between Lily and Yvonne and there was a few chapters that were voiced by Violet's husband Henry. I can't honestly say that I thought any of them was very likeable for various reasons but I did feel a lot of sympathy for Lily's young son Archie and Yvonne's husband Simon. Interspersed throughout the story there was snippets from the online conversations between a group of women on the GoMums social media site. They spent their time speculating on what had happened to Violet and passing judgement on who they thought was involved. Only to swiftly change their tune when the truth was revealed. This is one of the disadvantages of modern day society, people are far too quick to judge people and jump to conclusions without knowing the full facts. They can pass judgement whilst hiding behind their computer screens without fear of recriminations.

Unfollow Me is a well written,scarily realistic debut tale of obsession, secrets, deception, judgement and the dangers of living your life in the public eye. The gripping story is very addictive, keeps the reader guessing and holds your attention throughout. I really enjoyed this enthralling thriller and look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.

I don't remember ever requesting this book last year but it's affecting my review rating which is preventing me from getting new ARC books now. I'm no longer able to download the book to read so i can't write a review. I apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused.

Five stars because i must give a rating and i don't want to hurt the average of a book I haven't read.

A cautionary tale into the world of social media and the people you can encounter. Great feeling of suspense built up throughout, unfolding as the characters developed.

I would firstly like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one. Kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time! The story itself may be a little over the top and a tad unrealistic but it sure did have all the makings of a great unravelling, twisty read!
Can't wait for this author's next!

Loved this! It kept me guessing as to how the characters were all linked and what had happened to Violet. It was very clever how it was plotted and nothing was quite as it seemed. Would love to read more from this author. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Quercus for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Violet Young, ‘yummy mummy vlogger’ lives a perfect life online. With her three beautiful children, a supportive husband and a huge house in London, she videos their daily lives to millions of followers. Until one day, everything stops. No social media accounts can be found, and Violet seems to have vanished completely. With reports of screaming from their family home, could the supposed perfect family be unravelling? And where is Violet?

This starts with alternating chapters between two Violet supposed ‘superfans’, Lily and Yvonne, questioning what has happened to Violet and why she would take down her social media accounts. Rumours spear amongst the mum forums over what could have happened, leading Lily to undertake her own investigation. We determine almost straight away that neither woman is a reliable narrator, twisting the truth to suit their needs, and both seem to have an uncomfortable connect to Violet they’d rather forget. The story itself is fast paced and well written with enough twists to pull me into the story straight away and keep me hooked until the end. Although the two main characters never meet, their stories weave together well to give contrasting looks into Violet’s world.

Deeply flawed and at times unlikeable, there’s a level of desperation with Yvonne that filters through her chapters that at least gives a reason behind her actions. As we see more of her backstory, although she’s never particularly likeable, at least I came understand her behaviour. Lily I struggled to understand. She’s selfish, obsessive and dangerous without even realising it. A formula that can only spell trouble. My dislike of her meant I really struggled at times to connect with her emotions and storyline, finding her too self centred for me to care.

Part way through the narrative we are also introduced to Violet’s husband Henry. Always respectable and charming on camera, he slowly begins to unravel in the wake of what happened that night. His voice is a welcome change from the two women, as he tries to explain his selfish actions away by blaming his wife, his lifestyle and his past. Still manipulative to the end. I liked that throughout, Violet remains an almost enigmatic character - mentioned by all, but rarely seen or spoken. It added to the overall atmosphere of the book.

I’m enjoying this rise in ‘techno thrillers’. They offer a new and creative look into the negative sides of the digital age, and have a lot of scope to run for a while yet. Interesting premise, flawed characters (although I could have done without Lily) and decent writing make this a good addition to the pack.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I really enjoyed it. Good characters and an excellent storyline. However there were times I was getting a little confused about the characters and there part in the story. Overall though an excellent read..

I thought I was going to struggle with this book as I find women who live their lives vicariously through someone else's, lacking in any sense. Fortunately the story did grow on me and although not a favourite, it was interesting a lot of the time.

Unfollow Me by Charlotte Duckworth was one of those books that I picked up without knowing anything about the author, or even much about the book. And it GRIPPED me from beginning to end.

Thanks to Quercus Books for giving me for giving me a copy of this book for review consideration. As always, no matter what the source of the book, you get my honest, unbiased opinion.

5 THINGS I LOVED

* The complex characters – they reminded me of the old rhyme ‘There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, it doesn’t behoove any of us to speak evil of the rest of us’. I loved how complicated and contradictory they were.

* The toxic Social Media influencer setting – so realistic and recognisable

* The slow burner plotline – keep me guessing and guessing and guessing. I don’t know if I was being extremely slow or what, but it took me forever to grasp what was really happening, and that kept me reading as fast as I could.

* Online friendships – a bit unnerving as they show how little you know about them, but I loved this aspect

* The ending. It gave me chills, as it hinted that everything was not tied up perfectly.

Overall I loved this dark page-turner, and highly recommend it for a fast and furious read.

WHO SHOULD READ UNFOLLOW ME?

I’d suggest you read this if you love reading about the toxic side of social media, and like realistically flawed characters. Also recommended to fans of Lucy Dawson, Lucy Clarke and Andrea Marr.

Wow!!! My second Ducksworth book did not disappoint! Original and scary, but so realistic!! Tense, shocking, chilling, and thrilling! This book is so much better than even the rival! Highly recommend to my fellow thriller lovers looking for originality!