A story of when someone is stalked on the internet.
Audrey is a social media influencer that just got a job in DC. She moved from New York-the same city as a college friend and her stalker. While Cat asks Audrey to stay at her place, Audrey gets an apartment withouy looking into it first.
There are many men that come into Audrey's life (some new, some not seen for years) and my suspicions of who might be her stalker changed a bit.

There is one scene in the novel when I went "that HAS to be who the stalker is" and it turned it to be right.

The ending was what brought my rating from a 4 to a 3.... If one tragedy had happened, I would have had this at 4 stars but the ending just didn't quite make sense.

WOW!!! one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read this year!! Every character is a suspect as the stalker. Just as you think you know who is could be - another character becomes a suspect.

I received a complimentary eARC copy of FOLLOW ME by Kathleen Barber. Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for the chance to read and review.

I have been part of the team hosting a buddy read for FOLLOW ME by Kathleen Barber over the second half of April. This book has had me intrigued since I first heard the premise, so I was excited to read it. When I got approved for the eARC shortly before the buddy read began, it was perfect timing! I also had the audiobook from Scribd, so read it in both ebook and audio formats.

FOLLOW ME follows social media darling Audrey Miller, a woman used to framing her life in Instagram worthy shots for her multitude of adoring followers. When Audrey gets a dream job at the Smithsonian and has to relocate to DC on short notice, she takes a basement apartment sight unseen. She immediately begins to regret this when the landlord’s creepy grandson and her new neighbor teaches her how insecure she can feel living alone for the first time.

Audrey is not entirely alone in DC. Her former sorority sister is nearby offering support and she has a guy in town with whom she’s had a very on again, off again relationship that she can’t seem to tear herself away from. Audrey’s ability to make herself noticed isn’t all good, however. There is an unknown “him” who has been watching Audrey for a long time and he’s getting more bold now that she’s moved to his home town.

I really enjoyed this one and it kept me guessing throughout! The characters aren’t entirely lovable, so if you’re the type to be bothered by that this might not be for you. That can be a bit hit or miss for me, but in this case the unlovable characters were very well done and I enjoyed reading them and their faults. We’re getting three different POVs, Audrey’s, Cat’s and “Him” and it isn’t always clear who is and isn’t reliable, but I found myself enjoying all of the different viewpoints on Audrey’s life.

The overall tone of the book is written in a way that has you questioning everyone in Audrey’s life, much more than Audrey ever considers questioning her situation. Though she begins to realize something is wrong, there were many times when I wanted to yell at her to make better choices!

If you enjoy a good thriller and getting inside a dark mind, this is one you definitely want to check out! It made for a fantastic discussion book pick as well as we had many theories to speculate on for our discussions and twists to unpack! I will absolutely be reading more from Kathleen Barber!

This book will have you thinking long and hard about how much of yourself you share online. This is a creepy and unsettling stalker story. I really enjoyed this book a lot.

If you want a creepy read that will make you question everyone around you and to keep a closer eye on your own social media accounts, Follow Me is that book! As soon as I finished the book, I went through my social media accounts and locked them up as tight as I could! When I first started reading, I thought I was going to have a hard time with all the different characters and changes in time frame, but they ended up just adding to the suspense. This is the first book I have read by Kathleen Barber, and I cannot wait to read more from her!

This psychological thriller alternates between 3 viewpoints: Audrey, a slightly vapid social media influencer who posts everything about her life online but of course her life isn’t as perfect as she makes it look; Cat, a socially awkward woman who is Audrey’s friend from college; and the nameless “Him” who has long followed Audrey online but who becomes more and more of a stalker once she moves to DC, and whose identity remains a mystery til towards the end as the reader is left to wonder which if any of the characters who make appearances in the book he might me. I’m not sure how I feel about the ending, but it was definitely quite the page turner. 3.75 stars.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. My reviews can be read on my GoodReads account here: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1335387-kelly

I loved this thriller. Yes, it’s another sinister take on the thin and tragic line between love and obsession, reminiscent of Kepnes’ You. Boy stalks girl, girl gets paranoid, which of the eight-thousand bad dudes in this book could be the stalker? Oh no, another red herring? etc; truly this plot is overdone and cliche, but the friendship dynamics between Instagram-star Audrey and awkward college friend Cat take this stalker story to another level. I loved the displays of intense devotion, jealousy, ideation and bitterness between Cat and Audrey, it felt real and utterly mesmerizing. It was definitely a page turner.

4 stars
Loved this book at what Social Media can do. It was creepy and smart all at the same time. Today's people have given up the idea of privacy and this shows how dangerous it can actually be.

𝑰'𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Guess who's going to be putting a black tape over her webcam. This girl right here. My heart was racing through 99.99% of the book. There wasn't one moment where I felt like I could breathe easily.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
𝑨𝒖𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This book has been dubbed for fans of YOU, and while that is true, it's also very different. In a way, I found this creepier than YOU for the reason that we don't know who's doing the stalking. While we do get chapters on his point of view, we don't get a name. What we do get is seeing the stalking through Audrey's eyes and how scared she is to even sleep in her apartment. Every noise and every stare has her on high alert.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒈𝒐 𝒐𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒑. 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I was always kept guessing who was "him". I honestly never guessed until it was close to being revealed. And the ending!!! THAT FREAKING ENDING LEFT ME INSANE! Like, WTF?! It's safe to say I'm keeping Kathleen Barber in my eyesight from now on.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

Ok, so here is the thing: A story about an Instagram influencer who has a stalker? SIGN ME UP. First, because many of us (whether we admit it or not) def want to hit influencer level on social media. Secondly, Instagram is the HOT social media now- and so (again whether we admit it or not) many of us are showing curated pieces of our life on social media.

So- Audrey is like part role model AND cautionary tale.

What I liked:

The cover. Creepy!

How the story is told: Audrey, Cat (a friend of hers) and Him (Audrey’s stalker). Each voice is needed in this story- and how the story is told just makes you want to read faster.

The twists and turns. YES!



Bottom line: I’m seeing some comparisons to YOU, but since I haven’t read that book yet- not sure how similar they are. This book will def make you think before you share that next photo or tag your location in an Instagram story.

Perfect for fans of:
•the Netflix show You

This will have you questioning what you share on social media. A fast paced, creepy thriller.

We live in a world where we share everything on social media and do not think about it twice. But what happens when the wrong person becomes too interested? In Follow Me by Kathleen Barber, we meet Aubrey and we are kept captivated as we try to figure out what is going on. She is starting over in a new city and is a social media influencer. But who is stalking her? The story is told in multiple point of view and will leave you at the edge of your seat until the end.

Happy reading!

Someone has been watching Audrey for a long time. Online. But when he decides to take it from virtual to reality that is when the nightmare begins.

Barber likes to write about the internet. Her previous novel, Are you Sleeping, which was excellent, was about a podcast. This too has the internet at its core.

I found this book to be unique, heart-pounding, and exciting. It was also a little too eerily realistic. It made me start to wonder about how safe the WWW actually is. However.. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys fiction about the internet

Great read!

oh yes, yes, yes. Loved this book! Loved the plot, the formatting, and just everything about this book! Don't we all kind of have that innate fear that what we share on the internet could come back to harm us? That there is a fine line between sharing, and oversharing? I have really taken a liking to creepy stalker books, they are fascinating to me, for some really creepy reason. I know everyone loves YOU, but for me, this book is IT!

Instagrammer Audrey Miller has carefully curated her New York life so that it looks perfect online. She loves Manhattan, and she knows the city well enough that she can find the perfect coffee, the perfect gym, the perfect shoes so that those who follow her want to be her. While she does have some sponsors who provide her with products to share online, she’s not a full-time influencer. But then she gets offered the perfect job and finds herself leaving Manhattan for Washington D.C.

As a social media manager for the Smithsonian, Audrey is tasked with making a new installation the talk of the town. It’s a series of dioramas of the story of a young woman who went to Los Angeles to become an actress, and on finding success, she was murdered by a stalker. Audrey loves the art and immediately starts to post online to build buzz for the museum. And she jumps into life in D.C. like a boss.

She had found an apartment online, and while Audrey loved her landlord, an older woman renting out the basement apartment in her house, the woman’s grandson left Audrey with a creepy feeling. Even after she had the locks changed for the outside gate and her front door, he still found his way into her apartment to leer and sneer and grab a handful of her jewelry and cash.

Luckily, Audrey has an old friend from college, a D.C. lawyer named Cat, who has a safe apartment with an extra bedroom where she can crash from time to time. And Audrey’s college boyfriend Nick stops by her apartment from time to time for a hook-up, so that’s another way she protects herself. But she finds herself on the street sometimes, feeling like someone is watching her. Is it the grandson? The creeper she caught at the museum looking at the new exhibit before it opened? The guy Cat’s had a crush on since law school who hit on Audrey at Trivia Night? Or is it someone else entirely?

When you put your life on the internet for everyone to see, what’s to keep anyone from seeing too much? When you’re making your life look better than everyone else’s, what’s to keep anyone from wanting too much? Are they followers, sheep, fans, or stalkers?

Kathleen Barber’s Follow Me is a twisty, unsettling powerhouse of a thriller that keeps you guessing until the end. With more than enough possibilities for who the stalker could be, this story kept me on the edge of my seat until I got to the end. If you love a good thriller, then check out Follow Me and hold on tight!

Galleys for Follow Me were provided by Gallery Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This was a twisty ride that I absolutely enjoyed. I gasped a few times, which is always the sign of a great twist.

This book was a bit creepy. I hate Audrey, but I guess I was supposed to. I really enjoyed the book though!

If you're a fan of the Netflix show "You," then you will likely be interested in the book.

I heard a lot of hype about this book, so I was excited to have the chance to check it out, esp. as psychological thrillers are some of my favorite reads. It may give the reader pause about what they post on social media.

I did enjoy the multiple POVs, but I had a hard time warming up to Audrey. She's very self-absorbed, which make it hard to really connect with her, or even like her, at times.

I was able to figure out the stalker, but there were a few good twists, despite the predictability. The big reveal came too late. As a fan of this genre, I was expecting a bit more. This was just an okay read for me.

Kathleen Barber follows up her stunning debut novel, Are You Sleeping (subsequently renamed Truth Be Told) with a fast-paced, frightening story illustrating the dangers of overexposure on the Internet and through the use of social media.

Audrey Miller is educated, young and beautiful, fit, and obsessed with the personal "brand" she has carefully cultivated, primarily through her Instagram account. She has become an influencer, receiving free merchandise and products in exchange for posting photographs and reviews. In her first-person narration, Audrey rejects her former roommate's contention that she is a narcissist. Rather, she insists that she shares so many details about her personal life because she loves the "connection. With a million friends at the palm of your hand, how could anyone ever feel truly alone?" She describes herself as a Midwestern transplant to New York City who has "construct[ed] a minor cult of personality out of thin air."

Audrey has landed her dream job in Washington, D.C. as a Social Media Manager with the Smithsonian. The timing is perfect because her roommate, Izzy, informs her that she must move out of their shared apartment so that Izzy's boyfriend can move in. Audrey rents an apartment in D.C. without viewing it in person, which proves to be a huge misstep.

Audrey's friend, Cat, is an ambitious attorney in D.C., Audrey became the best friend she ever had after Audrey befriended her in college, rescuing her from the mean girls who ridiculed and rejected her. They lived together until Audrey moved to New York and Cat continued on to law school. Now Cat is a workaholic striving for partnership who spends precious little time in the tastefully decorated apartment into which she invites Audrey. Cat's story is also related via a first-person narration. She is self-deprecating, describing her awkwardness and lack of self-confidence, as well as her relationship with Audrey, She gradually reveals details about a disturbing event in her past that she does not want Audrey or anyone else to discover. She may not be able to keep her past a secret, however, when Max Metcalf, an old friend from summer camp, surfaces. And, of course, he is interested only in Audrey. Is he toying with Cat, ready to reveal what he knows about that summer so long ago? Can she risk that he will tell Audrey if she doesn't capitulate to his requests, including that she set him up with Audrey?

The chapters focused on Audrey and Cat alternate with a disturbing chronicle from "him" about his fixation on Audrey. Barber cleverly reveals the depth of a mystery man's obsession with Audrey -- and determination to be with her in an all-consuming relationship -- incrementally, while credibly establishing several potential perpetrators. Connor is the associate at Cat's firm with whom she is infatuated. Nick is Audrey's old boyfriend and when she arrives in D.C., they pick up right where they left off in a casual, uncommitted, yet reliably affectionate and friendly relationship. But Audrey finds herself attracted to Max, the thoughtful too-good-to-be-true guy with whom she races into a relationship. She is being terrorized in her apartment by someone lurking in the alley, leaving thorn-studded flower stems on her doorstep, and entering her apartment when she is asleep. Could it be the landlady's grandson, Ryan? After all, Audrey caught him in her apartment stealing from her. There's even a visitor at the Smithsonian who persists in lurking around the as-yet-unfinished exhibit that Audrey is tasked with promoting online.

As Audrey is tormented by her unidentified stalker and Cat becomes increasingly paranoid about her secret, Barber deftly accelerates both the dramatic tension and the book's pace. She continues revealing clues about the man who is diabolically infatuated with Audrey, eliminating suspects until only a couple remain. And then delivers shocking plot developments that send both Audrey and Cat reeling, taking readers on a breathtaking race to the story's jaw-dropping conclusion.

Barber proves that her initial success with Are You Sleeping was no fluke. Follow Me is a first-rate, compulsively readable thriller populated with intriguing characters and founded upon a scarily plausible plot set against the backdrop of a timely and thought-provoking issue: social media and the extent to which many people share details about their personal lives with complete strangers. Follow Me succeeds at being the cautionary story Barber envisioned and, for that reason, would make an excellent book club selection because there are numerous aspects of the story that lend themselves to contemplation and discussion.