I’m not creeped out, you’re creeped out. Let me tell you, this book is creepy with a capital C. I think the creepiness comes from not only the writing but because it could happen to anyone with our crazy addiction to social media. Audrey Miller is what is called an “influencer” (a term I loathe) and she has an admirer. We know because we read the story in his voice as well. The story is actually a three point story with Audrey, her friend Cat (serious issues there too) and Him. All three are completely flawed and all three make this book unputdownable. I was reading thinking “oh this guy has to be Him”. Wrong. “Oh this guy for sure.” Wrong. I felt such a sense of dread leading up to the end. The end was really a surprise. It was all very well-written.

Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for a copy of this fantastic read.

Very easy to read, well written psychological thriller. The beginning was great and I was hoping that it will stay that way. I liked that the main character was so popular on social media and engaged with her audience. But then the story starts to be to similar to the one from “You”. Unfortunately the ending is even worst. Too predictable and naive.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair review.

Kathleen Barber’s latest thriller, Follow Me, is a frightening look inside the dangers of oversharing on social media. The story follows Audrey Miller, a semi-famous Instagram influencer, who is addicted to the spotlight and hungers for the adoration of her 1 million plus followers on the social media platform. When she relocates from New York City to Washington D.C. for a new job, she chronicles the details of her new adventure for her followers. What Audrey doesn’t realize, however, is that her life is about to take an absolutely terrifying turn because her move has brought her to much closer proximity to a male fan who is obsessed with her.

What made Follow Me so completely riveting for me is that in addition to seeing the story unfold from Audrey’s perspective, we are also given the perspective of the male fan. It’s super creepy to watch his obsession with Audrey grow and to watch how he becomes less and less satisfied with just following her Instagram now that he’s close enough to physically follow her. Nothing is ever enough to satisfy him though so he ultimately turns to the dark web to seek advice on how to make Audrey his once and for all.

Follow Me is a wild, dark, and suspenseful page turner that will have you wanting to delete all your social media accounts, smash your webcam, and never overshare ever again!

A young woman moves to a new city for her dream job and brings her substantial social media following with her. What she doesn’t realize is that one of her followers wants more than just her latest posts on Instagram. He wants her all to himself and will stop at nothing to get her. Author Kathleen Barber offers readers a standard thriller about the dangers of sharing too much of one’s life online in the new novel Follow Me.

Audrey Miller finally has a chance to be a grownup. Despite boasting a million followers on Instagram and dozens of endorsement opportunities, Audrey still doesn’t feel like she’s found her footing with a real job. Even the thrill of living in New York City is wearing off, although she doesn’t let any of her Instagram followers know that. According to the pictures she shares with them, she’s still got the most amazing life ever.

When she gets an offer to become the social media manager for the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., Audrey can’t stop smiling. Not only is the job suited to her talents, but it also gives her a chance to participate in curating museum exhibits (one of her real loves.) She packs her bags and moves to D.C. It helps, too, that her former college roommate, Cat, lives there already. Cat and Audrey always got along well, and Audrey knows they’ll hit it off again once she settles in.

The quick move leaves her with few options for housing, though, so she takes the dingy apartment basement with a mostly absent landlady and her creepy grandson. Even with the broken lock on the gate outside the apartment, Audrey is determined to make the best of things. With Cat and her hot ex-boyfriend Nick around, what’s the worst that could happen?

She finds out soon enough. Someone begins invading her privacy: breaking into her apartment, leaving her flowers, and letting her know that she’s been chosen. What Audrey doesn’t know is that one of her followers has installed a RAT (remote administration tool) onto her computer. Now he can watch her whenever he wants, and he definitely wants to watch.

To him, Audrey is everything. The fact that she’s moved to his hometown is a sure sign they’re meant to be together. Now he just has to find a way to convince her once and for all that they’re soulmates.

Author Kathleen Barber showcases the dangers of sharing too much of one’s self online. Had Follow Me been aimed at the YA audience, its content would have seemed more urgent or relevant. Because Barber writes for adults, however, the book has to work harder to make readers suspend their disbelief.

Too many plot elements feel more like serendipity. While Cat, Audrey’s former roommate, comes across as awkward at times, by the end readers will feel like she was added to the story just because another suspect was needed. Also, for someone who spends so much time curating her own life for her online audience, Audrey comes across as shockingly naïve. Had this book released five or 10 years ago, her innocence about the possibilities of online stalkers could be forgiven. In 2020, with enough news cycles and real-life stories about these kinds of incidents available, Audrey’s lack of awareness of the dangers of over-sharing seem like a convenient choice just to make the story move forward.

Barber tries to give all the main characters their due. Chapters alternate between the points of view of Audrey, Cat, and Audrey’s stalker. On their own, the characters sound interesting and their independent story tracks keep the story chugging along. As a collective work, though, the chapters are less successful. They almost seem forced together to bring the story to its inevitable end.

The revelation of the stalker may not come as a total surprise to more astute readers, and the climax seems overdrawn. In one moment, Audrey confronts her stalker. The next moment, everything seems fine. Readers might feel let down by the resolution, but those who like a standard thriller might enjoy this one. I recommend readers Borrow Follow Me.

I absolutely love books that involve stalking, AND books that involve social media, so Follow Me sounded like the absolute perfect book for me! As soon as I started reading, I was immediately hooked, and never wanted to put it down. I read the book in two sittings, and was totally engrossed in it. 

The book was told in three perspectives, Audrey's, her friend Cat's, and the mysterious (and super creepy) 'Him', who is obsessed with Audrey and watching her every move. I was suspicious of everyone, and there were several characters who I suspected of being 'Him', while also questioning if the stalker would turn out to be a stranger. 

The writing of the book was quick and snappy, and the chapters were short, which had me constantly saying "just one more chapter" until I had finished the book. I was dying to see how everything would play out! The social media aspect of this book worked really well - I loved seeing Audrey's 'influencer' mindset, paired with her job as the social media manager of the museum. In today's day and age, all of the talk about Instagram and followers was definitely relatable. 

I don't want to give away too much, because I highly recommend this book for all fans of thrillers, and anyone who enjoyed You by Caroline Kepnes, but I will say that I loved the ending of this one, and that it definitely let me wanting more! I'd kill for a sequel! 

All in all, I rated this one a strong 5 stars. This was the first book I've read by Kathleen Barber, and she definitely found her way onto my radar. I can't wait to see what she writes next!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion,

We all use social media to some degree, in this day and age we see a lot of people who are Instagram bloggers and we know the parts of their lives that they show us. But how easy would it be for someone to use these posts and blogs to stalk you? This book was an edge of your seat thriller then had me guessing the whole time. Audrey, a young woman who is obsessed with her Instagram page and her followers, styles for life so that it will look good on camera, ends up with her dream job as a social media manager for a DC museum. Her biggest concern, is moving to DC from New York but she has a friend there and is positive that all will be well, at least that’s what she tells herself. Unbeknownst to her someone is stalking her, using her daily posts to track her and watch her.

All of the main characters in this book are suspicious, you could look at each one of them and see how they could be the person who was stalking her. I really enjoyed this book it was a great read and had me thinking about the content in my Instagram posts quite a bit as well; do I share too much? Great thriller!

This was a quick read that will keep you guessing until the very end. It also shows some of the dangers on social media. I highly recommend reading Follow Me.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

Stalker books are becoming one of my favorite kind of reads - not sure what that says about me but hey...I love me a good stalker story! And I will forever love Carolyn Kepnes Joe from You, but what Kathleen Barber does here in Follow Me opens a whole new crazy in regards to social media that has me a little freaked out if I'm being honest.

First of all, I love that this book opens with the author's note. I'm the type of reader that always reads the author's note, wherever it is. If it's at the back of the book, though, I will usually wait to read it after I read the book, BUT, I thought it was so clever of Kathleen Barber to put it in the front of the book so that she could let the reader know where she came up with the idea for this book. For me, that alone set the tone for this book, already giving me chills. Now this book isn't outright scary like a horror book, but it will give you pause when you think about all the crazies out there that can manipulate what you put out there and can potentially be watching you right now.

Told from three different points of view, we follow Audrey, Cat and "Him" and while I didn't necessary love all three characters, I appreciated being inside all three heads, especially "Him." I always love being inside a villain's head and it was absolutely chilling in this case. The justifications for what he was doing, for how far he had gone were just unreal and the whole time I was trying to figure out who "He" was - I was suspicious of every guy Audrey came into contact with, not putting it all together until right before the reveal.

This book will certainly have you rethinking what you put up on your social media channels. Do you put too much out there? Do you know if any of your followers are watching you a little too closely? It's hard to know but I do know that I will for sure be covering all the cameras on my computers and watching what I share.

I loved this book. It was thrilling with a menacing undertone that completely captivated me. Kathleen Barber is definitely going on my must-read list and I cannot wait to see what she writes next!

Welcome to the now. A time where some people display their entire lives on social media. Enter Audrey, an Instagram influencer with over a million followers. The question is, who is the twisted stalker? In this fun mystery/thriller there are many possible solutions. Told through the POV's of Audrey, her sorority sister Cat, and "Him", this one definitely has a creep factor. Excitingly fast paced and very well written, I found myself racing through it to see if my hunches were correct. I was partly right but didn't see the final twist coming and was happily surprised. If you're like me and enjoy a good stalker mystery with likeable characters (even though Audrey is a definite narcissist) that you can read in a sitting or two, I recommend giving this one a go.

Thank you Gallery Books and NetGalley for making this ARC available for me to read, review and enjoy.

Holy flipping crap! This book is creeeeeptastic! I can't believe I waited this long to read this book. Sure it just came out but had I known what I know now I would've jumped on this ARC the second I got it. Okay, okay, you get it.....but I LOVED this book.

Part of the reason I loved this book so much was the author's style of writing. I love it when you crack open a book and you have never read the author before. I usually find myself either drawn to the writing style...or not. Well instantly I knew this would end up being a favorite author for me. See- I love dark, witty, gritty humor...and this book is riddled with that. I love it! Everyone who has read any of my reviews knows, I love, love, love me a Liz Nugent book. This reminded me of that kind of dark style. I am an ER nurse, we thrive on that.

Audrey Miller is an "it" girl or so she thinks. Audrey is all about Audrey. With all the Audrey's self love splashed all across Instagram, she has managed to get herself a million plus followers. Pretty impressive Audrey. She considers herself a celebrity and doesn't care if everyone knows her every move...well as long as it looks good. It is highly entertaining to think how true this "staging" is when you consider people on social media. So true to real life!

Things really take a turn as Audrey moves into a basement...with a complete weirdo living upstairs. With a broken lock...with someone watching her sleep....HELLLS to the no! Not this girl. I would be out of there in a flash. I dare you not to be creeped out!

Especially creepy was the author's note. I am just minding my own business reading it, not realizing at first that it was about her research for the book. OMG this research is insane. Note to self- sticky note over camera...check..

As for the ending, well that was very well played! EEKKK! Okay I am done being a drama queen but I blame Audrey! Her drama must have rubbed off on me for this review. Seriously though, I loved this book and hope you do too.

Thank you so much to Gallery Books for this fantastic ARC!!! Now this is a thriller!

Dark, eerie, and chilling.
From R.A.T.S. to jealous friends, this book has it all - vivid scenes and a realistic story line. It was easy to identify the obsessed and jealous suspects. But, the finding out and understanding the 'why' kept me reading! Recommended to readers who enjoy dark 21st century psychological thrillers.

This book had great potential. It has a current topic - oversharing in this world of social media like Facebook and Instagram, potential for stalking, and just general fear that lives in our world today.

The feeling of the book was ultra-creepy throughout. Audrey wasn't a likable character and she actually seems sort of stupid. Cat seems socially awkward but also just sort of "off".

The narrative moves pretty well but I had a hard time believing the ending of the book.

***I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley and Gallery Books!***

Up until the last 30 pages or so, I would have rated this book as a solid four star. I struggled really hard to decide if I could keep it at a four star but I just can’t. That ending was bad. Really bad. The kind of bad that gets worse the longer I think about it. Almost Stephen King, giant spider bad. Okay, I’m being facetious now, it wasn’t giant spider bad.

This was a very compelling book. It starts with an introduction on how the author stumbled onto Reddit threads about installing remote access onto someone’s computer so that you can cyber stalk them without them knowing about it. That’s super creepy. And so this gave the author an idea and away we go. The complexities and problems presented by social media are interesting fodder for the fiction world. It’s unknown enough that you can really delve into the dark part of the human psyche and prey on the terror that lurks there. But it’s commonplace enough that millions of people seem to be okay with sharing every moment of their existence to an online audience that feels like a group of friends, but is in reality a bunch of strangers. It’s an interesting dilemma and this book told it well.

I did not particularly like Audrey, it is my one big complaint apart from the ending. She wasn’t very likeable. She is narcissistic, naive, self absorbed and more than a little bit stupid. The entire book is about her almost never doing her actual job and occasionally posting on Instagram. But most of the time she complains to her friends about her endless list of woes and vehemently denies that she has a stalker problem. She doesn’t come around to the idea that someone is stalking her until she literally catches someone peeping in her window. And even then she dismisses it rather quickly as just a creep, doesn’t bother to call the police, and goes about her day. She was a moron and I hoped (a little bit) that her stalker might end up killing her because she was too stupid to continue living. She proved this to me in the ending, which I will get to in a minute.

The stalker’s narrative is okay. It’s creepy at times but mostly just really pathetic. This guy comes across as so socially awkward that he might vomit on a woman’s shoes if she spoke to him. Once things started ramping up, however, I enjoyed his narrative quite a bit.

Cat, Audrey’s best friend, is quite possibly the most interesting character. She seems like an intelligent woman who doesn’t easily dismiss that Audrey might have a stalker and urges her to protect herself. None of her suggestions are listened to, but she tried. She is horrified when Audrey begins dating a childhood acquaintance of hers, Max, who knows a secret about Cat that she desperately doesn’t want Audrey to know. I got the sense throughout the book that Cat was in love with Audrey. Although that was never confirmed, I still think there’s some validity to the theory. Why else would you put up with someone so woefully stupid and self absorbed? And not just put up with her but idolize her too.

Now we come to the ending. So I am going to make this plain. This is a huge SPOILER. A giant SPOILER. If you do not wish to be SPOILED!!!! then please read no further.

***

***

***

Seriously, really big SPOILER ahead, last warning to jump ship!

***

***

***

So, the ending. They teased me a bit with who the stalker was, but I figured that Max HAD to be a red herring. The author was hitting me over the head with him being a suspect way too hard. And it just simply makes no sense. The idea that he ramped up the stalking to scare Audrey into coming to live with him for protection makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is that you then continue to escalate the stalking behavior until she is frightened of you. WTF? You wanted her to be with you, check. You wanted her to live with you, check. You wanted her to be afraid enough to turn to you, check. And then you continue? Why?

Then we have a whole scenario where Audrey gets hurt in a confrontation with Max and Cat comes into the room and believes Audrey is dead. She has a conversation with Max about how he can’t help her and needs to leave, he says that at least he isn’t like Cat. And we get a whole long story about how Cat tried to kill someone at summer camp, and he’ll tell everyone about it if she doesn’t help Audrey. That part wasn’t surprising, the author had been leading us to that for most of the book. But then Cat decides that she needs to kill Max to prevent this. In the process she discovers that Audrey is still alive, and then proceeds to think “Oh no, did she hear us talking about camp? Well, I guess I better kill her.”

Wait, hold on, what? None of this makes sense. All of a sudden two rational people are acting like psychotic killers? Where on earth did any of this come from? And isn’t it a bit too coincidental that the person stalking Audrey for eight years just so happens to know her college best friend, and just so happens to know said best friend’s deep dark secret? Nope. There were so many better options available and this one was terribly executed.

Then we get to my favorite part. Audrey recovers and we flash forward to her moving into a new apartment and having a conversation with the old college boyfriend, Nick. Cat is apparently in prison, rightfully so. Max isn’t in prison, just a restraining order. Despite the fact that he was stalking you for eight years, broke into your friend’s house, got into an angry confrontation with you in which you proceeded to almost die. I don’t know that sounds like an arrest-able offense to me. And here is where Audrey proved to me that she is, in fact, too stupid to live. Behold this exchange with Nick:

“Be fair,” I said softly, “Max isn’t a psychopath. He’s…well, he’s not wired right, that’s for sure, but he’s not a psychopath. It’s not like he was going to hurt me.”

“You don’t know that. Just because he didn’t hurt you doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have.”

“He never would have hurt me.” I said with certainty, “He’s not violent. And he loved me too much.” (Page 284 of the ebook version)

Well, isn’t that just so romantic!! He loves her so much that he almost got you killed. But he’s not violent. Isn’t that so sweet! This is worse than all the romanticizing of domestic violence that was prevalent in Young Adult fiction for a while. He literally stalked you for eight years. He took thousands of pictures of you without your knowledge. He broke into your apartment and watched you sleep (Hey Edward! We see you!). He watched you in your apartment for weeks at a time. He intentionally terrified you so that you would move in with him. He demanded that you continue being with him and terrified you so much that you tried to run out of the house and fell down a flight of stairs. But no, you’re right Audrey, he loves you too much to be violent. She’s one of those people who writes love letters to Charlie Manson because “well he never killed anyone”.

So that’s it. A great book, with so much potential to be amazing and the ending completely ruined it for me.

Audrey is an influencer with over a million Instagram followers. She moves to Washington, DC, for a new job, and attracts the attention of an obsessed fan. Now, she's faced with figuring out who is her friend and who is her stalker.

Told from multiple points of view - Audrey, Cat (Audrey's best friend), and Him (the stalker). Audrey is insecure and anxious, but she's also somewhat shallow. Having so many followers makes her feel good about herself, and she enjoys sharing things online. Cat values Audrey's friendship more than Audrey does. They've been friends since college, but are opposite in many ways. Cat stays away from social media and has something dark in her past she doesn't want getting out. Him is an obsessed fan who follows Audrey's every move online and in real life.

A twisty psychological thriller with plenty of suspects. Audrey seems to attract some creepy guys in her life - the neighbor, the ex-boyfriend, the co-worker, the new beau, and Cat's crush. With alternating POVs and plenty of suspects, this is a fun read. Clever, suspenseful, and chilling.

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I gravitate towards books that have anything to do with social media so there was no doubt I was going to be reading this book.

Audrey Miller is a popular Instagrammer. She loves sharing her life with her many followers. Audrey has just moved to Washington, DC to start her dream job as Social Media Manager at the Hirshhorn Museum. Her friend Cat invites her to stay in her guest room but Audrey declines. Cat is nice but she has always been too needy. Plus Audrey already found a place to live. She found an ad on Craigslist and after speaking with the landlady on the phone, she said she would take it…UNSEEN! “How bad could it be?” It won’t be long before Audrey regrets that decision.

Cat has always felt like Audrey’s friendship saved her. However, Cat is the complete opposite of Audrey, she doesn’t even have an Instagram account. Cat wants to become partner at the law firm where she works. Now that Audrey is in town, Cat has been going out a lot more and her work begins to suffer. But Cat feels like Audrey needs her right now. She feels like Audrey would do the same thing for her. At least that’s what she tells herself.

Lately, Audrey has been feeling like someone is watching her but tells herself that it is just her imagination. She is working on a social media campaign for a new exhibit called “The Life and Death of Rosalind Rose”. If she does well this could mean a terrific promotion. But when strange things start happening we have to wonder if life could be imitating art.

Someone IS obsessed with Audrey. This person has been following everything she does online. He knows almost everything about her. NOW he thinks he’s found a way to keep an even closer eye on Audrey.



This was a compelling and cautionary tale.

Cover up your webcam!

The story is told from multiple points of view. We hear from Cat, Audrey, and “HIM”. I liked the alternating points of view. The story was gripping and I finished it in just a few sittings. This is a fictional story so there are definitely some over-the-top moments. However, I thought this was a very entertaining and thought-provoking read. If I hadn’t done it already, this book would have me jumping to cover up all of the webcams in my home.

I’m currently watching the TV series “Truth Be Told” which is based on the author’s previous novel “Are You Sleeping”. I think this book would make an excellent movie/TV series too!

A fascinating and terrifying story about friendship, love, obsession, and jealousy.



I'd like to thank Gallery Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

This book is written realistically and believably, especially considering today's world of Instagram influencers and social media. The plot line was executed well and kept me vested in the outcome. Throughout the book, I was left wondering about the identity of the stalker as there are several possibilities offered. The ending will not disappoint.

Audrey Miller’s Instagrammed life looks perfect to her followers. She just moved from New York to Washington, DC, for an exciting new job at the Smithsonian, and she documents nearly everything on line. Audrey is a social influencer, receiving perks and products in exchange for talking them up on her blog, which boasts thousands of followers. Her fans know Audrey loves the color orange, spicy food, and Negroni; they buy the makeup she references and eat at the restaurants she favors. Audrey is all about the fans and being recognized, she ignores the rare negative comment or reaction in favor of the positives. One fan of Audrey’s took the adoration way too far, leaving flowers on her front gate, following her to her favorite coffee shop, and even breaking into her apartment to watch her sleeping.

Cat, Audrey’s best friend from college, and Nick, her on-again off-again boyfriend, are certain that Audrey’s habit of living her life online is helping the stalker gain access, and worry about her safety in the strange little basement apartment she rented sight unseen before moving to Washington. Audrey’s excitement at being put in charge of a project at the museum is dampened by an intruder and by the strange actions of a male colleague. Soon, Audrey is wondering if every man that notices her is her stalker, creeping around outside her bedroom window and leaving frightening comments on her social media posts.

This story fascinated me! Though I have various social media accounts, I don’t really keep up with the times, preferring Facebook to Instagram etc. But for someone who grew up with technology, it’s second nature to share your life online with friends, family, and fans, as Audrey does. The story changes perspective with each chapter, giving the reader the opportunity to get inside the mind of each character, and offering interesting insight into the stalker, Cat, and Audrey herself. Follow Me is a great social commentary, on the dangers of oversharing.

An innovative and modern psychological thriller. Within the perfectly timed and relevant storytelling, Barber addresses the dangers of exposing one’s every move on social media through self-absorbed social media influencer, Audrey. Alternating chapters with those of college friend, Cat and another with an unknown named ‘Him’, Barber kept me on my toes. A faced-paced read that kept me guessing through the final pages.

Well this makes me think even more about what I post online. Good thing I keep everything private. It was hard to actual get behind anyone in this book. None was nice enough to like or care about in my opinion. It was fascinating to figure out who was the stalker. In this day in age the biggest thing you can take away from this book is to keep all your online stiff private and always turn your computer off or cover the camera with a sticky tape.



*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*

**3.5 stars**
Well, that was absolutely terrifying! Makes me want to remove all of my social media accounts and never use my computer again! Audrey is an oversharer. She is an Instagram influencer who shares everything about her life. She’s naïve, too trusting, thinks she’s invincible and is now moving to a new city for a new job. We get three POVs for this book: Audrey, Cat and HIM. Cat is Audrey’s best friend in her new city, an old friend who she has known since college. We find out HIM has an unhealthy obsession with Audrey and begins to stalk her to infiltrate her life. These characters are all unlikable, for their own reasons, which I won’t spoil. This fictional thriller comes with quite the warning: be careful what you share; but it’s a page turner and something I would recommend.

* ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!