Samantha Downing takes us along on an adventure we will never forget in her book, He Started it.“Anyone who ends up in jail, who does not complete the trip or who deviates from the trip in any way, will get nothing.” Those were the conditions of the family trip Beth’s grandfather designed for Beth and her siblings, Portia and Eddie and was instructed to them in his will. This was the only way they would get the money he left for them. The trip follows the exact path their grandfather took them on when they were children. Along the way, crazy things start happening. They keep getting flats and they feel like someone is following them. Once, their grandfather’s ashes even disappear.

Downing really knows how to get into her character’s heads and shape them to be anything but average. Typically, there is a good and a bad (or more than one) character in a story. In Downing’s books, it is difficult to tell if a character is a hero or a villain. These siblings are not your typical “good characters.” We do not often get to see a book’s perspective from a bad character.

Throughout the book, readers get a look into someone’s journal. It is not entirely clear who is writing the journal and when. This just adds to the mystery of the book, keeping the readers engaged.

Each stop on their road trip seemed to get stranger and stranger. It made me wonder how Downing was able to think up some of these ideas. Through each state the family went through, the beginning of the chapter had the State Motto. This was such a unique touch on her part. You can really tell the amount of time spent researching this book.

I don’t know about you, but I would not want to be on this roadtrip!

Thank you NetGalley, Samantha Downing and Berkley for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Fasts paced thriller with many twists and surprises. A story of three siblings on two road trips 20 years apart with an ending I didn’t see coming.

Favorite Quotes:

That’s my husband, Felix, the pale one with the strong jaw and white-blond hair with matching eyebrows and lashes. In a certain light, he disappears.

Krista’s out of the car now, hands on hips and her back arched, which can’t be a good sign. She’s one of those suburban women who have never seen real trouble and think it only happens on the Internet.

Portia stands in front of me, her eyes unwavering, and I believe that she believes the truck is following us. In a movie, this would end with hillbilly cannibals, but we aren’t in a movie.

My Review:

This book was an arduous read and heaving with an appalling and vile cast of annoying characters doing dastardly things. The entire family was exasperating, reprehensible, horrid, and despicable. They had been beastly as children during their first run of this peculiar choice of road trip and were three times as horrific as adults while they retraced their original trek. I reviled and despised them all, yet their witty snark and shrewdly paced, intriguing, and mysteriously twisty tale kept me rapt to my Kindle and unable to stop reading.

I was absolutely furious at the ending, stamping my little foot and turning the air around me blue with invectives. Yet I must give this guileful and wily author her due, as her provocative missive was cunningly crafted, deviously clever, and cannily plotted. I would caution her neighbors to tread lightly, ply her with treats, never ask for favors, and always keep a sharp eye open.

Where do we even begin? Let’s see. This is a road trip I thoroughly enjoyed watching from afar. And by enjoyed, I mean I loved every minute of this pathetic family and their mess. Secrets, lies, and a-holes, oh my. We have it all for you folks, compacted into one little car, but don’t forget grandpa is in the trunk and is the reason they are here, recreating the last road trip they took together as kids so they can all get their greedy little hands on gpa’s inheritance.

What a wild ride. What a fabulous, unique concept. What a glorious way to make someone work for an inheritance. Note that this one is a slow burn, but it is really good and you just cannot put it down or look away as this group made their way through each destination continuing on to their final one. I had to know what was going to happen, and as awful as these people were, I was a little endeared to them at different times, mostly Beth. She is passive aggressive at its finest. And that ending? I could NOT.

I highly recommend this one for all thriller fans. Definitely some trigger warnings in here so be prepared, but this was such a great read. Samantha Downing is now a must read author for me, loved both of her books, this one being my favorite!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the egalley to review, and for asking me to be a part of the blog tour for this book!

I absolutely loved Downing’s debut novel, MY LOVELY WIFE, so when I saw she had a new book coming out I knew I needed to pick it up ASAP. While I liked her debut just a little bit more, HE STARTED IT was just as addictive as a read and kept me guessing until the explosive ending. This one does start off with a slower build to it, but the author keeps you on the edge of your seat and keeps your curiosity piqued from start to finish. So many questions and you slowly get some answers that then lead to more questions. Little details are peppered in as we go from present day and back to their original road trip in 1999.

We see solely through Beth’s perspective with some journal entries sprinkled in. Beth and her two siblings, Eddie and Portia, as well as Beth and Eddie’s spouses Felix and Krista, are all on a roadtrip that will end in their inheritance from their grandfather. In his will he stated that they must repeat the roadtrip that they took in 1999 and at the end of it they will receive their portion of his enormous inheritance (just over one million each). The things people will do when money is a motivator. You would think this would be an easy trip, right? Well, when you have a strange truck following you through multiple states and the paranoia that comes with thinking someone is trying to sabotage you on top of a dysfunctional family dynamic, proves to make things more difficult than they imagined.

Plenty of secrets, not only from the spouses but within the family as well. Estranged siblings all reliving the roadtrip that changed everything for them. I don’t want to go into too much more detail and potentially ruin any twists or big reveals, but I will say that you really can’t trust any of these characters. Despite them all seeming to have a hidden agenda, some are really likable, at least I didn’t have any I was frustrated with. Overall, if you want a solid psychological suspense/thriller that has a consistent build to a crazy ending, then I highly recommend you pick this up. I think this helped solidify Downing’s position as a new auto-buy author for me!

I've read both of Samantha's books and I absolutely love her writing!! I know authors get a little nervous when there first book does as well as hers -- My Lovely Wife -- but Samantha has nothing to be nervous about. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough and the ending blew me away just like her first book!! She is an extremely talented writer and her books are so fun to read!!

"Because I could. Because no one stopped me. Because it was easy. All the same answer, and it really means 'because I wanted to.'"

This is a story about family. Siblings. A long road trip with a promised huge inheritance at the end of the trek. They love each other, right -- but feelings can be like a seesaw because they each have their own agendas and they don't all have the same end goal.

The Morgan siblings Eddie, Beth and Portia are about to recreate a trip they made with their grandfather 20 years ago. Eddie's wife, Krista, and Beth's husband, Felix, have also come along for the ride. Their grandfather's will is specific: "Go on the road trip. Scatter my ashes at the end. Once I'm in my final resting place, my estate will be equally divided between you." They all knew exactly where they had to go but there were a couple of stipulations -- "anyone who ends up in jail, who does not complete the trip, or who deviates from the original trip in any way, will get nothing." After a bit of research, they piled into the rental car and headed off. But this was never going to be a simple, fun family road trip and each one is in for some shock and surprise. NO SPOILERS.

What a fast, fun read that I finished in one sitting as it was very hard to put down. Lots of twists and turns and a cast of characters that you will love to hate. The writing was great and I just had to find out what happened. This family kept some huge secrets and were very adept at lying and scheming. Just when you think you have it all figured out, this clever tale will make you extremely glad that your own family isn't like this one! Enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this e-book ARC to read, review and recommend.

This is the second time this week I've read the second book from a newish author and wondered if they could live up to their first book.  The answer? Yes she can.

The story seems innocuous enough, three siblings on a road trip to fulfill their grandfather's wishes per his will.  Actually, it is the same trip they took with their grandfather as children.  If you traveled as a child, you probably are thinking about a fun filled trip, well as the story goes on we learn it wasn't quite what one would expect to experience.  The crazy museums, dive hotels, and twists I did not expect.

"Because I could."

This line is spoken by multiple characters and while it seems like a harmless statement, it is not.  I can't remember how many of the characters said this line, but I remember at least two, maybe three.  It is a justification for their actions.

I think this whole family was twisted in one way or another. The family was raised playing the game Risk.  If you are not familiar with this game, it is one where you strategize, create alliances, and more to take over the world in the game. You may think you can trust your family, but when it came to this game, no one trusted anyone.

"As much as I hated it, that time lying was easier because you've got to pick your battles. That's a Risk thing. You can't fight everyone all the tie, you'll just lose your whole army.  Now that I think about it, maybe I am living pretty authentically. It's just the Risk version."

Beth is the narrator of this story and just when I thought I understood her she would throw a curveball and challenge what I thought I knew to be true. Along with her siblings on this trip are two spouses. Eddie's wife Krista and Beth's husband Felix.

I can't share too many details since I do not want to give away some of the plot twists, but just when I was settling into a groove with the story and characters, something would happen that would turn everything upside down.  Then there would be another plot twist, another unexpected action by the characters, and so forth.  The ending?  OMG, I did not expect that to occur.  I also wanted to throw my Kindle across the room because the author leaves you hanging wondering what the final outcome is with all of the characters.  I have my suspicions but the author truly does leave it up to the reader.

This author is one I will continue to read and I wonder what she might be working on next that will turn us on our ears.  We give this book 5 paws up.

I adored My Lovely Wife, and this was no exception. I had to try to start reading it a few times to get into it - definitely a slow start - but man did it pay off. Downing is the queen of the twist, and I adored every minute I spent between the digital pages of this book. She is a new auto-buy author for me.

Content Warnings: Physical violence/threat thereof, spousal abuse, gaslighting, blood, drugging

The premise of Samantha Downing's first novel, My Lovely Wife, about a husband and wife who kill together, was such an amazing concept that I knew I wanted to put it on my tbr right away. It had all the pings for a book I wanted: morally bwuh characters, will they or won't they get caught, and against the grain "who are we rooting for" plot.

When I was offered a spot on the He Started It blog tour by the publisher, I was very interested because Samantha Downing's second thriller sounds, if anything, even more curious and engaging that the first. There's a large inheritance that can only be secured under odd circumstances, estranged siblings, mysterious events of the past that only become more mysterious as we get crumbs revealed along the way.

I gobbled this book up within 36 hours. I can't wait to see what y'all will think because I could not stop shouting about it at the close. 😂


Likes


The setup of the novel is that the siblings (Eddie, Beth, and Portia) have to complete a road trip they once took with their grandfather in order to receive a significant inheritance (starts out at about $3m, turns out about $8m if I remember correctly). The stakes: HIGH. That alone, combined with the tension, lays out a gorgeous map of excitement. How will they ever get to the end, given that they, for all that we can tell, do not like each other? Trapped in a SUV for a cross country trip, even with millions up for grabs, is a lot.




The reality of the road trip was really neat. While, with the exception of national chains, the motels & restaurants were fictional, all of the attractions, tourist sites, and museums were real. That added another layer of interest to the plot, knowing that a) these characters were treading in places that, should the mood take you, you too could visit, and b) that these wild places were REAL. Given the reactions we are given by the characters, it seems almost impossible, but whoa!




Narrated by Beth, early on we are told certain things, primarily among them that she is not the heroine for very specific reasons. However, because she is the voice that the reader is receiving the story and their information from, it becomes almost a game to discover what can be trusted, either from her own perspective or our own. Going back and forth from the current, inheritance gathering road trip to the previous one that the siblings and their grandfather took, the reader can tell that there are hidden things. What are they? Are they true? Who is telling and who is keeping them?




Those secrets were one of my favorite thing because I didn't see them coming, even knowing that they existed. Reveals along the way just kept coming, right up until the END. Pages from the end and still they kept coming, right when you thought things were wrapped up!


Dislikes


There is one character that I thought could have used a little more development. When thinking about them compared to the other characters, they came across a little lacking for me. [I'm not revealing their name just in case it could be a spoiler.]


Conclusion


He Started It is a fantastic way to spend a day trying to answer the best question of a thriller: what happens next?

The ending if this book absolutely shocked me but it also was a really fitting ending that was completelyperfect.
Samantha Downing created the most unlikable family to go on this most bizarre family road trip that I loved. I really enjoyed how unlikable they all were. The idea behind the story was also unique which I really liked. The way she wrote the story was a really approachable way
and left plenty of twists spread out throughout the book. I thought her first book My Lovely Wife was pure devious fun, which probably isn't a healthy way to describe a book about serial killers but it was exactly that. He Started it
was also just as much devious fun as her first book if not more so. I was dying to read this and it was definitely worth the wait! Samantha Downing is definitely a must read author for me and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.*

My review can be found here: https://aubreysangle8.home.blog/2020/07/28/review-he-started-it-by-samantha-downing/

What did I read? It started as a story of 3 siblings along with 2 of their spouses going on a trip across the country while retracing a trip they took with their grandfather years earlier. Then people were being followed, things went missing, there were deaths, missing people, drugging’s, and so much more.

He Started It is a slow read. It kept me entertained but it didn’t move at a fast pace. There was a lot of details to the locations and the reasons for the stops along the way. The details were all necessary due to the tying together of the two trips. I was intrigued at the different places they stopped and the memories of what happen at each stop. The characters all had their own memories of the trip but they came together for a very intriguing story.

The ending… I just don’t even know what to say! Holy Moly!!!

I was a huge fan of My Lovely Wife and it topped my favorites list last year. Downing has a way with writing psychological thrillers with depraved characters who are so unlikable, yet make you want to keep reading. He Started It is a road trip from hell with siblings who are each crazier than the next. Beth, Eddie, and Portia's grandfather passed away and is leaving them with an incredible inheritance (think upwards of $8,000,000!) The only hitch? They have to recreate a road trip they took with him as children. Seems easy enough, but what begins as an innocent cross country road trip turns more complicated, even deadly.

Beth narrates the story and the reader quickly uncovers that she is not all that she appears to be. Beth's unhinged personality begins to reveal itself as the story progresses and bits and pieces of the original road trip unveil themselves. He Started It is a combination of a psychological thriller and character study that was surprisingly unpredictable for me. For most of the book, I had no idea what was going on. When pieces started to fall into place towards the end, it all made more sense, but I am still left with some unresolved feelings and unanswered questions.

Bottom line, I wanted to like this one more than I did. I had high expectations after coming off of My Lovely Wife last year. I flat out loved that crazy book. This one though, left me confused and underwhelmed. I have read reviews on both sides of the spectrum, so do not let my opinion dissuade you. I think this one is great for someone new to the psychological genre because I guarantee you will be surprised and find the twists unpredictable. There were several things that occurred that seemed disjointed for me and I think flushing out the characters back stories more would have helped.

He Started It is a totally engaging, suspenseful thriller. Three siblings, Eddie, Beth and Portia stand to inherit millions from their deceased grandfather. The catch is they have to recreate a road trip that their Grandfather took them on decades before. They are instructed to scatter their grandfather's ashes at the final destination. This means going from the East Coast to the West Coast in 2 weeks, all together in one van and visiting all the original stops that become weirder and more disturbing as the trip progresses. There can be no going to jail, cheating, or quitting. Eddie brings his new wife along and Beth, the narrator, brings her husband Felix. Portia, the youngest, brings a lot of alcohol. The story bounces back and forth between the current trip and the original road trip in the 90's when Beth was 12 and Portia was only 6. It starts off as you would expect, 5 adults bickering, ignoring each other and reliving the stories of the past.as they visit places like the Bonnie and Clyde museum and a place dedicated to the Devil's Knot (barbed wire). It all sounds relatively bland, until a black truck starts following them, forcing them off the road and messing with the car. The further they get across the country, the more awful stories come out and it seems the first trip wasn't so innocent. Neither is this one. Finding out what is actually happening and sifting through lies and omitted details makes for compelling and exciting reading. I didn't stop until I was finished with my jaw on the ground and immense respect for Samantha Downing.

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read the ARC. He Started It is a different kind of book - exactly what I needed for a little escapism and thrilling fun. Fans of books like the Girl on the Train and Gone, Girl will love this book!

That ending!

Talk about your family road trip from hell! To inherit the large estate from their grandfather, Beth, her siblings and spouses, have to recreate a road trip they took with him years ago. That road trip was rife with bad things and plenty of secrets. Well, here we are and this road trip is rife with bad things and lots and lots of secrets. This story had so many twists and turns that it definitely felt like I was winding through some mountains. I did not see anything coming along the way and you will be hit right in the forehead.

That ending!

He Started It, (you have to love the title because how many of us have said THAT on a road trip) is hard to put down. Ms. Downing definitely knows her way around a thriller.

That ending!

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for a copy of this book.

He Started It is infuriating, y’all! I’m (maybe a little more than?) a little bit disgruntled here. I just finished reading He Started It and it’s pissing me off that I DON’T REALLY KNOW HOW IT ENDS! I mean, I can guess, because, well, you’ll see (if you read it). But my brain wants CONFIRMATION that what it thinks happens is what actually happens.

Aaarrrggghhhhh!

Ok, I’m over it. Maybe.

But. He Started It is one of those stories that kind of just sucks you in. It meanders via glimpses of a past that’s described as we encounter the present. Its characters don’t have any redeeming qualities that we’d expect. There’s no hero or heroine. Not Beth. Not her husband Felix. Not Edgar nor his wife Krista. And not even Portia, the baby of the bunch. There’s a narrator, a cast of characters, a story, and an ending. Kind of. (aargh again)

Initially I was reading just to find out what happens. It’s a sibling story, so you’re kinda rooting for them to get to the pot at the end of the rainbow. They’re on a road trip which makes some very sketchy – though interesting – stops (makes you wonder about their grandfather’s mental health, but that’s digressing). Add in a stalker or two. Throw in some car troubles and missing items. Might as well have drama between the couples, because why not?

And murder brings out the mayhem. Or is it the other way ’round?

Past collides with present as this group finds out more than they ever wanted to know about each other. And the ending? I didn’t see that coming, that’s for sure.

All in all, He Started It tells of the depths to which the wicked will gleefully descend for money. Lots and lots of money. And maybe you’ll be happy to not have (a) that inheritance looming over your heads, and (b) those siblings!

drey’s rating: Excellent!

This book was wild... There was SO MUCH going on, I was left with my head spinning while seriously trying to comprehend what I just read!

Alternating between the past and present, it follows the Morgan siblings on a road trip. The first trip is when they are kids, traveling with their grandfather. The second, they are adults, completing the same road trip but for different reasons, also with their grandfather... But in a different way.

When their grandfather passes away he instructs them in his will to complete THE road trip again in order to receive their inheritance-which is a huge amount of money. No one can go to jail and no one can deviate from the original trip, or no one gets any money.


With grandfather's ashes in the trunk and two of the siblings spouses along for the ride, mayhem follows this family across the country.  Where everyone's a liar and someone's maybe a murderer, this is road trip from hell.

Thank you to Berkley for my copy and inviting me to take part in this blog tour!

HE STARTED IT is one of my most anticipated reads this summer. Ever since I read THE LOVELY WIFE, I have been waiting for Samantha Downing’s new release. Of course, Downing blew the heck out of this book, returned with a vengeance, and I LOVED IT! In this book, she takes her readers on a road trip to hell and back.

Beth, Eddie and Portia's grandfather dies and leaves an inheritance with a few conditions. The siblings must take the same road trip they took with their grandfather when they were younger - a 14 day road trip, stopping at all the sites and staying at motels along the road. As we go through this trip with this family, we get little bits of the story and their pasts, along with the secrets these siblings have been hiding.

The writing was genius and the build up to the amazing conclusion was one of the best I have read. I thought that the characterization was brilliant so was the way the chapters were set up that moved the story so well, you just can't help turning those pages to just one more chapter.

I am truly a fan of Downing's writing, and adore the mind bending twists you will never see coming.

WELL DONE!!

He Started It is a thriller about a road trip involving three siblings. Beth, Eddie, and Portia must complete this road trip with their grandfather's ashes in order to receive his inheritance money. They previously completed this same trip twenty years prior with their grandfather, and many things went wrong. This time around, crazy things start happening, and there are multiple theories regarding why. I really enjoyed reading this story for a while; the author's writing style is easy to read. However, the last fourth of the book was a little too crazy and unbelievable for me, so I'm not sure I can recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.