The combination of the hashtag title and series name drew me to investigate reading this novel and I'm so glad I did! I loved it! I'm also very excited as I think this series has the potential to bring new readers to the delight of cozy mysteries that I've enjoyed since reading Nancy Drew books in the 4th grade.

After early career beginnings with friends developing a LiveIT smartphone application that included a lifestyle blog, Coco Cline is continuing the blog independently as part of an acquisitions deal. Coco has also started a new consulting business and is passionate to assist small business owners navigate their presence in the world of social media. But Coco never anticipated that her new role would include investigating a murder to protect her newest clients from negativity prior to their business launch and grand opening.

There was one outcome that was easy to foresee but the investigation has some unexpected twists and turns that add to the freshness of this cozy offering. Friendship and romance 21th century style, and a surprise and savvy nod to Montecito’s newest high-profile residents give a contemporary lift and sparkle to the author’s storytelling. Small business owners or anyone new to creating a social media presence might want to consider this cozy required reading as sprinkled throughout the storyline Coca Cline shares innumerable tips for success.

I’m looking forward to reading future mysteries in this series!

My sincere thanks to Sarah E. Burr, and Level Best Books for my complimentary digital copy of this title, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

#FollowMeforMurder #NetGalley

#FollowMe for Murder by Sarah E. Burr is the first book in her Trending Topic Mysteries series. This storyline was quite intriguing. Amateur sleuth Coco Cline, her boyfriend and two close friends banded together to solve the murder of Stacy Lockner. They each contributed to solving the case with Coco taking the lead. Cco sure never expected to be in danger but ... You can read what happens for yourself. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book in the series.

This is a lighthearted amateur sleuth kinda book.

It’s obvious how they story will pan out but I loved the build up to that point.

It’a very detailed so you do get the thought processes and exact movements of the characters as they’re trying to figure out just what has happened.

This is the first in a series. Though I did enjoy reading it, I probably won’t pick up any further books as it was too predictable for me.

I really enjoyed this book! It was fun in a few different ways - main character is a famous blogger, lots of focus on social media, a murdee mystery, amateur sleuths... this was an entertaining read!

I enjoyed most of the characters! There were a few I didn't like but I think that was the point haha.

The murder mystery was probably pretty obvious to people who guess endings lol I can never guess an ending so I personally didn't know where it was going but I wasn't super surprised either. Still thought it was interesting though and I really liked the detective work happening throughout the story!

I would definitely suggest this if you need a lighter read and want something that is kind of cute and funny but also has mystery!

This one hurts because I was excited for this and found the story intriguing. For me, it fell flat and I really only kept reading because I was expecting it to pick up.

The biggest issue for me was there was way too much focus on the social media/PR/branding side of things. It almost felt like in fantasy novels when there is so much world building and not a lot of story growth. I get that the social media information was important, but there was a lot that was really unnecessary to the story.

The murder itself intrigued me, but I figured out who it was pretty much from the jump. Now that's probably because I've watched a lot of Law and Order: SVU so I figured out who did it before you truly find out in the story. I did like the different potential killers, but I wish those had been explored more to really trip up the reader on who did it.

I actually enjoyed Coco. She easily could've been a stereotypical influencer, but she wasn't. I liked seeing how she handled the murder, her clients, and her personal life.

You know who I didn't like? Hudson. I wanted to like him, but I found him boring. I know he cared about her, but the lack of commitment with his apartment and marriage annoyed me for some reason. Personally, I was hoping something would happen with Gavin.

Overall, I don't think it's a bad story, it just didn't hit home for me like I wanted it to. I enjoyed it for what it was and it had a good premise. I think balancing out the story better could benefit this book. I do think it's enjoyable for folks looking for an easy read. Besides the murder, there aren't a lot of triggers and the characters are fun to read about. I could see myself recommending this to people.

I was really intrigued by the premise of this book, and thought social media would play a huge role in the solving of the murder. Unfortunately while social media does play a large role in the book, it is mostly through increasing repetitive mentions of the book's main character, Coco Cline, and her successful blog.

Coco is not likeable as a main character - she is obsessed with her own image, and what the community of the small town thinks of her and her boyfriend, Hudson, who despite a relationship of four years still hasn't proposed and refuses to give up his apartment. I didn't find I could really connect with any of the characters but Coco in particular is quite unrelatable. The characters are all quite one dimensional, and there is very little character development throughout the book.

The first half of the book is a real slow burner and unfortunately, not in a good way. The first couple of chapters read more like a CV of Coco's achievements and could easily be removed from the book.

However, it does pick up substantially around 60% of the way through. The pace picks up and I found I did enjoy the remainder of the book, despite the slightly predictable ending.

Overall it wasn't a book for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Level Best Books for the opportunity to read the ARC.

Follow me for murder is a thrilling mystery novel. A 28- year old celebrity blogger Coco started a new firm. Her new clients are ten days away from their grand opening when she finds the cashier clerk dead. She decided to work with the cops to help speed things along for the investigation and she hopes that will make things run smoothly for the opening. I was hoping for a bigger twist at the end but unfortunately that was not the case.

Really was not my kind of book. Mostly about a self absorbed influencer and her absorbed friends. Goes into very technical details about her influencing job & also has lots of detail regarding relationships, but nothing really comes of them? They don’t help the plot. Truly I wanted to stop reading this book many times, but told myself to keep going. Finally just skipped to find out who the killer was, which I’ll admit is not who I thought it was, and then couldn’t be bothered to read the rest. It just dragged, and not in a “slow burn” way. I feel bad writing this, but that’s the truth. I’m honored to have been able to read an ARC, and I appreciate NetGalley

#FollowMe for Murder is a perfect read if you like small town murders. The story follows the famous blogger and social media consultant Coco, as she tries to find the killer of the innocent clerk Stacy who worked for the Chens, her clients. Desperate to clear her clients name and save their reputation from further hits we see her go on a mission to uncover the secrets of this town.
What I really liked about the book was the murderer reveal and the reason behind it. Often times the reasoning comes out as plain weird or just not convincing enough. This was however not the case with this book. The journey Coco takes to find out all the little clues is an interesting one.
However my biggest criticism for this book is the slow pace in the first half and the overload of unnecessary boring information we keep getting. For example we are told so many times that Coco is on so famous and successful that it just gets annoying and comes off as boastful. For that Coco as a MC is certainly not one of my favourites. The side characters are fine I don’t have any string feelings towards them besides Houston whom I liked (besides his separate house thing).
All in all the book could definitely have been made shorter which would have made it more enjoyable but still recommend cause of the good story progression and plot. Thank you net galley and the author for the e arc. Would like to read the other books in the series when they come out.
Rating is 3.75 stars

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this advanced copy! I was in the mood for a cosy mystery and this was a fun one! Influencer Coco is representing a couple who want to open a business in their small seaside town when a body is found in their shop. As their marketing consultant Coco tries to find out what happened so her clients’ company’ image will not be damaged by this murder.
She is helped by her boyfriend (who still hasn’t proposed), who is a news reporter, and her two best friends.

This was an enjoyable read though the fact that just everybody in Coco’s life happens to have a lot of money was a bit difficult to believe sometimes and bothered me.

#FollowMe for Murder is an easy, fun mystery novel. I enjoyed the pacing, the characters, the setting, and the mystery. While I was able to figure out who the killer was pretty early on, it was still a fun read. Perfect book for relaxing on a beach with a glass of wine!

#FollowMe for Murder has a lot going for it and is a good start to a cozy mystery series. The story feels modern as Coco, our heroine and sleuth, is a social media Influencer and Blogger. She even uses her social media expertise to help gather clues. Coco comes across an a confident and motivated woman. Coco’s friends and boyfriend, help her try to solve this mystery and they were very likable. I actually connected more to them than Coco who at times see, very self centered. Having spent time at Delaware beaches, it was nice to see an author pick this location for a cozy mystery. The start of the book felt a bit bogged down in details and descriptions. Once the murder occurs, things packed up and the pace felt fine. The best part of the book was that I did not guess the murderer even though I really thought I had. The author gave us a good twist.

The author has a great writing style and the story was very easy to read. I would like to continue read N this series, especially since it takes place in Delaware.

Thank you NetGalley and a level Best Books for the arc.

2 out of 5 steam level- kissing and closed door sex scenes

Trigger warning- infertility, miscarriage, cheating spouse, psychological abuse

Cordelia "Coco" Cline is a blogger/influencer and PR consultant who finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation when she discovers a dead body in her current clients' store. Coco and her friends decide to do their own investigation into the murder in order to help solve the crime faster. What they uncover will shake up their small town.

This book had a lot of potential. The murder and investigation were intriguing, and I didn't figure out who the killer was until the end. Unfortunately, there was a lot that took away from this interesting plot. The first half of the book drags on and includes so much detail about Coco's past that could have been cut out. I also never really connected with Coco's character, and I really didn't like how she was jealous of her boyfriend, Hudson's, fame. I actually liked Hudson the most out of all the characters! He seemed like a devoted, loving boyfriend other than the fact that he still had his own apartment and hadn't proposed to Coco yet. I think the author wanted there to be romantic tension, but instead I just found Hudson lovable while Coco was the jealous girlfriend. I'm glad I tried something different from my usual romance books, but it just wasn't a winner for me.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with this read. Cozy mysteries aren’t usually something I enjoy because I tend to like the darker side of mysteries and psychological thrillers but this may have made me a cozy mystery fan! Burr was able to perfect the cozy mystery meets 21st century vibes throughout. This was an extremely easy read to dive into - the writing style was really intriguing and very well executed for first person writing. The small beach town vibes were impeccable and made me feel nice and warm while dealing with freezing temperatures and snow at home. While the ending was a tad predictable, it really didn’t take away from the rest of the story. The character development was enjoyable and I felt like I really became friends with the main characters. I’m excited to see how the rest of this series pans out when it comes time - this may be one series I dedicate myself to reading.

Read this book if you like:
- small town vibes ☀️🌊
- a strong cast of characters
- first person writing
- relatable to today’s social media and generation 📱🤳

#FollowMe for Murder by Sarah E. Burr is a fresh take on the cozy mystery genre. Coco Cline is back home in Central Shore Delaware where she finds a dead body and vows to bring the killer to justice.

Coco, a social media influencer and PR consultant along with her close group of friends are such fun and likable characters. I like the small town description of Central Shores, which also paints the picture of life for Coco as a teen.

I appreciate the author for bringing diverse characters and the importance of helping others to her mystery series. Coco is strong and confident, but is still vulnerable, which makes her relatable.

I had a few ideas as to who the murderer was, and had a good time reading the story. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the electronic ARC.

Thank you to @netgalley for this ARC!⁣
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I will be totally honest the beginning of this book was kind of a drag for me. The first chapter felt so long. The descriptions of things and the details seemed to be a little redundant in my opinion. Although, maybe someone not familiar with social media would have appreciated these details! Around the 50% mark though is when the book really picks up. I had a guess of how I thought it was going to play out but I was wrong! And, I’m glad cause I really don’t like a predictable story line! This could have been a 4 star book for me but I just needed more … or less from the first half. All in all I enjoyed it. It was a fun read with some likable characters (Jasper!) and some not so likable characters.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3/5 stars

This book follows social media influencer, Coco Cline, as she finds herself wrapped up in a murder investigation for an employee of her clients, the Chens.

Coco was definitely not my favorite MC of all time. There were moments where I found her to be a bit too superficial and contrived, so I couldn't fully connect to her character. I think that there were parts in the book that could have been tightened up a little as we got a lot of monologue that surrounded things that weren't quite pertinent to the building suspense of the murder investigation. The action does ramp up in the second half of the book which makes me wish that the first half didn't drag on as long.

Overall, it was a pretty good read, but there was definitely room for some improvement.

Super cute and cozy murder mystery. I’ve never read this author before but definitely plan to try more in the future, maybe the full series. Easy read that ties up nicely in the end.

** spoiler alert **

Synopsis
This book follows the story of social media influencer Coco Cline. Coco previously found her fame as social media star and turned her expertise into a consultancy business in which she advices small businesses about their social media presence and how to grow in this domain. The beginning of the book see’s Coco taking on The Chen’s a new couple in town who’s business is due to open however her big re-opening plans are put on hold when she finds their assistant Stacey dead in the store. Coco is motivated by both her desire for the case to be resolved quickly and her own intrigue to explore this murder herself with the help of her TV news anchor boyfriend and friends.

Thoughts
• I loved the idea of what this book could be, from reading the blurb I thought it would be similar to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder with a more mature undertone with this not being YA however I didn’t find this to be the case and instead felt like I was reading the types of overly descriptive books I read in high school.
• I didn’t enjoy the flow of the story and I predicted the ending as soon as I met the character in question which I thought was quite disappointing.
• I found that any element of mystery throughout the story was lost in how quickly it resolved and how quickly Coco was able to find information or for people to allow her to just get involved?
• In terms of characters I didn’t feel as though I connected to any of them enough to either like or dislike them other than the main character Coco who I just found a bit annoying. Even the way she was so jealous of Hudson at every move just felt so unnecessary and made her really unlikeable.
• The ending was extremely predictable which usually I wouldn’t mind but the way it all unfolded and the convenience of the police being in ‘the right place at the right time’ just made me feel frustrated. It all just felt a little to forced and way too convenient which just prevented me from buying into the story properly.
Overall I would say that the premise of this book was good, I liked the idea of the small town, the social media star and solving a mystery part. I just think it lost some of its direction in the way it just made everything easy to find for Coco. For me I would have enjoyed this more if she’d had to push against the authorities to find information rather then them completely unbelievably feeding her own investigation.

This was such a fun book. I was hooked from the beginning. Everyone will enjoy this little gem! This was my first time reading this author and i will read more in the future from her.