I enjoyed S.V. Leonard's last book, The Islanders, and was intrigued by The Influencers's premise - a murder at an Influencer of the Year awards ceremony, a closed circle mystery on a cruise. It sounds like a lot of fun, but it fell flat for me. The characters were uninteresting, including protagonist Maggie, who decides her true crime blog qualifies her to investigate the death. (Pro tip: that is not sufficient credentials, folks.) The writing felt clumsy, unpolished and hard to sink into, and I never got into that edge of my seat, page-turning place I want to with a thriller. That being said, the twist at the end is pretty clever, and given how short the book is, might be worth getting through the mediocre writing along the way - I just wish it wasn't a bit of a struggle to get to that point.

Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for the advance review copy.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I've always been intrigued by how an Influencer manages to do all this and reap all the "free" stuff. This book made me glad I'm not one! Such a great read that will keep you on the edge of your seat with your heart pounding! WOWZA!

This was a haunting and atmospheric story that I couldn’t put down. It was gripping and engaging the whole way through with a level of suspense and unpredictability that added an extra layer to the storytelling. It was a chilling read that has stayed with me since I read it.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

I do not particullarly follow influencers but I am always intrigued by the premise including what you see vs the reality so I was intrigued by the premise of this book. It did not grip me as much as some other books I have read recently but I did think there was an interesting twist at the end.

Awesome read, great storyline, great pacing, great characters and great setting. What more could you want? Twists and turns? Check.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Great read, flows perfectly. Well-written and completely engaging. I have devoured this book in one sitting with no regrets. I NEED more.

Budding true crime blogger and amateur sleuth Maggie Shaw is thrust into the limelight when there's a murder at The Influencer of the Year awards and she launches her first ever real life murder investigation.

Hosted on a luxurious yacht sailing along the River Thames, the awards ceremony hits the headlines for all the wrong reasons when star attraction Stella Knight is discovered dead in her cabin and was found to have been poisoned. Surrounded by potential suspects Maggie teams up with top influencer Reiss Rose to investigate the fellow guests.

Maggie's investigation soon runs aground when the yacht moors back in London and the police arrive. Determined to solve the case herself (and subsequently grow her following) Maggie with Reiss in tow continue their enquiries despite the warnings from the police to not get involved.

For me, I found once the plot left the yacht it lost a sense of urgency, it removed the element of a locked room mystery and being trapped with a murder. From that point on the story routinely cycled through a number of different suspects, all with solid enough motives for murder but it is not until the epilogue that the real killer is revealed and this will leave me questioning all thrillers I read from now onwards! Appearances can be deceiving!

Such an amazing thriller set in the world of influencers . True crime blogger Maggie Shaw is invited to the influencer of the year awards and while there Stella Knight shows up dead on a yacht. Maggie finds herself in the middle of the investigation of who killed Stella which proves to be quite difficult since Stella seems to have a lot of enemies on board.

To say this book kept me on my toes would be an understatement. Highly addictive and hugely entertaining.

A fabulous thriller which I couldn’t put down! When Stella turns up murdered aboard the yacht is it luck or coincidence that Maggie is ready and waiting to investigate. Reiss Rose is a former friend of the deceased and has made his name known for exposing celebrities that have undergone plastic surgery. He befriends Maggie and persuades her to start an investigation before the police arrive. During the course of her investigation Maggie discovers the list of people that could’ve wanted Stella dead is lengthy. But whodunnit….. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have always loved book set at sea and so was very excited to read this thriller showing the dark side of the glamorous lives of the influencers taking place on a yacht. A terrific thriller!

A somewhat so-so thriller read with ode to Agatha Christie. This follows Emma, a true crime blogger, who is invited to an influencers’ awards night on a boat in London when shockingly one of the most famous influencers dies. Emma sees this as an opportunity to blog about...
I’ll be honest. I couldn’t connect to Emma. I think for me I’m not a fan of stories where protagonists randomly decide they must investigate someone’s death when it’s none of their goddamn business. In this novel there were many scenes where people were annoyed with Emma and her nosy questions and I agreed with this sentiment. They constantly remind her that she’s not a detective and this not her job (I agree!) yet Emma continues playing Nancy Drew 🤦🏻‍♀️ Girl, why?? It doesn’t help there’s not much suspense. It would’ve helped if this multi-POV type of book. Unfortunately we’re stuck with Emma. Then that twist I saw coming from miles away 😏

I thoroughly enjoyed this fairly light hearted whodunnit and read it quickly.

The story is centred around Maggie, a true crime blogger who is unexpectedly invited to The Influencer of the Year awards aboard a yacht on the Thames. Whilst there, a glamorous influencer, Stella Knight is murdered. Everyone on board seems to have something to hide, but which of them is responsible?

Although the plot isn’t particularly fast paced, it held my attention and interest. The characters were well drawn and believable and I loved the obvious research the author must have done about the influencing world and social media in particular.

I didn’t see the ending coming, which is always a plus for me and I found all loose ends to be satisfactorily tied up. All in all, an enjoyable easy read. I would read another of S V Leonard’s books.

Thanks to the publishers Canelo and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read this book in one sitting and really enjoyed it, highly recommend it, one of my best books so far for 2022,, keeps one guessing all throughout it x

Welcome to the Influencer awards, your best seat in the house for all the lies, gossip and of course death. Maggie Shaw a fellow crime blogger in the influencer world gets invited to the Influencer awards night on a fancy boat.

Maggie joins Reiss - a beauty and make up artist to get to the bottom of the murder that occurred during the awards ceremony. The murder mystery kept me wanting to know more and find out who done it. I don't know why but I didn't see that ending coming.

Thank you Netgalley and Candelo for the advanced copy for an honest review.

Set in the glamorous world of influencers, this murder mystery shows the dark side of the heavily filtered online world.
I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns of this well written and compelling thriller , I found it such an easy read and became heavily involved in discovering who killed Stella knight alongside budding crime blogger Maggie Shaw.
Be prepared for some shocks and jaw dropping surprises, as Stella had so many enemies and things get complex as Maggie races against time to unravel all her relationships and discover the truth.
Utterly entertaining and a little different I loved it ..

What a ride!! The twists and turns of "The Influencers" keeps you on your toes and causes you to not be able to put it down. The characters and storyline were perfectly crafted and leads you to think....

Who killed Stella Knight? Stella is a famous, rich influencer and is loved by millions. Maggie Shaw is a true-crime blogger. Her blog, the Social Sleuth, is still in its infancy but then Maggie is invited to the Influencer of the Year Awards, being held on a luxurious yacht, Destiny and sees her opportunity to increase her following. When Stella is found murdered, Maggie joins forces with beauty blogger and make-up artist, Reiss Rose to uncover the culprit.

The trip back to land with a killer on board made for some tense and claustrophobic scenes for the amateur sleuths. Maggie and Reiss’s interactions were fun to read, their different worlds providing some interesting moments dotted with humour. The mystery played out well and I had a ball trying to fit the pieces together. The unexpected outcome was a cherry topper.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Canelo via NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

This is S.V. Leonard's second book which is a murder mystery set in the glamorous world of Influencers. The book opens up with an influencer of the year award ceremony set on a yacht taking cruise along the Thames. We are introduced straight away to Maggie Shaw who is a true crime blogger but isn't big yet in the influencer world and some key players in this murder mystery. Not long into the cruise Stella Knight, who is the winner of the influencer of the year award, is found dead in her room on the yacht. Maggie Shaw ends up becoming an amateur sleuth and investigates the murder with a little help from Reiss another big influencer and supposed friend of Stella.

I really enjoyed this murder mystery. I was kept on my toes as I never really knew who to trust in this since everyone had a motive to be the killer. And that TWIST!? I did not see it coming at all which is exactly what you want in a murder mystery. This is a great holiday read and I read this whilst on holiday in Tenerife and just flew through it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Canelo for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've really been loving reading murder mystery based around social media and this book was entertaining. I enjoyed following the MC around as she tries to solve the murder, but she also has an ulterior motive. A lot of the characters were wearing a façade in one way or another and everyone is hiding something.

I liked the twist, but I felt like there wasn't enough build up to it. I liked the view and motive for the murderer, but I didn't think it meshed perfectly. It was an interesting spin but it could have been a more dramatic discovery, as least in my opinion as the reader. There wasn't a "OMG...it was who!?! all along" moment for me... more like "oh, it was [blank]?...that's interesting".

Giving this a 4 star on here, but its more of a 3.75

Enjoyment: 4
Total rating: 3.93

Maggie is a true-crime blogger trying to grow a more considerable following. SO when she is invited for the Influencer of the Year awards, she is stoked. When an influencer with as many enemies as followers is found dead, Maggie sees it as an opportunity to cover the case and aid the police.

I absolutely love Leonard's books. She chooses elements from pop culture and adds a delightful murder twist with a side of devious behind the scenes. The Influencers delivered a slump-curing, light-hearted, witty, soapy well-plotted mystery, and I cannot wait for her next book!

Disclaimer: In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to Canelo and NetGalley for providing a copy of The Influencers.