Despite the far fetched ending, this was rather enjoyable. It's light escapism for those who enjoy murder mysteries.

Set in the superficial world of internet influencers, when a leading light of the internet is poisoned, a true crime blogger takes it upon herself to uncover who did it, only to uncover other secrets along the way.

The characters are one sided and the police inept, but it's still a quick read which will pull you in and entertain you for a few hours.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

Stella was beautiful, glamorous and about to be presented with "Influencer of the Year" award aboard a glamorous yacht. Then she was murdered. Maggie had been invited to the awards too and quickly jumped on the band-wagon to uncover the murderer. She felt able to do this because of her true crime blog post. Practically everyone on board seemed to have had a motive and Stella was certainly not the glamorous influencer as first thought. I found most of the characters unlikely and unsympathetic - Maggie included - and found it hard to imagine their lives at all. The ending was good though and totally unexpected. Thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this book but it didn't live up to its enticing blurb. It started out slow and I wasn't really interested until nearly the halfway point. Maggie is utterly unlikeable. The ending fell flat on its face.

I know this is too fictional, BUT OMG this whole thing with influencers and social media is so TRUE! I LOVED the little bits of information about influencers and their popularity and how they are not easily spotted but how much power and influence they have over EVERYONE. Not going to lie, I love influencers, but not everything is at it seems, social media is a huge buffer, and it’s hard to believe ANYTHING. This book was like a confirmation, anyway we meet Maggie who got invited to this Influencers award party or whatever. She is a true crime blogger and she is not very popular but she is there mingling and being hella awkward, lol. I adored her because when Stella was found dead, she took charge of the investigation, trying to find the killer. She did her thing, with her investigative skills, and everything went haywire. I had a feeling there was going to be a twist because Maggie was unhinging, she had me on my toes, and she was so close and then everything changed. And the ending left me with my jaw on the floor. This author was awesome building that type of rush in us, and then ending it the way she did, I am still thinking about it now. It was a good page turned.
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This time last year I talked about S.V. Leonard’s debut, The Islanders, which I LOVED, so I was thrilled when I discovered her second book was available on NetGalley, and even more so when I was approved to read it. It pains me to say that I didn’t love it quite as much as its predecessor.

It took me a while to be taken in by The Influencers, it didn’t grab me right away. Now, I did have a lot on my mind at the time of my reading it so I could blame my frame of mind, and to some extent, I do. But the fact also is that it took a while to take off, and I didn’t think it wasn’t atmospheric enough to pull off the slowburner thing. Even more importantly, I didn’t click with the main character, Maggie, the narrator of the story.

So what happens is that we’re at this influencer award ceremony on a yacht when the Queen Bee dies. Taken at face value, it would seem that she got too drunk or overdosed on drugs, but one of her influencer friends immediately screams MURDER. This is right up Maggie’s street, she’s a true crime blogger after all, so she immediately starts interviewing people. Even when back on dry land, she doesn’t let it go and decides to continue her investigations.

Knowing what I know now, it does make sense why she’s so meddling and tenacious. The problem is, I didn’t understand her at the time, and couldn’t really stand her either.

In the second half, the action and suspense are ramped up and The Influencers became so addictive, I literally couldn’t put it down. I had planned on finishing it the next day, but I couldn’t do it, I had to know what was what and how it might all pan out.

Unfortunately, after all that tension the ending fell a little flat. Without going into detail, I don’t want to spoil things but I do need to explain my niggles. The author was obviously going for a shocking twist, and it was, but I personally didn’t think it made a whole lot of sense. For me, shocking twists only work if you can go back and with hindsight realise that silly little details were actually clues. I went back to check a few things I remembered off the cuff, and I really don’t think the picture is complete.

I’m sorry to say The Influencers missed the mark for me. While I thoroughly enjoyed part of this book, other parts just didn’t work for me. Don’t let that stop you from checking out this book, most other reviewers seem to be wildly enthusiastic about both the story and the twist.

Thanks to Canelo and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

"Stella was beautiful, famous, and hiding a host of secrets behind the perfect facade. During her short career, Stella had made a number of enemies in the industry, and all of them were at the awards. Maggie is trapped on a boat with a killer and must work out who is telling the truth, and who is faking it before they strike again..."

Since the term "influencer" was coined, i've been extremely intrigued by this concept of a somewhat local fame- being highly revered and looked up to by tens of thousands, if not millions, of people and yet not quite being well enough known to be considered a traditional celebrity. Especially with the somewhat recent influx of TikTokers and the like, now is the perfect time to dive into a topic like this.

S.V. Leonard does an amazing job of setting up and introducing the reader to the highly interesting world of influencers- transporting us back to, what i would consider the peak of social media influencers, and giving us a sneak peak into the lives of a few of the UK's most affluent content creators. When It girl Stella Knight is found dead in a very suspicious manner, budding true crime blogger Maggie Shaw decides to use her grizly knowlege to start up an investigation of her own.

The Influencers is a quick-paced thriller with an extremely intriguing premise and a great set of bones, particularly perfect for someone looking for an easy read. I did, however, find it to be somewhat predictable at times, but that was made up for by the interesting points being made about what it means to be an influencer and find oneself in the public eye- and how dangerous that can potentially be.

This was my first ever book by S. V Leonard and I loved it!!!! I’ve always been invested in books with deal with rich people mystery, murder and suspense and SV delivered everything in this one! I did find the pace of the book a little slow in staring but it gradually started becoming better as it kept going on and on. I’m so happy that I got to read this book cause I loved it! Highly recommend <33

Stella Knight is an influencer with over one million followers on KnockKnock.
She is a nominee at The Influencer of the Year Awards being hosted aboard a yacht sailing down the Thames. When the time comes to announce the winners Stella is nowhere to be seen.
Maggie Shaw is a true crime blogger and was surprised when she found an invite to the awards in her email inbox. Maggie runs a blog called the Social Sleuth with only 1200 followers and attends in the hope of networking and potentially gathering some more followers. As soon as she is on the yacht and trying to engage her peers in conversation, it becomes apparent she does not belong in this social circle.
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?

In summary I did enjoy this story told from Maggie’s POV. It started as a glitzy and glam affair and by the time the yacht docks back at the Thames all the guest are hungover and dishevelled. I like how Maggie conducts her investigation with the help of Reiss, whilst being mindful of the fact that he is still a suspect until proven otherwise. Throughout the story it seemed to me Maggie has this edge about her, almost manic an intent on self destruction perhaps.
Anna describing what it was like to work for Stella, the fact that she couldn’t keep an assistant for longer than six months reminded me of Miranda Priestly in the Devil Wears Prada (one of my favourite books and movies).
I wouldn’t say this was one of the most gripping story I’ve ever read but I was intrigued to find the answer to this particular mystery and that kept me reading until the end. In my opinion the ending was most abrupt and honestly very unexpected. A light enjoyable read perfect for a bit of escapism. Great for mystery fans.

The Influencers follows Maggie Shaw who is a true-crime blogger. She is invited to the influencer of the year awards which take place on a yacht. Everything seems to be going great until the influencer of the year Stella Knight is found dead. Maggie being the true-crime blogger that she is takes it upon herself to find out who killed Stella. While also hoping that the killer does not kill anyone else.

I enjoyed this one a lot. It was a pretty fast-paced true crime book that kept me on my toes. This is also one where you had no idea who the killer was until the end. It checked all of the boxes that make a good true crime book. However, I didn't really understand what Maggie's motive was for wanting to solve Stella's murder. I do understand that she is a true-crime blogger. But I wanted more of a reason as to why she took it upon herself to solve the murder. This book also shows that influencers are more than what they post about. And it shows that not everything you see online is real. Overall, I would suggest if you are looking for a fast-paced true crime book.

Thank you to NetGalley, S.V. Leonard, and Canelo publishing for this eARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

4 stars for this nail-biting, engrossing, couldn't-put-it-down, never-would-have-guessed thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley for my digital copy for review ^^

I love a slow-building type of whodunnit thriller. This was no exception. What do you get when you mix super popular and wealthy social media influencers on a yacht with murder? A very gripping thriller!

True crime blogger Maggie Shaw is looking for her next major case, so when she finds herself as part of the Influencer of the Years yacht party, she takes advantage of soaking it all in. Everything seems fine, until the influencer everyone is anticipating to win the award winds up DEAD. Turns out that there were a lot of people who really had it out for mega influencer Stella Knight... Then the investigation really begins for Maggie - who really killed Stella Knight?

Maggie goes on to investigate the case and finds that there are many different suspects that all have a motive, an opportunity, and a timeframe that would have allowed them to commit the crime.. but who? The police don't want her getting involved too deep, but that won't stop her from getting to the bottom of the case.

S.V. Leonard's debut The Islanders is on my list of 2021 favorites, so of course I couldn't resist reading her newest story as soon as possible. I always like a social media angle in my thrillers, and having a focus on a true crime blogger and influencers in general sounded like a match made in heaven for me. And while I do think that her debut is a lot stronger, there is no doubt that I still very much enjoyed my time with The Influencers.

There is no doubt that the social media angle is the star of the show here. Most of the main characters in play are influencers and are active on multiple platforms. The murder victim Stella Knight is a hugely popular influencer with a lot of skeletons in the closet, and the main suspects are mostly either influencers or have a close connection to her. Then we have our true crime blogger Maggie Shaw of course; we see the events through her eyes as she investigates what happened to Stella. There is also the partial setting on the boat celebrating the Influencer Of The Year awards, and last but not least we have the little snippets taken from Maggie's blog The Social Sleuth at the beginning of each chapter.

The plot itself mostly reads like an amateur murder investigation where Maggie basically goes against the orders of the police and interviews multiple suspects by herself anyway. I personally wondered how credible this would be and how she wasn't arrested for obstruction of justice at some point... I also wasn't sure how believable it was for her to trust a complete stranger and investigate along with him (especially since he is such an obvious suspect). Thankfully, there were lots of twists and secrets to keep you busy along the way, and they were partially successful in distracting you from the lack of credibility.

I also had some issues with the main characters; mostly because they weren't exactly likeable and there was just something about Maggie that didn't convince me from the start. I did like the idea of her being a true crime blogger and wanting to investigate a murder that happened while she was closeby. That does make for a great premise and the social media angle in general is what kept me reading. I was a bit disappointed to have guessed the truth about the 'explosive' ending quite early on though, but that might just be my own fault for reading too many thrillers in the first place. As a whole, The Influencers is still a very entertaining thriller and worth your time if you like the sound of the premise.

Maggie Shaw is a budding blogger and gets invited to a high profile award show, with a party held in a glamorous yatch. While trying to gain connections, the party soon turns to a nightmare when a famous blogger Stella Knight was found murdered. Maggie along with another blogger must find who killed Stella Knight.

The story first started slow and I was slightly bored. The story is mainly told from Maggie's perspectives as Maggie is determined to find out who killed the infamous blogger. I felt like I was watching some soap opera crime drama show with all those wannabe rich people and bloggers who wanted to be recognized. But despite the flaws, the writing was good and the author did a good job of drawing the reader into the story. But towards the end, the story started getting more interesting and...yes the reason my initial 3 star rating bumped up to a 4 star rating was the ending! The ending was completely unexpected and I was literally flabbergasted!

So as I mentioned, the ending in this book was really good despite the fact that the story started slow, not very fast paced and not much of twists and turns. Worth four stars in my opinion!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

The Islanders was one of my favourite reads last year and The Influencers has certainly cemented itself as one of my favourite reads already this year. S.V. Leonard has an incredible writing style - it’s beautiful, paints a picture and it totally draws you in. I was hooked from the first page (I love that the story takes you straight to the action) and it was a complete page turner afterwards. Every time I was convinced I had it all figured out, the story went in another direction, so it kept me guessing throughout. The ending had me sat open-mouthed, but I really don’t want to give anything away, so I’m saying nothing more about it! S.V. Leonard is one of my go-to, auto-buy authors and I’m eagerly waiting for book three already!

I loved this book so much! A very clever modern take on a Christie-style story. The opening especially reads like a 21st century London-based Death On The Nile. The mystery is brilliantly set up with a full cast of characters that keeps you constantly guessing, and setting it against the backdrop of the impact of influencer culture gives it a very relevant sinister edge. The ending will definitely take you by surprise - an epilogue has rarely done so much work.

What In The White Whales Sea! 😯😳

First, I will say this was a slow burn book for sure. And I will admit I struggled with this one. I had a hard time being pulled in and keeping my interest. Maggie Shaw is invited to The Influencers of the Year awards on a yacht in London. She's a blogger on true crime, called "The Social Sleuth" & will find very quickly that her interest will be put to the test. Stella Knight, the winner of the award and highest influencer there, is murdered. Every gorgeous influencer on the yacht is a suspect and has secrets they want to keep hidden. Could the killer strike again? All of that being said, I will say the book redeemed itself at the end, which helped boost my rating for it. That was one heckuva mystery suspense twist I didn't expect or see coming! It was a pretty good amateur sleuth type novel. Definitely entertaining.

Thank you to NetGalley & Canelo Publisher for this ARC.
Release date: March 10, 2022.

I give this 3 / 5 snowflakes! ❄️

Short and easy thriller, I couldn’t really sympathise with any of the characters, but the ending was quite the payoff.

I enjoyed The Influencers, it's a pacey thriller set in the murky modern world of influencers. The characters are beautifully drawn and developed and are all detestable! It really casts a wry, unflattering eye on the whole influencer world The author throws lots of red herrings and dead ends around and I was really surprised by the ending but didn't find it entirely credible.

Grab this modern thriller! Loved the Influencers by S.V.Leonard which is about....INFLUENCERS, of course!

Maggie has started her own true crime podcast and is over the moon to be invited to the Influencer of the Year awards on a fancy Yacht. She hopes this is the opportunity she needs to network and expand her viewership.
While out in the water however, Stella Knight, by far the most popular Influencer who was pegged for the Influencer of the Year award is murdered!

This is a perfect time for Maggie to put her true crime hobby to the test. She teams up with another larger-then-life personality and slowly begins her own investigation. Not long after the cops ask her to cease, she begins receiving threatening notes. Should she quit, or is this the chance she has been waiting for?

I truly loved this book, I found it exhilarating and interesting to hear a bit of the behind the scenes of people who are famous only for being famous :)

If you are a fan of pop culture, who done it's, and of course solving murders, then #TheInfluencers is for you!
#Canelo #NetGalley #NetGalleyReads

This is a quick read murder mystery that takes an interesting look at the dark side and dangers of social media. Top lifestyle influencer, Stella Knight, is murdered on a yacht during the Influencer of the Year awards. Luckily, new true crime blogger, Maggie Shaw is onboard and begins interviewing attendees about the murder. From there it is difficult to narrow down who committed the murder as the list of suspects grows. There were surprising twists and I did not guess the ending. I recommend if you enjoy murder mysteries like Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None.”

Thank you Canelo and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 rounded up

Maggie Shaw is “The Social Sleuth” a true crime blogger desperate to increase her followers. If her post at the start of the book is anything to go by, her readership will rocket! She’s received a guest invitation to the “Influencer of the Year “ award aboard luxury yacht Destiny (think something Jeff Bezos would own not something to sail out of Cowes). She’s desperate to link up with some of these bright and beautiful types and you definitely catch that in her interactions. Can she hook in Reiss Rose or Flower Spirit or better still The Fashionsista, Stella Knight? The yacht leaves Shad Thames for its several hour voyage and Maggie is a fish out of water but it does give her the chance to survey the glitterati in all its perceived glory. She observes a number of unsettling incidents and then finds herself slap bang in the middle of a murder investigation. Who would want Stella dead? Reiss and Maggie team up as self appointed yacht police!

My first thoughts are …. Why would Maggie get an invitation, she’s a crime blogger not an influencer so that strikes a discordant note which niggles at the back of your mind. It does later make sense however! Her behaviour is intriguing as it’s strange and jarring and her actions seem at odds with her personality which is interesting! The world of the influencer is done well (the ‘Interstellas’, shoot me now!) and it makes very good points about responsibility and the impressionable especially the young and your online branded perceived persona versus reality. A lot of these characters are simply not very nice but it does make for fascinating reading and a growing suspect pool.

A tangled web begins to reveal itself as Reiss but especially Maggie rush around like pseudo detectives learning things before the police!!! Can you see my eyes rolling?! There are some good revelations, some decent red herrings and the end twist is a good one and very unexpected.

Overall, it’s an entertaining read, the pace is slow burner but that suits the storyline.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Canelo for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.