There are some books you just can't put down, even though you know you should - even if it's very late or you have to wake up early or you have a big presentation the following day. "The Followers" by Bradeigh Godfrey is just one of those books.

Molly, a highly successful social media influencer, posts a picture of her highly reclusive new husband, then quickly takes it down. But it's too late. Liv has seen the picture and is convinced that Molly's highly reclusive husband is the man who murdered her sister and took off with her niece, nine years earlier.

Liv moves to the small Colorado town where Molly and her husband live, and slowly inserts herself into Molly's life in pursuit of the truth.

What follows is a quick paced and engaging peak into a social media celeberty who has trouble making friends, and a pain-filled sister who only sees the worst.

Although you may stay up late reading the Followers, you will never regret the lack of sleep. Thank you so much Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC.

We live in a world of "Influencers" and where we think nothing of posting even minute things on social media. I found this book very timely in the way it explored social media, and how it blends the real world and social media and what happens and what happens when those two worlds mesh. This had a lot of twists and turns I didn't see coming. This kept me guessing and glued to my Kindle right up until the very end.

This book is about that imperceptible line between what you share on social media and what is stolen from you by social media. Molly is a perfect example of that influencer who posts her house, her things, and all her favorites (i.e. her passwords) - and then wonders how her house was burglarized 30 minutes after posting from her vacation. Liv is a perfect example of that social media sleuth that orchestrated the burglary. This book explodes with accurate commentary about so many topics, including red flags, hate watching, toxic group think, and living in the moment instead of living to create the moment. There's a good mystery, multiple points of view, and a thrilling ending.

This story was a fun exciting ride that kept me on the edge of my seat! The character switching with the chapters had me engaged and didn't want it to end! If you enjoy social media stories with suspense this one is for you.

Now in a world of social media, it was interesting to read a story following that world. I have yet to dive into any novels involving influences or social media, but I really enjoyed it. I liked how there were a couple chapters within the novel with a POV from a character we didn't know. IT had me guessing who the original "bad guy" was, but gave no hints at who it could have been. Each character was relatable, even if you're not an influence, the reader can relate to Molly and of course Liv was very relatable.

Oof, I love a novel that uses social media to make the story interesting. And that's exactly what Bradeigh Godrey did in this book.

First there's Molly, who, when she was alone with just her infant daughter and penniless, turns her plight into a way to make money online. Molly quickly falls into the online world and prides herself as being very open and honest with her followers.

Then there's Liv, whose life has been put on hold since the death of her sister. After the death of Liv's sister, her ex Sam took their baby and disappeared into thin air.

Until Sam, whose name is now Scott, appears, and then disappears, on Molly's social media.

Liv develops a simple plan - go to Colorado and run her own investigation to figure out if Scott's daughter is her lost niece.

This novel was smart, fast-paced, and a really good read.

I very fast paced, multi layered thriller that kept me guessing until the end! I loved the “influencer” elements, thought the character development was strong in both Liv and Molly, and enjoyed this thoroughly from start to finish!

I picked up The Followers due to the premise: an Instagram celebrity posts a photo of her new husband to a story. Even taken down quite fast, it was enough for someone to identify him as the presumed murderer in an old case. I didn't expect it to be so full of twists and layers of secrets, or the honest way it looks at new friendships for women who have started a new life in a new place. I ended up loving it! And the fact that the ending is satisfactory, perhaps even happy in its way, made it all even better!

As a social media influencer Molly is no stranger to being in the spotlight, so when she gets engaged she doesn’t think twice to share the happy news with her followers. However her fiancé Scott is less than pleased, demanding she take the photo down. But it’s too late, Liv has seen it and instantly recognizes him as the man she believes killed her sister and kidnapped her niece. Now she’s on a mission to find and befriend Molly, in hopes of finally finding answers and her niece. Problem is, it seems Liv isn’t the only one who recognized Scott from that post….

Okay I just have to get this out of the way first, that cover is absolutely amazing. It is definitely one of my favorite covers I’ve seen this year!

The story is told in different POV but it’s not clearly stated who’s POV it is which I loved, it added another layer to the mystery. The use of different formats throughout the story was a great touch too. Especially with social media and influencers being such main focus on the story (which is a cool trend/trope I’ve been noticing lately). And while I like to pride myself on guessing twists, Bradeigh got me with a few in this one that I just did not see coming!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opporutnity to read a complimenatry copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

Molly has branded herself as an instagram sensation. When her husband left her when she was pregnant, without a leg to stand on, with a house in debt and need of repairs, she at first dispaired. Then one night, overtired, at her wits end with a newborn, she put a post on instgram and people loved her realness, her candor. Now it is her livlihood and a very lucrative one at that. So what are the odds that she would fall for someone who disdains social media., her new hubby Scott wants no pictures of him or his young daughter online. Molly posts only the one picture and Scott demands she take it down, but it's too late. It has been seen by her followers and by people whom Scott does not want to know where he is.
Meanwhile, Liv is trying to trying to track down the man she believes has killed her sister and stolen her baby niece, when she sees the instagram post, she wonders if that could be him? Someone else has also seen the picture and is coming for Scott to get revenge.

This book was a pretty good read. While I didn't love it, I felt some of the characters lacked dimension I did love the twists at the end, they were well done. I will defintely be on the lookout for more books by this author.

3.5/5

There was a lot to enjoy about this psychological thriller centered around a parasocial relationship, a murder, and a series of long-buried secrets.

What I enjoyed:
- This was a fast-paced thriller that I genuinely could not put down for long stretches of time. I was intrigued by the story, and I really wanted to know what happened next.
- I cared about the characters and their evolving relationships with one another.
- I felt that Godfrey's portrayal of "momfluencer" culture was spot on and well done.

What didn't quite work for me:
- The writing was a little uneven. There were some parts that I felt could have been more tightly edited.
- The ending was just a little too far-fetched and twisty for me. I don't really love twists for the sake of twists, and it felt like the author was really trying to shock us by throwing multiple twists our way. I won't elaborate, at risk of spoiling the plot, but I felt like it was a little too much.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for my digital copy of this book!

This was a really fun, twisty read. I loved the social media snippets throughout the book. I also enjoyed that it was a quick read without sacrificing plot or character development. I found I really knew the characters and found I was rooting for these imperfect people who were doing everything they could to protect the ones they loved. Great balance all around! The revelation of “whodunnit” at the end surprised me too! I would’ve never guessed it! Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book!

The Followers

What a fun and twisty read! I enjoyed Bradeigh Godfrey’s first psychological suspense novel, Imposter, which was also super clever. But honestly, I enjoyed The Followers even more!

Molly Sullivan is such a relatable character. After being unlucky in love and leaving her ex, she posts a vulnerable video online and accidentally falls into becoming an influencer. But she doubles down on sharing most elements of her life when she realizes it can pay the bills.

When she meets her now fiancé Scot, it feels like the ultimate second chance at love and life. She doesn’t hesitate to ditch her current locale and move to Durango, Colorado to be with him and his daughter.

But someone is following her — both online and in real life. And maybe Scott is keeping secrets?

When I saw that several of my favorite authors - Kimberly Belle, Samantha Downing, Hank Phillippi Ryan — had recommended this novel, I knew it was going to be good. But with all the twists, relatable characters, and the way it kept me guessing until the end, this was an even better read than I could have hoped!

Okay, wow! I could not put this book down. It completely sucked me in and I devoured every word. This will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat.
Told in multiple POV, Molly is a well known influencer who shared every aspect of her life on social media. When she announced her engagement with a picture of her and her now husband, Scott, on her profile he was appaled she would share a picture of him on social media. Molly agreed to keep him and his daughter off anything to do with social media and deleted the engagement photo. Before Molly could delete the photo, Liv had already seen it and thought she recognized Scott from her past. Liv then takes a temp job in the city Molly and Scott live, hoping to befriend Molly to uncover Scott's secrets.

This was a propulsive thriller about how much we live on lives online, and whether that is a good thing or pad thing. Would recommend this to anyone who enjoys diving into what social media means.

The cover is really what drew me in but the story is what kept me hooked!

Bradeigh Godfrey is an absolute FORCE of an up and comer in the world of thrillers and just like Imposter, you won't want to miss this!

“Molly Sullivan is used to sharing intimate details of her life with millions of followers. A thirty-one-year-old single mom, she has built a career out of fearless posts about parenthood and dating. But when Molly shares a photo of her new fiancé, Scott, she is shocked by his negative reaction. For the sake of their relationship, Molly agrees to remove the post and keep Scott and his ten-year-old daughter out of her social media spotlight.

But it's too late, someone has already recognized him. Liv Barrett is certain Scott's the man who killed her sister and disappeared with her infant niece nine years ago. The police don't believe her, so Liv takes matters into her own hands. Driving cross-country to Colorado, Liv uses Molly's social media posts to orchestrate "accidental" meetings, slowly gaining her trust. Meanwhile, newlywed Molly begins to unpack boxes in her new home and discovers her husband has been lying about his past.

While Molly and Liv uncover secrets that have been buried deep for almost a decade, they have no idea that someone else saw the photo of Scott--someone who poses a threat more dangerous than either of them can imagine. Someone who is watching them from the shadows.”

I think this book would’ve been wayyy more realistic if it was about a bookstrgammer drowning in their TBR. ✨JK✨ 😂 I seriously enjoyed this book. The beginning had me side eyeing Molly hard, but that quickly changed. Molly is very relatable and shows how difficult it can be disconnecting your social media life from your real life. Her husband Scott was aloof from the beginning and had all of the red flags. Liv was my hero, searching for her sister’s killer even when it seemed the cops had stopped looking. The mixed media in this book was so great and helped add to the different personas of Molly. This book also got super twisty at the end, which is my favorite way to end a thriller. I definitely suggest this book for a fun and twisty thriller

The Followers is a little thriller that hits the ground running. We have 3 POVs. The first is Molly Sullivan, a very popular influencer who shares everything about herself, except her husband and stepdaughter. She shared one picture of him once and took it down the next day. As we all know nothing is gone on the internet, especially when you have millions of people watching your every move. Our second POV is Liv Barrett. Liv's sister was murdered when she was 17, her niece was kidnapped and she is pretty sure the murderer/kidnapper is Molly's husband. She has a plan to infiltrate her life and get justice for her sister's death 9 years earlier. The last POV is a mystery POV. He has short 1-2 pagers and is the bad guy.

I enjoyed this thriller. I loved all of the characters and the chemistry they had. The more we learned the more everyone's ideas changed. Once you pull on a thread you can't stop the unraveling. I feel like we had 3 different aspects to this story. The obvious one is the mystery of who murdered Liv's sister and who is stalking Molly. What happened all those years ago? This was handled well. We never really know until the very end and it is a doozy because there are twists and turns all over the place. The second aspect is the romance and relationships. Liv has never felt like she belonged, so she has moved around from temp position to temp position and never really placed roots. Until she meets a handsome townie and they start to build a romance. Then we have Scott and Molly. They are this cute suburban couple but Molly knows he has secrets. I also loved watching the friendship between Molly and Liv bloom. The third aspect of the story is social media. Social media has been a huge part of our modern culture. This takes that and shines a spotlight on the expectations of influencers and the public. How sometimes it is easy to judge these little snapshots you see and expect you know everything about them. How dangerous living your life out in the open can be, as privacy isn't really a thing anymore.

Overall, the story moves along at a really quick pace. The characters are developed well and the story is very engaging. You have a bit of everything here, suspense, romance, thriller, and a little murder.

Domestic thrillers about social influencers are some of my favorites, right up there with domestic thrillers about new moms. For the first few pages of this one, I was having serious doubts. Molly Sullivan has been sharing intimate detail of her life with her followers for five years and in the first chapter she's live streaming a pap smear to raise awareness about cervical cancer. She shares everything on her feed, including a photo she took of herself with her new fiancé. He doesn't want to be sharing anything online, for good reason. Molly takes down the picture as soon as he objects, but by then it's already too late. The plot didn't go where I thought it would and had me actually crying by the end. The character development is fantastic. I LOVED this one!

Interesting popcorn thriller and great audiobook! I really liked the characters and the way the story was written. There were some unexpected twists and I thoroughly enjoyed the way the ending came together!