Just finished "Don't Ask, Don't Follow". I was initially hooked as Beth, a paralegal, stumbles upon her boss's murder and her sis making a mysterious exit. 🕵️‍♀️ Thought I was in for a wild ride, but tbh, the plot felt like a rollercoaster with too much uphill and not enough drops.

There's this constant info dump, like, I get it, Beth's analyzing life choices more than I do at 3 AM, but less would've been more. 🤷‍♀️ Action scenes are narrated more than witnessed – I needed more "show," less "tell." 🎭 And don't get me started on Beth's detective skills; girl went from zero to Sherlock real quick. 🕵️‍♀️

On the flip side, the family secrets and the Alliance Agency drama did keep me flipping pages. The suspense was like a Netflix series you can't stop binge-watching. 🍿 But, y'all, Beth's repetitive guessing game and the book's length nearly made me call it quits. Almost gave up like 3 times, ngl. 😬

In the end, the story wraps up nicely with a bow, and I appreciated the ending. 🎁 But, if you're not into marathon monologues and over-the-top self-investigations, maybe this is not for you.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. It didn't disappoint! Must read!!

I almost DNF'd this so I'm giving it 2.5 stars. I kept reading because I wanted to know what happened to the sister and what the dark family secret was, and I was just underwhelmed. It's not poorly written, but there is so much exposition it became boring. I skipped quite a bit and still could follow the plot. Every detail is explained ad nauseam through the lens of the main character. The majority of the book is just her working through why someone would do xyz or what her next steps are going to be. It literally could have been condensed to a line or two, not half the book. The book needed more character development, which is when that self-reflection would have been useful. And also the action that takes place is told instead of shown. Way too much telling.
More dialogue and interactions with other characters would have also made this stronger.

Beth was a paralegal in her father's law firm. And her sister, Lindsay, was an investigative reporter who was investigating women who had been pregnant and had been told that their children had died at birth. Craig was Beth's boss. Beth had invited Lindsay to the firm's holiday party, but Lindsay had ghosted her. While the party was in full swing, Beth saw Lindsay flee from Craig's office to the elevator. Beth followed her to the garage but didn't see her. When she got back upstairs she went into Craig's office and found him dead. He'd been shot.

Beth tred to locate her sister but it seems she had vanished. At some point Beth found Lindsay's phone in her purse. When she turned it on and looked at the text messages she saw that Lindsay had typed out a text message to her that said don't ask, don't follow, but she hadn't sent it. She took this to mean that her sister didn't want her to search for her. But Beth was determined she was going to find her.

The Alliance Agency was an agency that took in homeless and drug addicted pregnant women. They took care of them throughout the pregnancy and then when it was time for them to give birth they stole their babies and sold them to wealthy families who were looking to adopt. It was this agency that Lindsay was investigating.

Beth found out that Lindsay had requested a DNA test for herself. She later learned that Craig had done the same thing. She made the assumption that Lindsay was adopted and later found out that Craig was too. He had been adopted by a judge, Elizabeth Johnson, who was well known to Beth and Lindsay's father. When she confronted her parents about it, they shut her down.

Detective Matson was heading up the search for Lindsay. He and Beth ended up inadvertently working hand in hand. Lindsay's neighbor, Kai, also assisted Beth in the search.

So this book was all about the search for Lindsey, and getting to the bottom of the Alliance Agency's despicable acts. At some point, Beth came to realize that her father was somehow involved as well, as was judge Johnson.

I thought the author was an excellent story teller. None of the book was predictable. And it held my attention throughout. I very much enjoyed it and I gave it five stars.

There is a lot going on in this novel— family dynamics, an attorney running for mayor, murders, DNA testing, adoptions, undocumented immigrants, etc. Basically, it is the story of 2 sisters— one an investigative reporter and the other a researcher in a law firm. One sister mysteriously disappears and the other sister in an attempt to find her discovers more than she could ever have imagined. It is a well written, intriguing story that will keep the reader interested. I thank NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

Fascinating book about two sisters, Beth and Lindsay who always kept each other's secrets as kids. Now grown, investigative journalist Lindsay is missing and paralegal Beth's boss is found murdered. How are these things connected? It's a wonderfully complicated story of intrigue as Beth works tirelessly to figure out where her sister is, how her parents are involved, and how an adoption agency figures into all the chaos. It's a fast-paced story that kept me reading long into the night but kept me turning pages as I couldn't stop!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Don’t Ask, Don’t Follow was a fast pace and keeps you guessing book. A paralegal is working late and sees from sister running from her bosses office. When she goes in to ask what her sister was doing there, she finds her boss has been murdered. Later she realizes her sister is missing and finds out that her sister, a reporter, and her boss was working together on something. But what were they working on that got her boss murdered and was her sister kidnapped or in hiding. This was a good book and I enjoyed it. Thanks to Netgalley for this arc.

Intrigue and mystery. Do not try to guess the secrets. It is almost impossible. This gifted author has written a page turner. Realistic characters keep the story moving quickly. Red herrings kept me guessing. Even the title is intriguing. I like this book and this author. Thanks Netgalley.

This was another new author for me. I found the book started off well but it slowed to a crawl. A good start though for this author.

Thanks publisher and Netgalley

All of my opinions and thoughts are my own

I really enjoyed this book and the suspense. It was definitely a page turner. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

First I've read by this author, and probably won't be the last. I really enjoyed the story. It had some twists and turns that made me want to keep reading. I did feel that parts of it was repetitive and drawn out and could have been removed so it wasn't so long, but other than that - a seriously solid read.

Thank you #netgalley and #oceanviewpublishing for the eARC.

Don’t ask, don’t follow by Mary Keliikoa was a great read for me. I’d say a solid 3.75⭐️. The plot sucked me in from the very first chapter, how could seeing your sister run away from your murdered colleague not keep you coming back for more?
Beth is a paralegal who comes from a wealthy, affluent family. When she finds her boss murdered at the office, and her sister fleeing the scene without a trace. Beth follows her instincts and does her own investigating to find out what her rebellious sister was investigating that could’ve gotten her into this much trouble. Like I said, this book sucked me in and I couldn’t get enough. That being said, I found a lot of the “clues” Beth was using to be very normal things that just happened to make her feel like things weren’t what they seemed. The unrealistic self investigative work truly is one of the only reasons I didn’t rate this book higher. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to dive into this one!

Murder, dark family secrets, and the unwavering bond of sisterhood— regardless of the cost
Beth Ralston, a paralegal in Portland, Oregon, would rather be racking up billable hours than mingling at an office party— especially when her sister Lindsay, aka her plus one, is a no-show.
After making her obligatory rounds, Beth returns to her office to find that her boss, who she'd talked with moments before, has been murdered. She sees a woman fleeing the scene. Wait— was that Lindsay? Unable to catch up to her in time, Beth waits for the police to arrive and notices that Lindsay has left her phone behind with an unsent text message to Beth displayed on the screen: “ Don't ask. Don't follow.”

This was another new author for me. I found the book started off well and I was really engaged and thinking how good this was going to be but then it became overly slow and the continuous repetitious thoughts regarding her boss being murdered and the sister disappearing did not really gel for me. I appreciate the time the author put into the story but this one was just not for me, I just found myself bored and starting to skim pages which for me is a sign that I am not enjoying the story. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

This is a fast-paced thriller that starts off with a bang when Beth Ralston discovers her colleague Craig murdered during a firm event. She spots her investigative reporter sister leaving the scene, only to disappear. Beth feverishly works to solve the mystery behind Craig’s murder find her sister.

This book is exciting and binge worthy, and I enjoyed the complexity of the corruption underlying the mystery. My only quibbles were how blatantly and over the top the portrayal of the villainous Henry and his crimes was and Beth’s relationship with Troy, which seems unlikely given his professionalism.

*I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley.

I received an ARC of this upcoming psychological thriller through NetGalley.

The protagonist in this novel is Beth Ralston, a paralegal at her father's prestigious law firm in Portland, Oregon. Beth is a workaholic with an older sister (Lindsay) who does investigative reporting.

At the outset of this story, Beth is attending a company cocktail party, but answers a summons from her boss who is working in his office. Beth finds her boss murdered at his desk and sees what she thinks is her sister fleeing the scene.

Her sister remained missing. Beth took a leave of absence to try to find her sister, while also coming across evidence that indicated why her boss might have been murdered. Her sister and Beth's boss were working together on something, activities involving the possible theft of babies born of poor and/or troubled women.

The story grabbed me right away, a good sign, but then dragged as Beth explored theory after theory of where her sister may have gone. She encountered too many characters to count and the reader received superficial information about any of them at best.

The ending was solid and, to me, not surprising. Book would have received a higher rating from me if its middle part had the pace of activity that the book's beginning and ending had.

Don't Ask, Don't Follow it’s a psychological thriller that is about greed and unravelling family secrets. It has suspense, action, intrigue, and mystery all together.

It was a good story with a great ending but with too much repetition for me, personally. I was a bit bored by Beth’s constant theorizing about the reasons for her sister's disappearance and the murder of her boss.
I think the author was trying to steer the reader away from the truth, maybe? But despite that, I enjoyed this book, it dragged a bit but I kept reading to see how it ended, and I was not disappointed by the ending!


Thank you NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Don't Ask, Don't Follow releases on June 04th, 2024! You can pre-order now on Amazon

I have to say that I almost DNF multiple times. It was a good story with a great ending but too much repetitive guessing on Beth’s part of where her sister is and slightly boring! It also is a little too long. Not sure if I would recommend. Thank you to netgalley for letting me give an honest review of this book.

Beth is a paralegal and heads to her office and finds her boss murdered. She then sees her sister fleeing the scene. The rest of the book is spent trying to find her sister and solve the murder. Story seems to drag a bit but I kept reading to see how it ends.

Don't Ask, Don't Follow by Mary Keliikoa is a fairly good psychological thriller that is about greed and unraveling family secrets.

It took me a bit to get involved in the story. There were a few times I found myself having to read over paragraphs as I lost my train of thought with the story, and it felt a bit slow in parts. There were good red herrings that kept me guessing and some good twists.

Overall, Don't Ask, Don't Follow was just an okay read for me. I will read more from this author, though. I thought the book's premise was promising, the story just fell a bit flat for me.

3.75 (rounded to 4) out of 5 stars.

#DontAskDontFollow #NetGalley @oceanviewpub

This is a great psychological thriller about a woman in search of her sister and the secrets she’s carrying. It was fast-paced, clever twists, and kept me interested until the end. I would recommend it and will definitely read other books by this author.