It was always going to be a challenge with the 'difficult' second book, there is a challenge in not just meeting the success of 'The Never List' but building on it to establish the audience.
So does 'The Follower' succeed?
On the surface it looks similar, girl is kidnapped by an outsider, with a split narrative between the kidnapped girl and the kidnappers accomplice, and a detective who is looking for patterns in missing girl cases.
None of them are entirely likeable, but that is where the strengths of Ms Zan lie, she creates tonal shades where as much as you want the girl to escape, you also want to find out more about the detective.
What I really liked was that there was no lingering over the abuse the girls suffered, no drawn out 'gore for gore's sake' torture porn or unnecessary details. It is a pure character study in freedom, captivity and how you tackles demons before they become the thing that drives you.
Inevitable comparisons to 'Misery' aside, this will hopefully succeed 'The Never List' and establish Ms Zan as a thriller writer with legs.