Follow Me Down: A Novel
By Sherri Smith
4/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
Follow Me Down is a rare find—a gutsy, visceral, and beautifully crafted psychological thriller that Diane Chamberlain called "an engrossing page turner [that] will keep you guessing right up to the delicious ending" from talented new author Sherri Smith.
Mia Haas has built her life far from the North Dakota town where she grew up, but when she receives word that her twin brother is missing, she is forced to return home. Back to the people she left behind, the person she used to be, and the secrets she thought she’d buried.
Once hailed as the golden boy of their town, and now a popular high school teacher, Lucas Haas disappears the same day the body of one of his students is pulled from the river. Trying to wrap her head around the rumors of Lucas’s affair with the teen, and unable to reconcile the media’s portrayal of Lucas as a murderer with her own memories of him, Mia is desperate to find another suspect.
All the while, she wonders: If he’s innocent, why did he run?
As Mia reevaluates their difficult, shared history and launches her own investigation into the grisly murder, she uncovers secrets that could exonerate Lucas—or seal his fate. In a small town where everyone’s lives are intertwined, Mia must confront her own demons if she wants to get out alive.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Sherri Smith
When not writing SHERRI SMITH spends time with her family and two rescue dogs, and restores vintage furniture that would otherwise be destined for the dump. She lives in Winnipeg, Canada, where the long, cold winters nurture her dark side. She is the author of Follow Me Down and The Retreat.
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Reviews for Follow Me Down
71 ratings9 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was a very ambivalent read for me. While I couldn't put the book down, eager to finally solve the mysteries of murder and disappearance, there where several parts where I was totally frustrated by the main character's unreasonable behavior and naive actions.Mia Haas is contacted by the police who is searching for her brother. When she is told that Lucas is accused of having murdered one of his students, Mia immediately travels back to her hometown Wayoata. She is determined to find out what happened, as she is convinced that her brother can't be the murderer and fears that he may be a victim of crime himself. Trying desperately to figure out what happened to her brother and who the real murderer is, she treads on almost every foot available in town. However, the police as well as the residents of Wayoata have already convicted Lucas of being guilty for the gruesome murder, being sure that he fled town to escape punishment.Which each day, Mia uncovers new secrets and intrigues that point to different suspects, but also plant seeds of doubt in her believe in her brother's innocence. However, Mia does not give up, even when intimidated and threatened herself.The story took some really wild and unpredictable turns, more than once bordering on incredibility. Only at the very end the solution was presented as yet another surprising twist. I loved being left in the dark for so long and led on several different tracks only to find that they led to a dead end. However, at some point it almost became annoying to be given the runaround yet again. One detail that bothered me the whole time was Mia's pill abuse, which seemed a convenient way to explain away her repeatedly crude actions, but soon became tiring and superfluous. But in a weird way, these minor flaws also add to this suspenseful and surprising story's appeal.(Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book, all opinions are my own)
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The book didn't quite read well for me. Way too many characters and as the plot was thickening it was getting liquified.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Far fetched and overly long. I wanted to know the end . . . so that's a plus but really glad to be out of protagonists mind.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I enjoyed this even though Mia irritated me at times, but that just gave her a more realistic quality. I did guess at one point who the killer was, but it was really just a "perhaps" & the ending did pack a big surprise! This book would make a very good movie.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/54.25 Stars
Mia Haas left North Dakota behind 5 years ago and hasn't looked back, her brother handles her mother for them and she doesn't have to face the town and life that never did any good for her. Called back by the police for questioning regarding her brothers disappearance, she finds everything is not as she left it behind. Lucas Haas is wanted for the murder of an underage girl, but Mia knows he would never do anything like that and is determined to uncover the truth, no matter what it takes. Facing the town's ridiculing stares is one thing, but uncovering her past to find the answers leads Mia down a twisted trail she can barely handle.
Follow Me Down comes with all of my favorite mystery novel qualities, plus my favorite type of narrator...an unreliable one. Mia is a pill popping extraordinaire, she manages to come across as totally normal to everyone around her, except her mind is a jumbled mess. Readers are treated to her frantic thoughts and desperation bordering on obsession to find her brother and prove his innocence. Like most small towns, Mia's hometown features unpleasant drama between the upper and lower class, secrets covered by years of piled up betrayal and judgement, and the ability to ruin one person's life with a mob mentality. On top of that, this is the height of scandal; Jason is a young, good looking teacher and for him to not only have an affair with a student, but to also kill her, has everyone talking and everyone condemning him. Mia faces those opinions, taking on dangers and participating in slightly crazy antics to uncover the truth, along the way uncovering her own personal truth. She's the kind of character you want to believe, but she's just unreliable enough that you question everything she does. I absolutely never saw the ending coming, Sherri Smith kept the truth of Jason going missing and the true cause of death of the young girl close.
Sherri Smith brings the little town the life, the secondary characters even having such complex personalities that you recognize every person Mia encounters has some part in the mystery that truly spans several years. From the copy-cat best friend and his pot dealing wife to the overly-interested little sister of the missing girl and a school counselor who might be a little more involved than Mia would like, every one of them tells part of the story. It's definitely a case of who-dun-it, a psychological mystery that shows just how corrupt and guilty a tiny town is. Follow Me Down is an immersive experience, when you finish the last page you will be shocked to see you haven't actually been living the horrors alongside Mia. A high 4 stars to Sherri Smith for this new release. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5There's a very graphic scene at the end that's done so well I was actually cringing away from the screen as I read it! I've only read one other book that evoked such a visceral reaction from me. Compellingly written with believable characters. Mia gets more than a little unreasonable in the lengths she goes to investigate her brother's disappearance in the midst of Joanna's murder and the consequences of her actions are often not serious enough to match her crimes, but her desperation is authentic and adds to her credibility as a character.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The story is compelling. Good job writer! If you have some great stories like this one, you can publish it on Novel Star, just submit your story to hardy@novelstar.top or joye@novelstar.top
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was a very entertaining read. If you have some great stories like this one, you can publish it on Novel Star, just submit your story to hardy@novelstar.top or joye@novelstar.top
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sherri Smith has written two historical novels, but her newest book, Follow Me Down, is a thriller. Smith takes us to Wayouta, North Dakota. Mia and her twin brother Lucas could not wait to escape this small town, their drunken mother and the claustrophobic nature of everyone knowing you - and your business. Mia has made a life for herself in Chicago and works as a pharmacist. A pharmacist who tends to sample the product too much. Her brother went back though and works as a teacher at the local high school. Mia ends up back in Wayouta as well - but only after her brother is accused of killing the high school girl he was allegedly sleeping with. There's no way her brother could do such a thing....could he?Smith has created one of those insular towns and filled it with people who happily jump on the bandwagon of popular theory. Lucas is guilty - they just need to find him. The police are sure that Mia knows where he is. Mia, for her part is just as determined to find him and prove his innocence. Wayouta is filled with a plethora of suspects, odd ducks, a dark underbelly and a questionable police department.Mia is the narrator of the book, but she is distinctly unreliable."My face was splotchy; grass was in my hair. And I did look crazy. I did. For a full minute, I wondered if I was. If the pills had made my brain go runny and soft. That maybe I couldn't trust any of my own memories. That for me, reality was a multiple-choice questionnaire." Her tenacity and bullheadedness are appealing. And she has a wicked sense of humour. I quite liked her voice.Relationships - especially those between a mother and child, play a large (and heartbreaking) part in the plotting. Sibling ties are also a focus of Follow Me Down.I found Follow Me Down a bit slow to get started, but the story picked up speed after the initial characters were introduced and the time and place were set. Smith gives us lots of suspects and throws in some red herrings along the way. The final whodunit? Didn't see it coming! If I had to describe the feel of the book, I would say modern Gothic with a psychological twist.