“Follow Me Down” by Sherri Smith
Forge Books, 352 pages
Published March 28, 2017
ISBN: 0765386704
I have to say, it’s not often that I encounter a book whose main character leaves such a bad taste in my mouth. This is yet another story of a woman whose substance abuse problem clouds her ability to cope with the horror unfolding around her. Same old song and dance: Mia returns to her hometown when a family member (in this case, her twin brother Lucas) goes missing. The high school teacher has been accused of raping and murdering a student who’s found dead in the park, with her beautiful red hair shorn. It took me almost a month to read this book, because I felt like I had read it already and started wondering if finishing it was even worth my time. I started wishing Mia would disappear, too.
Not only was the plot formulaic, the revelation of Lucas’ whereabouts and what happened to his murdered student was almost too disturbing to win my admiration for this book. Worst of all, the ending was weak.
My biggest gripe throughout the entirety of the book is that there are too many characters. Just … way too many. The guidance counselor, in particular, was a distraction. He’s in the book for like the first few chapters, and then we hear next to nothing from him. Why?!
According to Smith’s bio, this is the first thriller she’s written. Perhaps she was trying too hard. Not everyone can be Gillian Flynn. You do you, sis.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
About the author
Sherri Smith has previously written two historical fiction novels for Simon & Schuster 
UK. When not writing she spends time with her family, three 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. FOLLOW ME DOWN (Forge Books, March 2017) is her first thriller.
Bio and photo courtesy of author’s Goodreads profile
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