ASIN: B08TGBLBBY
Publisher: Fine Line Publishing
Publication Date: 02/02/21
Format: e-book
My Rating: 5 Stars
COVER REVEAL
FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR of THE MEMORY BOX.
A fear-induced split-second decision goes terribly wrong, altering the fate of three strangers.
It’s New Year’s Eve. Shae Wilmont, the adored host of IShop—a popular shopping site—is ready to reclaim her life. Her stalker has been caught. But en route to a party, a harrowing encounter lands her in the wrong place at the wrong time. She's forced to make a split-second decision. She trusts her gut—it's a devastating mistake.
Only one person knows where she ends up. It’s where no one can find her.
Shae’s stunned fans quickly galvanize to track her down. Yet the charismatic Shae they know, who delivers digital intimacy to viewers who’ll buy anything she sells, off camera is an enigma—private and strangely insecure—unable to let anyone get close. When startling personal secrets are exposed during the investigation, the paradox of Shae begins to unravel.
In this psychological suspense, the lives of three strangers collide irreversibly.
Honey, a displaced Southern girl who flees a painful past, is fiercely protective of her new friends at the expense of her own safety, derailing her new life in California,. Creepy Lawrence, a Detective Bureau fast-tracker with a penchant for latex gloves and a perverse obsession with Shae. And Shae, with millions of fake friends but hardly a real one. All three are hiding something, but only two of them are lying.
This gripping page-turner bares our assumptions of strangers. Who we believe without judgment and who we judge without believing. A story about privilege, family, identity, the need for belonging and the destruction caused by secrets.
How can you trust your instincts when they turn out to be wrong?
FOLLOWING YOU is perfect for fans of SOMETHING SHE'S NOT TELLING US and THE PERFECT STRANGER.
Cover Reveal
My Review
Eva Lesko Natiello, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Memory Box, returns with a sizzler psychological suspense thriller. From the enigmatic and stunning front cover to the gripping last page, you will be spellbound.
Intense and creepy. A smart, wickedly plotted psychological thriller brimming with dark surprises at each page turn.
Let’s meet these standout characters and the twisted lies they weave. In alternating chapters we hear from each one, laid out perfectly with name, date, and time.
Shae Wilmont is the adored celebrity host of IShop—a popular shopping site. She is stunning, sophisticated, and glamorous. The camera loves Shae, and she can sell anything. She allures, she captivates, and she is a star. However, she has no real friends, except for her many millions of followers. Who is she really? What has she been through to get where she is today? Her past is a mystery.
Next, we meet the creepy pervert. Lawrence is a detailed guy who loves latex gloves and is obsessed (let me stress, OBSESSED) with Shae. He buys lotions and every product she sells and drools over her every show. He will not miss a second of it. He even hides out in the storage closet at work. A stalker. These scenes are laugh out loud entertaining.
"A pair of double Cs—or even young Ds—could coax the price of a new Toyota Corolla under list or fix a flat tire on the side of the freeway. An exasperated pair—with flounce and fervor—could grant entrance to a sold-out show without a ticket!" —Lawrence FOLLOWING YOU
He posts on Facebook from an account "Larry." His many purchases and on-air testimonials are from "Lars." Instagram comments, are from "Lance." Not sure how he keeps up with the lies. He sniffs and rubs all her lotions and is a complete perv. (plus more). He never leaves a fingerprint and he loves his ironed khakis. (the scene with the ironing board was hilarious).
He lives with Rita, a nurse, and cannot figure out what she is doing with this loser. She has no clue who this man really is. OMG! Eva really has developed a sicko and love how she gets into his head. I love the banter between Lawrence and Rita. Rita is also pretty funny. So is he really who he says he is?
Lastly, we meet the poor Southern gal, Honey. This girl has so many problems. She tries. I will give her that. She has had a bad childhood and cannot seem to catch a break. If there ever was a country song, she has lived it. This girl finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time everywhere she turns. Is she who she appears?
Two people are lying. Each person we meet has a secret past. Their past has shaped who they are today. There is deception, lies, and secrets. The two women may have more in common than they know.
On New Year’s Eve when Shae is following her cameraman to a party, she loses him and winds up in the wrong house. Honey is running from the cops and thinks Shae is a cop. Things go from bad to worse. Honey also has a friend who follows Shae, but no one knows where Shae is, even poor Lawrence. There is much behind Shae's outward and cool appearance.
There has been a stalker in the past. Who is the stalker, and who are these people? They are strangers, but their lives connect. How?
Diabolically twisted and entertaining.
Eva’s portrayal of Lawrence is fabulously compelling and darkly hilarious. I am a massive fan of the author from her debut, The Memory Box (read my review below), which landed on my Top Books of 2016. I was delighted when I discovered this book. If you have not read, I highly recommend both!
Not only is this a riveting suspenseful psychological thriller, but it also has a mysterious literary flair, I love. The butterfly symbolisms and metaphors are beautiful and lyrical.
"She told me butterflies have the best of both worlds. People like looking at them because they're beautiful, but they can disguise themselves whenever they want. They camouflage themselves to hide from predators. That stuck with me. Made me sad. She seemed jealous of a butterfly. All because it could disappear in plain sight." —FOLLOWING YOU (e-book location 2368/67%)
An ongoing theme is "identity." I enjoyed the author's note. Who controls a person's identity? Do we control our own, or is our identity shaped by what others think of us?
A cautionary tale, especially in our world of social media today. Do we really know the person behind the screen? Do we believe what we see? In addition to the suspense, the novel goes more in-depth into each of these character’s past for a great character study. Self-identity. Their intense need to belong. Due to the secrets they keep, there is much fallout.
FOLLOWING YOU is perfect for fans of authors Kaira Rouda, Jennifer Hillier, Sally Hepworth, Wendy Walker, and Victoria Helen Stone. Set aside the time. It is unputdownable.
Ideal for book clubs and further discussions. Book Club Questions included at the end of the book.
A special thank you to the author for an advanced reading copy.
Praise
The Memory Box
A New York Times and USA Today Bestseller
WHAT IF YOU GOOGLED YOURSELF AND DISCOVERED SOMETHING SHOCKING?
In this gripping psychological thriller, with twists and turns until the very last page, a suburban mom Googles herself on a lark and discovers the shocking details of a past she doesn't remember.
“. . . this one comes along and tears to shreds everything you thought you knew about the genre . . . and just when you think the book may have hit the limits of its genre, another sinister twist pushes it into serious Gone Girl territory.” —Bustle
5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
About the Author
I’m a native New Yorker, who, by transplanting to suburban New Jersey, unwittingly conceived my first novel. THE MEMORY BOX, a New York Times and USA Today bestseller, is a self-published psychological thriller about a woman who Googles herself and discovers the shocking details of a past she doesn’t remember—set in a fictional New Jersey suburb where things appear to be quite ordinary. Unwitting because I’d never intended to author a book, but the book found me and refused to be ignored.
So many wonderful things have transpired as a result of The Memory Box’s release, but there is one crazy thing that stands out. It all started when I received an email from someone named Caroline Thompson. For those of you who haven’t read The Memory Box, that’s the name of my protagonist! Upon seeing this email in my inbox I became somewhat freaked out. The Caroline emailing me was a journalist for VICE and she discovered me when one day she decided to Google herself. One of the results said:
“Caroline Thompson Googles herself and discovers the shocking details of a past she doesn’t remember.”
That is, of course, the description for The Memory Box, but she thought she was reading something about herself! And when I received her email I thought it was from my protagonist! Confusion, panic and hilarity ensued. We both certainly did share a gigantic whew! once we ironed things out. As luck would have it, she’s always been fascinated by coincidences so she wrote an article for VICE about her discovery of the fictional version of herself, and how much they have in common!
“As a writer, misconceptions provide particular fascination for me—when people appear to be normal by context—but upon closer inspection are actually deviant or at the very least a little screwy.”
Incongruity carries over into my second novel, MISTAKEN, awaiting publication. More on that later. Another theme that weaves its wave through my fiction is the subject of control. How people who are obsessed with control will do kooky things in order to attain it. And by kooky, I mean psycho.
My articles and essays have appeared in the HuffPost, New Jersey Magazine, Martha’s Vineyard Magazine (forthcoming), among others. I’m a member of Authors Guild and International Thriller Writers.
As a former VP of Global Communications for Estee Lauder Inc. which jump-started a 20+ year career as a communications, marketing and branding expert, I now coach authors on how to market their books in order to increase visibility and find readers. I’m the creator and facilitator of two immersive workshops: Self-Publish Like a Pro and Find Your Readers Book Marketing workshops and bring this content to writers conferences everywhere writers can be found! I’m always thrilled to speak on a variety of subjects from creativity, self-publishing, book marketing, the business of writing, the emotional side of writing, second careers, and more.
On a personal note, I love the creative process in any form, among them: painting, gardening, re-purposing (though many D.I.Y. projects have been fraught with disaster, it doesn’t seem to stop me). I enjoy the beach and believe that all my big thinking happens when I’m close to the water. Traveling, cooking with my family, a really good belly laugh and hanging out with friends are really important to me. I make up songs as a way to dialogue with my kids who are no longer young, but find it infrequently entertaining no matter their age.
I’m thrilled by the interest for THE MEMORY BOX from fans around the globe, as it continues to find new readers every day. Thank you to my readers for your enthusiasm—when you take the time to write reviews, get in touch or spread the word! Connect with me on social and sign up for my newsletter and blog if you want to keep up with all my news. I can’t wait to share my next book with you—coming soon!” Website
