#FollowMe for Murder was a light-hearted romp that really caught my attention because it had a plot that depended on the use of social media. It's a very updated cosy mystery since the main character, Coco Cline is a media consultant and an influencer. Not sure I've ever read a cosy with those elements. I really enjoyed it.
I felt this mystery was well-written, and I loved the social media angle. Glad to see Burr will be writing more books in this series. It is a refreshing concept that I haven't encountered before. Fun, light read that will keep you turning the pages.

This book was a light, entertaining read for me. Following our main character, CoCo Cline, as she attempts to solve a murder was enjoyable, though I wasn’t a huge fan of CoCo. I can appreciate her need to be on her phone and to document things as she does, but it was still frustrating to me. Among the many passages of CoCo describing getting ready (probably more interesting to those into makeup and fashion - I’m not in that target audience), she would frame a thought or idea as a social media post. I get that CoCo made a living as a blogger, but it got to me after a while…I blame the elder millennial in me 😂 Give this book a chance!
3.5 stars, rounded to 4 stars.

#FollowMe for Murder follows Coco Cline, lifestyle blogger and PR advisor. Slightly early for an appointment with two of her clients Coco stumbles over the body of Stacey, assistent to said clients.

While Coco’s thoughts sway between PR-nightmare and this is so much worse for Stacey, everyone else immediately shouts out: you found the body, you could be in danger!

Why?

It’s not like the body was buried in the woods, so the murderer has got to assume the body would be found sooner or later. That’s probably why they made a quick get away after the murder. So unless the murderer was interrupted by Coco in anyway, they have no reason to silence her. And if they were interrupted by her, it would make more sense had they waited for her and taken care of the possible eye-witness then and there.

Because her clients are on the top of the persons-of-interest list of the local police, Coco decides she must investigate and find if there are any more likely suspects among Stacey’s friends and acquaintances.

The mystery of this was interesting, though the killer is pretty easy to guess. Coco was alright as a main sleuth, though a bit insecure in her relationships. For the life of me, I can’t imagine why she would call Jasper her friend; throughout the story he’s said something kind to her once.

I chose this book because of the hashtag, #FollowMe for Murder and was initially interested in the cover art too. I liked how the cozy mystery featured a social media influencer and it's refreshing that not all mysteries are dark and tense like this one. However, the character development fell flat for me but the plot twist somewhat kept me engaged till the end.

In "#FollowMe for Murder", celebrity blogger and influencer Coco Cline has returned to her hometown and started a social media consulting firm. She channels her experience and success as a young entrepreneur into her new business, having settled down far from the dizzying lights of the big city. However, murder shakes up the small town of Central Shores, Delaware, and Coco is the one to stumble upon the victim in her clients’ shop. Now, while Coco can help Olivia and Sean Chen run their Instagram account and prepare for the grand opening of their antiques shop, she’s never had to advise any of her clients on how to deal with their assistant being murdered among the pieces of china they intend to sell.

With the local police unused to a vicious murder in their little slice of heaven and jostling for space with the fancy county investigation team that descends upon the crime scene, Coco decides she can’t leave the fate of her clients’ business in any of their hands. Intending to find justice for Stacey and save her own reputation and that of her clients, Coco uses her knowledge of social media to conduct her own investigation. With the help of her boyfriend Hudson, and her best friends Charlotte and Jasper, she starts putting the pieces of Stacey’s life together. Stacey’s digital trail reveals she had many more secrets than anyone she worked with suspected, and Coco tasks herself with finding the few people who truly knew the girl…including her murderer.

The setting is very charming, and Coco’s musings on what has changed and what has remained the same in Central Shores while she was away are very intriguing, giving her character depth and relatability. Since she is a first-person narrator, we also follow her thoughts and her daily routine very closely, which also contributes strongly to her likeability. Hudson, Charlotte, Jasper, and Deacon (Charlotte’s new boyfriend) are also characters that stand on their own feet and have credible and complex relationships with each other and with our main character.

As far as the mystery element is concerned, reading about Coco’s process in great detail is interesting even if the reader is slightly ahead of her in drawing conclusions. She and her friends have an angle that the police don’t care much about, which makes for an intriguing story. Even when the way they talk sometimes makes them sound older than they are, millennial amateur sleuths are a delight.

"#FollowMe for Murder" is the first in the Trending Topic Mystery series, which promises the return of Coco and her friends. All in all, this is a great series starter that establishes its characters, backstories, setting, and relationships in a clear way that makes the story readable and leaves the reader wanting more and looking forward to the next trending topic.

A murder mystery for the age of social media influencers and the technology that goes with it. The thought of Murder, She Wrote popped into my head but with tech savvy people in their late 20's. Would Jessica Fletcher be with the hip crowd that was in this book?

Coco, our MC, internet famous and known around her small town, is on a new pathway with her company Center of Attention Consulting Services. This is where Olivia Chen comes in. She wins the title for most annoying character in this book.
So what is this story without a little murder? In the Chen's shop a body is found and Coco takes on the hat of detective to find out more. Nancy Drew, eat your heart out.
So, who did it?
I guess you'll have to read to find out.

I really enjoyed this book and it was soo easy to get lost in! Read this in one sitting, can't wait to read more of this authors books soon!

I was most drawn to this book because it is set in Delaware. As someone who grew up every summer at a beach in delaware, I was excited even if it is a fictional town. Add in using the internet for to solve a murder. I really enjoy the new genre of social influencer books. I thought this was an excellent book to start the series. Look forward to more books!

👒 B O O K • R E V I E W 👒
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Title: #FollowMe For Murder
Author: Sarah E. Burr
Rating: 3.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (Rounded up to 4 stars on GoodReads, Amazon and Netgalley)
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Swipe for synopsis.
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I was seeing this one all over booksta and when I got it on Netgalley as an eARC I was super stoked and started it right away. Between starting a new job and a few personal life changes, this book kind of fell on the back burner because I just didn’t hold my attention as much as I wanted it to.
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I really enjoyed how this story brought a fashion blogger into the world of murder. This really brought the main character out of her element and into the world of detectives and I really enjoyed the journey of Coco’s discoveries throughout this book.
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This one starts off with a bang, and I was immediately hooked. I loved that this one was set close to where I live and, while its not a main vacation spot for me, I do know many people who live there in the summer. The middle kind of dragged for me though, as Coco and her friends searched for information to find the murderer. Then the ending was once again riveting and held my attention. I didn’t see that ending coming and loved how it was executed.
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Overall this story was really good and I would for sure read more from Burr and would love to read more about Coco and her friends. Be sure to check out #FollowMe For Murder which is out now!
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Huge thank you to @netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
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#fashionbloggertodetective #murdermystery #netgalley #netgalleyeacr #threeandahalfstarread #trendingtopicmysteryseries #followmeformurder #levelbestbooks #saraheburr

#Follow Me For Murder is the first in the Trending Topic Series.
Coco, an influencer and PR expert starting her own firm, discovers a dead body in her new clients store prolonging the grand opening. In an attempt to save the brand she has been building Coco tries to discover clues that will help her solve the murder.
I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy this book as the whole idea of influencers is silly to me. However I found this to be a great, light and modern cozy mystery. I will definitely read another in this series and look forward to seeing the characters and the relationships develop.
Thank you to #NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the concept for this book was really modern - using the help of social media to solve a murder. It is the perfect book for these times and one that many people can relate to. It is really easy to follow and read. I liked Coco's character and I am looking forward to more books by this author.

I really enjoyed this one. Well written and it has such an easy flow and I was able to read it all in one sitting. If you like this genre then I think this will be one you'll enjoy too.

#FollowMe for Murder follows influencer and blogger Coco. While working with clients on their rebrand, a worker is found dead behind the register. Worried about how that will effect business, Coco works with her new clients to speed up the process with the police. Using her social media skills, Coco unmasks information that will make murder go viral.

Overall, this book was cute. While some of the characters were unlikeable, I felt that it was a really fun new take on a cozy mystery. The one was definitely different than any other cozy mystery that I have read and I really liked that. I will probably read the next in the series when it comes out.

This was a fun, fast paced murder mystery. I enjoyed reading and trying to guess who the killer could be. I was dead wrong, and it's always fun for me to think I've got it figured out and then be blindsided but in a very probable way. It didn't come out of nowhere!

My main issues were some of the lingo seemed too old for the characters and made it feel a little outdated. Also, I found the nickname babes to be somewhat cringe inducing. But I found the characters to be likeable, and Coco seemed very smart and capable.

Thank you for the advanced copy!

I give it 3.5 stars

Brief Synopsis: Coco is an Influencer/Blogger, currently focusing on small business marketing via Social Media. While working with the Chens on their business’ grand opening, a murder happens. Since Coco finds the body and the police have little clues, her safety becomes in jeopardy. Will the amateur sleuths or the police solve this case?

Thoughts: In true cozy mystery fashion this is humorous, lighthearted, and cheesy. The characters feel juvenile and a little “ditsy”, but they are written in a realistic manner. I would say it’s medium-paced, but is a bit wordy which causes the storyline to drag. That said, I didn’t guess the culprit and thought the red herrings were incorporated well.

Thank you to Sarah E. Burr, Level Best Books, and NetGalley for access to this! I would recommend this one to anyone who is looking for a cozy mystery with a modern spin.

This book is too empty to be hated on. Nothing here caught my attention, and if it weren’t enough, despite my utter disinterest, I solved the case around 35% in. As you might imagine, it wasn’t so thrilling to sit through the rest of the novel knowing everything. The story tried to misguide the reader a lot of times, and though they were all useless, I need to praise the author for failing this many times.

The thing is, this book is probably supposed to be a cozy, predictable read with none of the tension I’d look for in a murder mystery. If I hadn’t been looking for these, I’d probably enjoy the cute character dynamics and solid plotline. Just not for me, I guess.

Thanks to the author & publisher for providing me an ARC.

Sarah E. Burr nailed it in #FollowMe for Murder!

Coco Cline is smart and fun, and you don't want to miss this modern cozy mystery.

“#FollowMe for Murder” by Sarah E. Burr
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (rounded up to 4 on Goodreads)
Release Date: 2/22/22
Genre: cozy mystery

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. I got slightly behind on some of my reviews, so finally finished this one! I love a good cozy mystery. At times the main character Coco annoyed me with her main focus being on her “brand”, but overall I liked the chemistry and friendships between all of the characters.

Coco Cline is a 28 year old influenced and celebrity blogger. She moved home to Centra Shores, Delaware to continue her online blog, but start a new consulting company. When Sean and Olivia Chen hire her to help get their new Antique Dish store off the ground they didn’t know what they bargained for. Coco lets herself into their store one day when the Chen’s were running late for their meeting. They are ten days away from their grand opening and everyone needs to be on the same page. Coco didn’t expect to find their assistant Stacy dead in their break room. Shock and panic ripped through her. The Chens are more worried about their store opening now that their is a full investigation going on in their store. Coco tells them she’ll help the police move it along as fast a possible. Coco finds herself looking into the murder and getting invested in the case. Can Coco solve this mystery? Coco enlists her friends help!

Sarah Burr chose a very modern setting as the backdrop of her detective series: an influencer turned advisor turned sleuth. Coco Cline, a young influencer, knows everyone in town and can find out anything she needs about those that she does not know. The topic, however, seems as old as it gets: murder for love. But is it really so? I was glued to the book to find out. In the meantime it was also sort of funny to discover how hard it can be for an influencer to let go of fame, especially in the same household.

Burr's writing is easy and suspenseful at the same time, the sleuth she created is likable and not too far from reality. The plot is good, the characters have the right level of depth, there is just the right amount of twists and turns.

I'd like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for giving me this title in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars rounded up
#Followme for murder follows Coco who is a social media influencer turned sleuth. When tragedy strikes one of her clients, Coco jumps on the case to help.

This book was incredibly slow in the beginning and I had to force myself to get through it. It did get better at about 55% of the book and I will say I enjoyed it more when things started moving(but it was not enough for me).

Coco is a bit self centered and as a result I was expecting she would find a way to screw up the case. I was pleasantly surprised that that was not the case! Some plot points were a bit predictable but they still had me anticipating how exactly the scene would play out.

I liked the variety of Coco being an influencer as it’s not a popular career in the books I read, and her romance with Hudson was also really sweet and wholesome.

Overall, while some parts were good, I did not enjoy this book because it was just too slow in the beginning for me. If you don’t mind slower books and are intrigued by the premise you may like this.