Coco is an influencer and celebrity blogger who has started her own social media consulting firm. While on a job she stumbles across a murder. With her internet expertise and motivation to clear her client’s names she makes it her mission to find out who killed Stacy.

This was a new and refreshing take on the ever-comfortable cozy mystery genre. The novel is a lighthearted and a fun read which would be perfect for the beach. Overall, it had a great premise, but I couldn't connect with Coco who I found quite superficial. That being said once the case began it turned into a capable whodunit.

I want to thank NetGalley, Sarah E. Burr and Level Best Books, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

#FollowMe for Murder has a modern and refreshing take on the cozy mystery genre and I was riveted by it. Most cozy mysteries draw on the same tropes, character types, and settings; this one draws and builds on that.

Meet Coco Cline; a blogger, 28-year-old Instagram influencer, and owner of a consulting company that helps businesses improve their social media presence. She has a couple of new clients, Sean and Olivia Chen, who are due to be opening their new speciality consignment shop.

Set in, Central Shores, Delaware, Coco's hometown, there are confident, colourful though bordering on self-centred characters in the mystery. Sarah E. Burr's writing was a good fit for me and I enjoyed being alongside Coco as she chased leads and clues in her attempts to bring justice. It was refreshing to see the use of the Internet, social media and other technologies to assist with the mystery-solving. A contemporary, bright, cozy mystery, very pleasing to read.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Level Best Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

#FollowMe for Murder by Sarah E. Burr

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Level Best Books and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Meet 28-year-old influencer and celebrity blogger Coco Cline, who has started her own social media consulting firm in her hometown of Central Shores, Delaware. Her new clients, Sean and Olivia Chen, are ten days away from the grand opening of their specialty consignment shop when Coco stumbles across their store clerk Stacy dead behind the register.

Worried that a cloud of suspicion will ruin their chances of a successful business launch, the Chens ask Coco to work alongside the inexperienced Central Shores police force to speed up the investigation. Using her celebrity status and social media savviness, Coco realizes Stacy’s seemingly ordinary life was all an act.

This was an easy book to dive into. It was a very relatable book with a fairly fast pace. I read this in multiple sittings due to time constraints but I feel that with the time available it would easily have been possible to read this in one sitting. I was a bit sceptical going into this book but it was actually a very nice take on the cosy murder mystery genre.

Rating 4/5

I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Meet 28-year-old influencer and celebrity blogger Coco Cline, who has started her own social media consulting firm in her hometown of Central Shores, Delaware. Her new clients, Sean and Olivia Chen, are ten days away from the grand opening of their specialty consignment shop when Coco stumbles across their store clerk Stacy dead behind the register.

Worried that a cloud of suspicion will ruin their chances of a successful business launch, the Chens ask Coco to work alongside the inexperienced Central Shores police force to speed up the investigation. Using her celebrity status and social media savviness, Coco realizes Stacy’s seemingly ordinary life was all an act.

Following a trail of cryptic online posts, confusing timelines, and muddied gossip, Coco and her friends discover Stacy’s questionable relationships just might be the reason for her untimely demise.

Murder is about to go viral in #FollowMe for Murder, Book One in the Trending Topic Mysteries. (Goodreads synopsis)

I have not read anything by Sarah E. Burr before.

I wanted to like this series because it was different. I have read a lot of mysteries but not ones that use social media, or that the main character is a social media influencer. I should have recognized the red flags. Coco just is not my cup of tea character. I found her to be spoiled, selfish, and just generally unlikeable. The novel starts off with Coco being introduced but it felt more like gloating. Going on and on about her created platform that they later sold to Facebook for millions. But how she wasn’t smart about her money, even though she still has money.

She created another company and it is in its infancy, helping other businesses with their social media platform. I thought that might help me like her more, because she’s obviously trying to help others. Except that she later goes on about her own social media sites, and how she’s still a name.

There was also Coco’s relationship with Hudson that makes me cringe. From the moment it was mentioned that he had another apartment, I was like “drop him, girl. It’s going nowhere.” And while a part of me still thinks that, I can’t help but wonder if it’s because of Coco. Hudson is a news anchor, so his face is plastered all over television and Internet, whereas Coco’s isn’t as much. But Coco seems to get jealous and even disgruntled that Hudson gets more attention than she does. It takes her a few moments to be happy at his success but the feelings are obviously still simmering.

Finally, there is the mystery. I thought it was unique how the different social media platforms flowed into the story. I understood and liked the idea that a social media consultant was the amateur detective. I just wonder if making it less about Coco and more about the victim, the process, and the suspects would have made me enjoy the story more. In this case, when Coco felt she was wrong about one suspect, she pouted and her friends gave her a pity party. Honestly, she wouldn’t last long in an actual detective job if she pouts every time her theories don’t hold up. I also liked how she didn’t go into any unknown situation alone. I hate when the characters do that, and Coco was smart to bring a friend. I wasn’t overly surprised by the ending, however, as it made a lot of sense as the novel progressed.

Overall I rate this novel 3.5 out of 5 stars. I don’t know if I will read further with this series, or if I would like to check out Sarah Burr’s other novels, but I think she has amazing potential.

#FollowMe for Murder by Sarah E. Burr is a fun story of a woman who gets dragged into a murder investigation when she stumbles upon a crime. She’s a social media expert but now she’s also a sleuth. I found this book to be a fun, light read that is perfect for the beach or short trips. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

The premise of #FollowMe for Murder is what caught my attention. It seemed rather promising, and that is why I requested to review it. Sadly, I feel like the book falls flat with poor character development, poor plotting, and a very annoying lead character named Coco. I did not find her engaging and the book as a whole was not as fun as I’d hoped it would be.

This is the first book I’ve read by Sarah E. Burr. I know she is a well-established author, but this book was a total miss for me. I hope the second installment has a better plot and a less annoying Coco.

Coco Cline is a celebrity blogger who starts her own social media consulting firm in her hometown. She gets hired by Olivia and Sean Chen to help as they get set to open their new consignment store. Things are on track until days before the opening, Coco visits the shop only to find the body of Stacy, the store clerk. After the Chen’s enlist her to be their liaison to the police, Coco uses her social media savvy skills to uncover the truth about Stacy’s murder and finds more than she bargained for.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It gave me cozy mystery vibes and I was really intrigued the whole time I was reading to find out what had actually happened to Stacy. This was a 3 star read for me.

#FollowMe for Murder is a mystery/thriller by Sarah Burr. The premise of this book seemed very promising, but unfortunately, this was not as fun as I expected it to be.
There seemed to be so much filler information that did not truly add to the plot and felt a bit like ranting. It did not add to the story arc or the character development. It was a decent cozy mystery,

A different take on the cozy mystery. It was refreshing to read a cozy that utilized today's technology, instead of the more traditional bakers, knitters, etc. Our protagonist, Coco Cline, is a blogger, influencer. The mystery is told from her point of view. I will say, that at times, her character got to be a little much.

Coco is hired by Sean and Olivia Chen, owners of a new consignment shop, to promote their business. Coco finds their employee, Stacy, dead behind the register. Coco takes it upon herself to solve the murder.

This is a light hearted book, quick read. The author introduced characters that did nothing to move the plot along.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC. The review is my own.

Influencer and celebrity blogger Coco Cline finds a body in a shop she is helping to launch as a social media consultant. As the grand opening of the business is about to happen next week, Coco wants to help her clients and speed up the murder investigation. Her boyfriend Hudson and best friends Jason and Charlotte help her with the investigation. They unearth a lot of secrets about the victim, Stacy, and ultimately find out who the killer is.
The groundwork for this series is skillfully pieced together. Central Shores is an idyllic small beach town that I would love to visit. It sounds so cozy but is also very modern. The social media angle is relatable and topical. Coco makes it all look so easy, she knows how to handle her audience.
I did not like any of the characters, but there is so much room for them to develop and grow. The dialogue was awkward, especially between Coco and Hudson. Babes, really? For a modern, independent woman Coco was peculiarly jealous of Hudson's career visibility and the attention he got from other women.
I did enjoy reading this quirky mystery.

I really enjoyed this book, it is a great modern version of the cozy mystery. Things mentioned were up to date and I could easily relate to them. The main characters were fun and I felt like I’d known them for ages. It was a little predictable but overall it was a fun read that shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Thank you to NetGalley and Level Best Books for letting me read and review this book.

Coco Cline has gotten used to life in the spotlight. She runs a successful lifestyle blog and her social media presence is well known. After achieving so many of her personal goals, she decides to give herself a new challenge by starting a social media consulting firm in her Delaware hometown. Her life is turned upside down when she goes to meet with her clients, Sean and Olivia Chen, and instead, stumbles upon the dead body of their store assistant, Stacy. In an effort to get the police to allow the Chen’s to open their store, Coco takes the case into her own hands and tries to find out more about Stacy’s personal life. The case takes Coco and her friends on a journey that may lead to more danger than they are ready for.

It took me a while to get into this book. It was hard to get past a main character that was so focused on herself that finding any substance became difficult. I can't count how many times she talks about her own personal celebrity status, despite claiming to be down to earth. It is understandable that she is proud of her achievements. She should be! Starting one business from the ground up is a huge accomplishment, starting a second is amazing. However, her attitude whenever anyone else was the center of attention was hard to get past. Her irritation whenever her boyfriend is recognized gets old quickly. Her focus seems very much on the material elements of the world around her.

Despite disliking the main character, I enjoyed the rest of the book. Coco’s friends Jasper and Charlotte were fun and interesting. I was pretty excited any time they joined Coco on her investigation. The three friends had really well written banter. In fact, one of the other things that I really enjoyed about the book was how well all the dialog in the book flowed. Each conversation felt relaxed and real, almost as if I could hear them happening in real life. Coupled with a well paced story line, it was a fun read once I got into it.

I have read my fair share of cozy mysteries over the years and many of them seem to forget the mystery aspect of the story. I appreciated that Coco stayed on task and became more and more interested in the mystery. It was nice to see Coco grow from only being worried about her business to caring about Stacy as a person. Watching Stacy’s life unravel was a wild ride, there were so many unexpected twists that once her life story began to come out, I was hooked.

The solution to the mystery managed to surprise me, not because I hadn’t guessed the murderer (I had pretty early on), and not in the way that the culprit was uncovered, but in the details of the motive. There had been little hints early on, but I didn't catch them. It was cool that I could look back at different scenes with closer look.

I am curious to see where the rest of the series goes from here and how the characters will grow. Also,I need to know more about Hudson’s future plans. I absolutely loved him and would have loved the book to have even more of him

3.5/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the chance to read this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinions.

I’m a sucker for any books involving social media and influencer culture, so this was a must read for me, despite not always loving cozy mysteries. This book is easy to read, and really strayed from the typical cozy formula and tropes. For example, it is set in a small town, but our heroine is a famous blogger. Given that this story feels a little more modern than a lot of cozy mysteries, I think it would be a perfect book to start with if you’re new to the genre. I did find the pacing to be a little uneven with a lot of exposition in the first 60% and the ending wrapping up quickly, but this is often the case with the first book in a series. My only gripe with this book was how jealous Coco would get when someone recognized her news anchor boyfriend in public before her. It felt like such a strange dynamic for a couple that we are supposed to believe is very in love. Overall, I enjoyed this a lot and will definitely continue with the series!

#FollowMe for Murder is a mystery/thriller by Sarah Burr. The premise of this book seemed very promising, but unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I didn’t enjoy this particular style of writing. There was a lot of filler information, which didn’t do anything to add to the story arc or the likability of the characters. Unlike most mysteries, the end of each chapter did not leave me wanting more.

On a positive note, I do appreciate the author’s knowledge and research on social media and her attention to detail. If you’re a fan of cozy mysteries and don’t mind a slower build, you may enjoy this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Level Best Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced ebook to read! This murder mystery in a quiet Delaware beach town is a quick read. The setting is idyllic and the plot is a great setup for a series. However, I found the characters (maybe with the exception of one of the protagonists best friends) wholly unlikeable. The pop culture references will soon date this book and some of the main characters’ “expertise” is already outdated or commonplace knowledge. If you can look past those things, it’ll be an enjoyable read!

This was my first “cozy mystery” as I heard it’s being called on the internet. And this is a good description, because for me it was not a detective novel.

For me there were several things that did not work out:

1. Writing style: it is definitely a personal preference, I just could not follow the style for the length of the book. Had to stop reading for a while, had issues following and getting involved with the descriptions. Too much of useless information that could be skipped.

2. The characters… none of them made me feel something. I found them unlikable or overbearing, could not relate in any shape or form to them, could not care for them. This took away some enjoyment.

3. The plot for me was predictable. I really hoped for way more than I got at the end, but this might be because in general I’m analyzing things too much and have a weird fantasy. Not saying that the plot is bad, I just expected something like “oh wow, really?” but did not get that.

That being said, I can see the audience for the book but it wasn’t me.

Thank you Netgalley, Sarah E. Burr and Level Best Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of #FollowMe for Murder by Sarah E. Burr. This light-hearted mystery follows a social media influencer who inadvertently gets wrapped up in a murder investigation. Coco arrives at work early one morning to find the body of her client's young assistant on the floor. The police can't seem to find any realistic suspects so Coco enlists the help of her best friends Jasper and Charlotte to investigate. Fast-paced and laugh-out-loud funny, I finished this in one sitting.

I really enjoyed the Nancy Drew-like feeling of this book and found it so funny having a social media influencer acting as a detective! It was exciting seeing how the mystery evolved. There was a bit of a dull for me in the middle but otherwise a pretty quick read. The ending actually surprised me, I had so many different guesses throughout the entire thing. The social media aspects were interesting albeit somewhat cringey at times, mostly at Jaspers comments. Though his comments had me cringing they felt pretty realistic.

Thank you netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

tws: murder, death, blood, infidelity/cheating, miscarriage, controlling ex, toxic relationship, domestic violence, mentions of psychological abuse

This novel was not my favorite; I thought it was predictable and unrealistic. As soon as we were introduced to Stacy’s body, I called who the killer was. I will say, though, that the author did a good job of dropping hints throughout the story. These hints were a little obvious at times, but it helped the big reveal not feel out of left field.

This main character was utterly insufferable and I hated her. “Because as an influencer, I have a duty to influence.” Shut up. I’ll admit that she grew on me as the novel went on, but I still found her annoying by the end.

At the end of the novel, though, Coco decides to take on the police department as her newest PR clients and drum up some good press for them. This feels like a particularly bad take, especially in today’s day and age, where police officers are being exposed for malpractice and other “bad press” things.

This was just not a novel for me. I likely will not pick up other of this author’s work. I would recommend this as a beach read for someone slightly older. I think there is an audience for this type of novel, but it is just not me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Sarah E. Burr, and Level Best Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thankyou for giving me the chance to read in advance. It’s what I’d call Chick lit and really enjoyed it actually. Although predictable at times I couldn’t put it down.