interesting, unique, cool, impressive, worth it, a nice string of adjectives for this one. it was on occasion a little bit flat but still good

Follow Her Down is the sixth novel by award-winning, best-selling American author, Victoria Helen Stone. After a childhood marked by the departure of a father she was too young to remember, her eighteen-year-old sister, Robin vanishing from a party when she was ten, and then a mother too consumed by hoping for her older daughter’s return to properly mother her remaining children, Elise Rockwood escaped Willow Canyon as soon as she could.

Booze and drugs and casual hook-ups helped to obliterate the thoughts of Robin, the fear and doubt and grief. Now, with the help of a therapist, her life is back on track. Elise has returned to her hometown, bought Creekside Cabins, and taught herself the necessary accounting and handyman skills to run a successful business. She occasionally sees her mother, still crippled by paranoia and agoraphobia, even after Phoenix Whit confessed to Robin’s murder fifteen years earlier.

But now, suddenly, there’s a deputy sheriff on her doorstep: her former lover, Christian Valic is missing, and his recent email to her makes her a suspect when his body is found in the nearby Makolumne River. Persuading them that her alibi is sound seems ineffective until there’s news of another murder, one linked to Christian’s, and one she definitely could not have committed.

By this time, her older brother Kyle, an obsessive conspiracy theorist, is convinced that the two men had something to do with Robin’s disappearance twenty-five years earlier. She wants to dismiss the whole notion, but some of what he shows her backs up that theory, and she begins to worry for Kyle’s and her own safety. She speculates on motives for Christian’s murder and possible suspects.

What she doesn’t need now is the distraction of Kyle’s friend, Daniel Serrano, her teen crush, turning up wanting a cabin until he has his late father’s home in a liveable state. Is his arrival a coincidence, or is he involved in some way?

This is a tightly plotted thriller with a few excellent twists and plenty of red herrings to keep the reader guessing right up to the climax, and a final chapter that leaves the way open for more of this gutsy protagonist.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing.

An addictive and gripping novel that will have you hooked until the very end. I enjoyed the twists and turns in this novel and would recommend this one.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was an intriguing and twisty read. I loved the story! The characters were well developed and relatable. I am a huge mystery/ thriller reader but I was surprised by the twists! Highly recommend..grab a copy now!!

Wow, what a gripping book! This was my first by this author, but it definitely wont be my last.

Elise is trying to get her life in order. Her sister was brutally murdered decades earlier, a tragic event changed the course of life and that of her family forever.
Running het own business renting out cabins, she’s found her groove. When her ex boyfriend disappears her life is thrown into chaos.

I loved the tension and red herrings throughout the story, also loved the atmospheric setting. Great writing with a very clever plot. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGallery and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced ebook.

I didn't love Elise as much as I wanted to but the book had an interesting plot that was great. I did feel like the second half of the book was lacking but overall an enjoyable read!

Enjoyed this book. Really liked the character and the setting including her work. Was very cool to read about. I must say I found the ending a bit dissatisfying but would still recommend the book. Thanks for the advanced copy.

I like a good, twisty mystery with lots of suspense and omg reveals and this book checks all my boxes for this genre. This author has a habit of surprising me with her stories and this one was certainly dark and twisty.

Elise and her family have experienced the trauma of a family member's murder and the search for the killer has everyone in high anxiety which exhibits in different ways. There are plenty of conspiracy theories as the family deals with their grief.

I'm not going to say much more because I don't like to spoil these sorts of stories, but I did enjoy this one in spite of a bit of a slow start. Once things get rolling, the pace is great and the reveals are quite interesting. I like it when I can't figure all the details out on my own. Elise is an unreliable narrator and that just adds to the fun of it all.

Overall, I liked this. It was long, but the last half was worth it and the ending is terrific.

Thank you to Thriller Book Lovers the Pulse for the digital copy to review.

I am a huge fan of Victoria Helen Stone and she is an auto read author for me. This was suspenseful and intense, overall a great read that I finished in one setting.

This was my first Victoria Helen Stone book but it definitely won’t be the last one. It definitely left me wanting more of Elise. Messy parts and all!

Everyone in Elise’s family was profoundly changed by her sister’s disappearance and murder years ago. Formally the case is closed but Elise, her brother Kyle and their mom still seem stuck in a cycle of grief and trauma. And then Elise’s ex is found dead and wound that never healed end up reopened.

I loved the isolated location combined with such different responses to trauma in Rockwood family. Elise seems to be constantly balancing on the edge of resilience and self-destruction. Follow her down is a murder mystery but also an exploration of how loss of one person can have such far reaching effects on so many people.

I loved Elise as a character, probably because of the way she owned her messiness. I can see this one growing into a series, and if that happens, I’d most certainly be picking up the next one.

As part of @thrillerbookloversthepulse crew, I’m putting this one on your radar early - you’ll want to add it to your summer thriller reading list!

A huge thank you to Lake Union Publishing & NetGalley.

This book had me on edge throughout! It weaves two crimes separated by time but connected by Elise. Set near Lake Tahoe, Elise has spent years trying to pull her life together after her sister was murdered. When Elise’s ex is found dead, new information comes to light that may be connected to her sister. I really enjoyed the atmospheric setting since I’m a nature lover. It seemed perfect for someone like Elise who was rebuilding herself as well as the intrigue of the crimes. I loved the red herrings and twists in this book! I never knew what to expect and that kept me fully engaged!

Twenty-five years ago, when she was ten, Elise Rockwood’s teenage sister Robin disappeared during a summer party in the woods. Believed to have drowned in the river, her body was never found and Elise’s mother developed agoraphobia, refusing to leave the house in case Robin returned. Elise and her older brother Kyle were left to raise themselves as their mother become disconnected from them.

Kyle is still searching for clues of what happened to Robin and has become paranoid and obsessed with conspiracy theories which Elise is tired of hearing. Some years after Robin disappeared, a local boy committed suicide, leaving behind a confession that he killed Robin, but Kyle refuses to believe he was responsible.

While living in San Francisco, Elise had an affair with a wealthy married tech businessman, Christian Valic. When his wife left him, she allowed herself to fall deeply in love with him but then his wife returned, having decided to try to repair the marriage, and Elise broke off their affair. Licking her wounds, she returned to her home town of Willow Canyon near Tahoe, where she has built up a thriving campsite business, with cabins to let out over the tourist season.

For a while Elise leaned heavily on alcohol to get over her break-up with Christian, but the beauty and peace of the mountain campsite set amongst beautiful woodland and creeks has done much to heal her and keep her sober. Unfortunately, her new, quiet life is disrupted when Christian is found drowned in the same river where Robin disappeared and, after texts from Elise to Christian are found on his phone, Elise becomes the main suspect.

The past and the present collide explosively in this gripping psychological suspense. The gradual slow burn of the build-up sets the scene with Elise and Kyle trying to make sense of what is happening in their own ways. Half way through the novel the tension ramps up as the two mysteries start to coalesce and startling revelations emerge about Robin’s disappearance and Christian’s death. Elise is quite the unreliable narrator and finds herself getting pulled down into Kyle’s dark conspiracy theories. Some suspension of belief may be required as the author weaves current events with those from the past, but the pieces do all fall into place. A totally unexpected ending tops off this intense and compelling murder mystery.

When Elise's sister, Robin, is murdered twenty years prior, Elise's family is forever changed. While Elise's mother develops agoraphobia and her brother Kyle becomes paranoid and a conspiracy theorist of sorts, Elise does her fair share of spiraling with alcohol and a string of bad mistakes. Now as she tries to reinvent herself as a responsible adult, Elise gets caught up in the past when her ex-lover is found dead and Elise is left to question everything she knew about him and what she thought she knew about the summer that her sister was killed.

This was my first read from Victoria Helen Stone and it did not disappoint. Elise was full of flaws, but she knew who she was and who she was trying to be which made her a compelling and strong female character. While slow at the beginning once Follow Her Down hits it stride towards the middle, Stone does an amazing job at building up the tension and throwing twist after twist at the reader. I can honestly say that I didn't know where this was going, but the shocking ending was nothing that I expected and Stone leaves it open in a perfect way for a sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley, Victoria Helen Stone and Lake Union Publishing for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I read the first half of this so quickly and I was so interested, but then it slogs right up to the ending. Not my favourite novel from this author.

Follow Her Down by Victoria Helen Stone
4/5 stars!

This was the first book that I have read by Victoria Helen Stone and I was not disappointed! The reason I gave 3 stars is due to the fact that more insight could have been included in the background and characters.
The story follows Elise whose sister was killed when she was a teenager, her family never really recovered and caused her Mum to become a hermit and not leave the house. Elise tries to move on with her life and buys a mountain lodge which she can make her own, however Kyle (Elise's brother) will not let the death of their sister go. He believes there is more to the story than what has been told, and when Elise's ex-boyfriend is found dead in the same forest Elise is willing to listen to Kyle.

I will definitely be reading more books by Victoria Helen Stone!
Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and the author for this arc!

The disappearance of Elise’s sister Robin has left her family shattered for many years even after the confession. But when her brother Kyle bring her his next conspiracy theory on what really happened to Robin and it includes Elsie’s ex boyfriend. Elise is left with so many questions and unsure of what to believe anymore or who she can trust.

This book left me with so many questions and I’m curious if there will be a sequel. Well written and kept me curious the whole way.

Always a great read from this author. She takes us on an adventure through solving a murder, or more than one, breaking down a conspiracy and coping with a mother as a shut in. The characters were highly developed and intense. I felt connected to Elise, understood the manic thinking of Kyle and lost in the suspense of the whodunnit. It’s a wonderful adventure with many loops and turns, missing puzzle pieces and a possible ending that could lead to another book. I’m thankful to the publishers for my advanced copy and I’ve written this review voluntarily.

A Gripping Dive into Past Trauma
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
As an avid reader with a hectic schedule, finding time to indulge in my favorite books has been a challenge. However, when I stumbled upon "Follow Her Down" by Victoria Helen Stone, it quickly ascended to the top of my TBR pile. Victoria Helen Stone consistently delivers gripping thrillers, and this book is no exception.
The story revolves around Elise, who has been haunted by the murder of her sister during their teenage years, a tragedy that fractured her family. Her mother became agoraphobic, her brother saw conspiracies everywhere, and Elise herself struggled with alcoholism. Despite a local boy confessing to the crime, the aftermath left permanent scars on their lives.
Elise tries to rebuild her life by purchasing and managing an old mountain lodge near her hometown. She is determined to move forward, refusing to revisit her painful past, even when an old ex-boyfriend reaches out to reconnect. But her resolve is shattered when this ex turns up dead, in the same area where her sister was murdered. This forces Elise to confront her past head-on. As her brother's conspiracy theories deepen, Elise finds herself struggling to maintain her grip on reality, bombarded by trauma from all sides. She must navigate these challenges while seeking answers to the lingering questions surrounding her sister’s death.
"Follow Her Down" was a solid four-star read for me. While it didn't compel me to read it in one sitting, I was thoroughly engrossed whenever I could steal some time to dive back in. The book masterfully blends several of my favorite tropes: revisiting the past, complex family dynamics, unreliable narration influenced by a vice, and a small-town setting. The atmosphere is tense and the semi-isolated mountain lodge adds an unsettling edge that borders on horror—a delightful touch for thriller enthusiasts like myself.
Elise is a fantastic character. Her unreliability never becomes frustrating; instead, it makes her deeply human. I felt her pain and rooted for her as she grappled with her flaws, hoping she would find the strength to overcome her challenges. The twists throughout the book kept me guessing, but it was the final twist that truly blew me away.
In conclusion, "Follow Her Down" by Victoria Helen Stone is a must-read for thriller fans. Elise's journey through trauma and the haunting suspense of her story makes this a gripping and atmospheric novel. I would gladly read more about her in the future.

Moving Thriller Set Against Family Trauma. There are times when you find a thriller tale that has genuine heart, when a book that is supposedly intended to make your heart beat faster also manages to make the room quite dusty at times. This is one of those tales.

There is quite a bit to unpack about this story, but to reveal the things that truly make it as powerful as it is could delve too far into spoiler territory. Suffice it to say that the setup itself is done well - we are many years after a massive trauma for a family and even their small community, and the trauma reverberates to this day in many different ways. Stone manages to craft a story that is pitch perfect thriller - more bodies are piling up *now*, and it seems they may be connected to the original trauma, at least if some people are to be believed. It is the way she goes about executing this story, exploring the various internal dynamics within our main character and the larger dynamics within her family and community, that give this book its heart and its soul.

Overall a strong tale, though perhaps not *so* atypical as to be heads and shoulders standing above others of its form and genre. Still, for those that enjoy this type of tale - or even those open to exploring if they like this type of tale - this is certainly a strong entry within the space, and a worthy read indeed.

Very much recommended.

Follow Her Down by Victoria Helen Stone is another gripping, and unique story full of suspense and intrigue, I raced through Follow Her Down and loved it.
I’m a big fan of Stones writing and excited to say she has written another sharp, engaging, and unputdownable story.
I got hooked immediately & ended up finishing the book in two sittings.
An engrossing, compelling read.

Thank You NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!