REVIEW: I'm Following You by Emily Shiner

I'm Following You by Emily Shiner

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 11th December 2022

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Published: 11th December 2022

★★★ 3 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Amanda has the perfect life. But someone wants to end it.

Amanda loves her life. She’s a highly respected doctor, and she lives in a beautiful home in the best neighborhood in town.

But her perfect life begins to crumble when she notices a woman in a red car following her. Then this mysterious person begins an increasingly disturbing campaign – stalking Amanda, even invading her home and office.

Amanda is terrified and feels as if she is under siege. As far as she knows she has no enemies. So who is this strange woman? And what does she want?

As the interloper’s behavior becomes more and more threatening, the conflict between the two women moves inexorably towards a fateful confrontation.

When dangerous secrets and shocking lies are revealed, there’s no turning back. One of them will pay the ultimate price.

MY THOUGHTS:

When I started this book, I was about five chapters in when I re-read the premise and thought "am I reading the right book?" Because the description was a whole lot different to the beginning of this story that I was confused. There was no Collette in the premise and no Amanda in the beginning. But I saw from other reviews that this was indeed the correct book and Amanda soon turns up...and she did.

Collette is distraught when two police officers knock on her door to tell her that her sister Arabella has been involved in an accident and was killed on impact. And at first, Collette blames herself because Arabella wanted to stay the night but Collette had plans. And now her sister is dead.

Six months on, Collette is attending a grief support group from which she gains nothing. Except a new friendship with Jackson whose wife died three years before. The pair strike up a friendship and it is then that Collette confides in him. The woman who killed her sister is walking around scot-free having gotten away with murder.

The only trouble is...Courtney Barrow, the woman who ran down Arabella whilst drunk, was found unresponsive in her home facing the upcoming trial for her sister's death. The police and her therapist have all told Collette that Courtney is dead. But Collette doesn't believe it.

Everyone else might think she is crazy but Jackson doesn't. He listens to her and then makes a suggestion - that they visit the bars down the main street and see if they can spot her. And they do just that. But is he just humouring her? Or does he believe that he is helping her?

And then, she sees her. Though she has probably changed her name, she knows it is her. 

The woman Collette sees in the restaurant is Dr Amanda Morgan, a well-known and highly regarded oncologist. She has a perfect life, a wonderful job and a home in a safe and secure neighbourhood. But her life hasn't always been so good. She was married but divorced after the death of her baby girl some years ago, and the grief still haunts her.

As she leaves the restaurant that day, she spots a little red car in her rearview mirror. Is it following her? But this is just the beginning of the problems to come. Amanda is frightened by the unknown person stalking her she locks herself in her house, completely paranoid at what her life has become.

Because Collette is hell-bent on getting revenge for the death of her sister and fueled by madness, anger and obsession, she will stop at nothing until she gets her revenge. But Jackson is worried. Is Collette taking things too far?

I'M FOLLOWING YOU is so not what you expect. It is deep-seated in craziness, revenge, obsession and murder. The characters are complex and not entirely likeable but the plot is filled with twists to keep you turning the pages. The coup-de-grace comes in the final chapter which was a skillful stroke of mastery. I did not see that jaw-dropping end coming but it made so much sense by its end.

Overall, a crazy train of delusional madness lies at the helm of this twisted thriller about grief, obsession, guilt and revenge. Not as good as "The Stolen Child" but still an entertaining ride.

I would like to thank #EmilyShiner, #Netgalley, #InkubatorBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #ImFollowingYou in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Emily Shiner always dreamed of becoming an author but first served her time as a banker and a teacher. After a lifetime of devouring stacks of thrillers, she decided to try her hand at writing them herself. Now she gets to live out her dream of writing novels and sharing her stories with people around the world.

She lives in the Appalachian Mountains and loves hiking with her husband, daughter, and their two dogs. And loves books that keep you up long after you should be in bed.

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