Follow Me

Kathleen Barber follows up her stunning debut novel, Are You Sleeping (subsequently renamed Truth Be Told) with a fast-paced, frightening story illustrating the dangers of overexposure on the Internet and through the use of social media.

Audrey Miller is educated, young and beautiful, fit, and obsessed with the personal "brand" she has carefully cultivated, primarily through her Instagram account. She has become an influencer, receiving free merchandise and products in exchange for posting photographs and reviews. In her first-person narration, Audrey rejects her former roommate's contention that she is a narcissist. Rather, she insists that she shares so many details about her personal life because she loves the "connection. With a million friends at the palm of your hand, how could anyone ever feel truly alone?" She describes herself as a Midwestern transplant to New York City who has "construct[ed] a minor cult of personality out of thin air."

Audrey has landed her dream job in Washington, D.C. as a Social Media Manager with the Smithsonian. The timing is perfect because her roommate, Izzy, informs her that she must move out of their shared apartment so that Izzy's boyfriend can move in. Audrey rents an apartment in D.C. without viewing it in person, which proves to be a huge misstep.

Audrey's friend, Cat, is an ambitious attorney in D.C., Audrey became the best friend she ever had after Audrey befriended her in college, rescuing her from the mean girls who ridiculed and rejected her. They lived together until Audrey moved to New York and Cat continued on to law school. Now Cat is a workaholic striving for partnership who spends precious little time in the tastefully decorated apartment into which she invites Audrey. Cat's story is also related via a first-person narration. She is self-deprecating, describing her awkwardness and lack of self-confidence, as well as her relationship with Audrey, She gradually reveals details about a disturbing event in her past that she does not want Audrey or anyone else to discover. She may not be able to keep her past a secret, however, when Max Metcalf, an old friend from summer camp, surfaces. And, of course, he is interested only in Audrey. Is he toying with Cat, ready to reveal what he knows about that summer so long ago? Can she risk that he will tell Audrey if she doesn't capitulate to his requests, including that she set him up with Audrey?

The chapters focused on Audrey and Cat alternate with a disturbing chronicle from "him" about his fixation on Audrey. Barber cleverly reveals the depth of a mystery man's obsession with Audrey -- and determination to be with her in an all-consuming relationship -- incrementally, while credibly establishing several potential perpetrators. Connor is the associate at Cat's firm with whom she is infatuated. Nick is Audrey's old boyfriend and when she arrives in D.C., they pick up right where they left off in a casual, uncommitted, yet reliably affectionate and friendly relationship. But Audrey finds herself attracted to Max, the thoughtful too-good-to-be-true guy with whom she races into a relationship. She is being terrorized in her apartment by someone lurking in the alley, leaving thorn-studded flower stems on her doorstep, and entering her apartment when she is asleep. Could it be the landlady's grandson, Ryan? After all, Audrey caught him in her apartment stealing from her. There's even a visitor at the Smithsonian who persists in lurking around the as-yet-unfinished exhibit that Audrey is tasked with promoting online.

As Audrey is tormented by her unidentified stalker and Cat becomes increasingly paranoid about her secret, Barber deftly accelerates both the dramatic tension and the book's pace. She continues revealing clues about the man who is diabolically infatuated with Audrey, eliminating suspects until only a couple remain. And then delivers shocking plot developments that send both Audrey and Cat reeling, taking readers on a breathtaking race to the story's jaw-dropping conclusion.

Barber proves that her initial success with Are You Sleeping was no fluke. Follow Me is a first-rate, compulsively readable thriller populated with intriguing characters and founded upon a scarily plausible plot set against the backdrop of a timely and thought-provoking issue: social media and the extent to which many people share details about their personal lives with complete strangers. Follow Me succeeds at being the cautionary story Barber envisioned and, for that reason, would make an excellent book club selection because there are numerous aspects of the story that lend themselves to contemplation and discussion.

Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.