Title: Unfollow Me by Charlotte Duckworth
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 288 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
A gripping domestic thriller examining the terrifying depths of our social media obsessions.
You can’t stop watching her.
Violet Young is a hugely popular journalist-turned-mummy-influencer, with three children, a successful husband and a million subscribers on YouTube who tune in daily to watch her everyday life unfold.
Until the day she’s no longer there.
But one day she disappears from the online world – her entire social media presence deleted overnight, with no explanation. Has she simply decided that baring her life to all online is no longer a good idea, or has something more sinister happened to Violet?
But do you really know who Violet is?
Her fans are obsessed with finding out the truth, but their search quickly reveals a web of lies, betrayal, and shocking consequences…
Review:
Unfollow Me by Charlotte Duckworth is a topical mystery that is quite intriguing.
Violet Young is an über popular influencer with a massive following on social media. She splashes her three young daughters and husband Henry Blake on YouTube and Instagram and her down to earth stories resonate deeply with her followers. So when Violet’s social media channels inexplicitly disappear without notice or explanation, her fans are concerned. As days pass without any word, rumors begin to swirl and her followers are wondering: Where is Violet?
Yvonne Hawley is one of Violet’s fans who is also quite worried about the popular vloger. But Yvonne is also dealing with worries of her own as she and her husband Simon struggle with infertility. Having failed to achieve a pregnancy with their three NHS funded IVF treatments, they are hoping to save enough money to continue on their own. But there is more to Yvonne’s obsession with Violet’s possible disappearance and Henry than fears for the influencer’s safety. Does Yvonne know more about what happened to Violet than she is revealing?
Lily Peters is also quite obsessed with Violet and she is desperate to uncover the reason for her sudden disappearance. Lily is a single mum who is barely making enough money to support herself and her three year old son Archie. She is overwhelmed and her nightly wine habit leads to some regretful decisions while under the influence. Lily becomes quite determined to discover what happened to Violet and her behavior is borderline stalkerish. Is it possible Lily has information that could explain Violet’s sudden withdrawal from the public eye?
By all appearances, Violet and Henry are happily married and devoted to each other and their children. Violet is honest about her parenting struggles and she does not shy away from revealing embarrassing information about herself. Could someone who does not hesitate to share virtually every aspect of her life to the public harbor secrets which might explain her disappearance?
Unfolding from three distinct points of view, Unfollow Me is a suspenseful mystery with a clever storyline. Lily and Yvonne are interesting characters that are complex and multi-layered. The plot is engaging and the tension grows with every chapter. The story is engrossing and fully explores the pitfalls of social media. Charlotte Duckworth brings the novel to an unexpected conclusion that is impossible to predict. I completely enjoyed and recommend this domestic mystery to fans of the genre.
