A rehash of the first investigation - short on detection & big on teenage romance. Would find hard to recommend.
Follow Me is the second instalment in Sara Shepard’s series featuring teenage amateur sleuths and having won a copy of this book, several reviews mentioned that it does not work as a standalone. This is certainly something that I can corroborate as without a knowledge of the first investigation, this investigation doesn’t have much to appeal to an uninitiated audience. The closing moments of The Amateurs blew the online friends who contribute to a crime-solving forum, Case Not Closed, out of the water and left readers with something of a curveball revelation. Reuniting just three-months later and still smarting from being duped by a former friend, yet at a loss for hard evidence of his involvement, the ragtag posse are licking their wounds. Most frustrated of all is college student, Seneca Frazier, interning in law enforcement with Annapolis Parking Authority and busy searching for answers surrounding her mother’s death. But all it takes is a taunt from their scheming adversary and a hint that he is behind the disappearance of a twenty-one-year old Instagram fixated and motorised selfie stick owner, Chelsea Dawson - a girl who bears an uncanny resemblance to his previous suspected victims (Aerin Kelly’s sister and Seneca’s mother) for the team to come together.
All the teenage detectives have moved on since the prosecutions in the murder of Helena Kelly with mixed fortunes from Seneca and Maddox Wright exchanging anodyne emails and Aerin Kelly barely speaking to her admirer and former cop, Thomas Grove. But when a post on the online forum which spawned the initial investigation from their prime suspect inviting them to “come and play” appears, feisty Seneca sees a chance to even up the scores and avenge her mother’s killer. From this suspected disappearance, and hints that their nemesis has infiltrated the New Jersey preppy crowd, the team are playing catch-up and just as easily led! The major disappointment in this follow-up though is that with a few extra characters this is a rehash of the first investigation and even after their being thwarted once, they are just as naively confident. The details of this investigation rely heavily on aspects of technology - from spyware, drones, bugging right through to photo sharing on PhotoCircle which for those readers whose eyes glaze over at mentions of digital aspects will rapidly bore. There is a large focus in on the flamboyant lifestyles of the Newport Beach youths, who seem to move from party to party and one extravagance to the next and this makes it hard to relate to or care about the spoilt brats involved. In common with the debut, there is huge detail on culture, class and wealth differences between the characters involved, something which was all unwarranted and added nothing to the story.
If the first instalment was woefully short on clues and offered limited suspense, this one is another similar clutching at straws encounter, again marred by romantic elements and with Seneca the only individual who seems to really care about the outcome and the driver for the whole investigation. Given that the group proved both inept and naive in The Amateurs, they don’t do anymore to reassert their claims but this encounter really ups the ante with the guilty party assuming numerous new identities and seeming to have myriad resources at his disposal, especially hard to run with as he is approximately the same age as the investigating teens. Disappointing, I again found the characters a difficult mix to warm to and given the paltry lack of mystery and intrigue present, I would find it hard to recommend. Follow Me makes no sense as a standalone read and given that it ends with a mighty similar hook to the first book, I have no further interest in reading more of this groups efforts at crime solving. Despite the idea likely appealing to a younger teen audience (12-13), it should be noted that the characters are of age seventeen upwards and there is mention of pursuits that may not be suitable for such a young readership.
After reading The Amateurs and Follow Me, I would find it hard to recommend either novel which have a romantic element that supersedes any focus on an actual mystery and fails to surprise.
I received a free copy of this book from Readers First and my review is my honest and unbiased opinion.
All the teenage detectives have moved on since the prosecutions in the murder of Helena Kelly with mixed fortunes from Seneca and Maddox Wright exchanging anodyne emails and Aerin Kelly barely speaking to her admirer and former cop, Thomas Grove. But when a post on the online forum which spawned the initial investigation from their prime suspect inviting them to “come and play” appears, feisty Seneca sees a chance to even up the scores and avenge her mother’s killer. From this suspected disappearance, and hints that their nemesis has infiltrated the New Jersey preppy crowd, the team are playing catch-up and just as easily led! The major disappointment in this follow-up though is that with a few extra characters this is a rehash of the first investigation and even after their being thwarted once, they are just as naively confident. The details of this investigation rely heavily on aspects of technology - from spyware, drones, bugging right through to photo sharing on PhotoCircle which for those readers whose eyes glaze over at mentions of digital aspects will rapidly bore. There is a large focus in on the flamboyant lifestyles of the Newport Beach youths, who seem to move from party to party and one extravagance to the next and this makes it hard to relate to or care about the spoilt brats involved. In common with the debut, there is huge detail on culture, class and wealth differences between the characters involved, something which was all unwarranted and added nothing to the story.
If the first instalment was woefully short on clues and offered limited suspense, this one is another similar clutching at straws encounter, again marred by romantic elements and with Seneca the only individual who seems to really care about the outcome and the driver for the whole investigation. Given that the group proved both inept and naive in The Amateurs, they don’t do anymore to reassert their claims but this encounter really ups the ante with the guilty party assuming numerous new identities and seeming to have myriad resources at his disposal, especially hard to run with as he is approximately the same age as the investigating teens. Disappointing, I again found the characters a difficult mix to warm to and given the paltry lack of mystery and intrigue present, I would find it hard to recommend. Follow Me makes no sense as a standalone read and given that it ends with a mighty similar hook to the first book, I have no further interest in reading more of this groups efforts at crime solving. Despite the idea likely appealing to a younger teen audience (12-13), it should be noted that the characters are of age seventeen upwards and there is mention of pursuits that may not be suitable for such a young readership.
After reading The Amateurs and Follow Me, I would find it hard to recommend either novel which have a romantic element that supersedes any focus on an actual mystery and fails to surprise.
I received a free copy of this book from Readers First and my review is my honest and unbiased opinion.