FOLLOW ME

An Instagram influencer discovers the dangers of social media when she’s terrorized by a stalker after moving to a new city.

Audrey Miller lives her best life online in Barber’s (Are You Sleeping, 2017) second psychological thriller, a cautionary tale about the perils of social media. Audrey has just left her beloved Manhattan for Washington, D.C., to start a new job as head of social media at a Smithsonian art museum. She’s got longtime close friend Cat in the neighborhood, and Cat is always available for moral support despite her busy job as an attorney. Audrey also has old college boyfriend Nick, whom she can call when the nights get a little too lonely. But her millions of Instagram followers are what sustain her: “With a million friends at the palm of your hand, how could anyone ever feel truly alone?” Her popular account and active online persona have a downside, though: She’s got a stalker, one who is thrilled that she has moved to his town. Unfortunately, this is not the only implausible coincidence you’ll find here. Barber does provide a wide range of suspects to keep the reader guessing. Is Audrey’s stalker the creepy son of her landlord? An old friend of Cat’s or one of Cat’s co-workers? Or someone else entirely? Cat, meanwhile, has her own secrets and insecurities to hide. Narrated by Audrey and Cat and occasionally an ominous Him, the novel moves at a swift pace but requires a serious suspension of disbelief. Would a young woman really neglect to call the police when she catches a thief in her apartment? Still, despite such unlikely behavior, Barber invests her readers in the outcome.

A sometimes-implausible thriller that still keeps you guessing.