I Will Follow You by Bryan Blears
When a young woman falls to her death from a luxury London apartment, Poppy Taylor's world is turned upside down.
Because the prime suspect isn't just anyone: it's ex-boyfriend Elliot Gardner, the charming millionaire and social-media influencer who introduced her to a life of holiday villas, designer handbags, and first-class plane tickets.
But Poppy knows all about the real Elliot. The gas-lighting. The abuse. And she knows that he'll do anything to walk free.
To stop him, she'll have to confront her past - and the memories she's been running from - to relive it all; from first falling for Elliot's charming advances, to discovering his darker side, and the breakdown of a relationship which left her reputation and her life in pieces.
After all, men like Elliot always get away with it. Don't they?
About the author
Bryan Blears writes commercial and literary fiction with a cutting social edge. Inspired by the likes of Stephen King, Sylvia Plath and Donna Tartt, he writes about mental health, justice, trauma, and overcoming adversity.
His debut novel, These Walls Were Never Really There, was published in April 2022, and was described by critics as a 'fantastic talent' and 'a potential prizewinner in the making'. His second book, I Will Follow You, is a domestic thriller which is due to be released in August 2023.
An NHS worker by day, Bryan has written for the New Statesman, the Huffington Post, and the Philosophical Society of England. He has a daughter, Dakota, and lives with his girlfriend, Lauren. They would very much like to get a cat.
Review
‘I Will Follow You’ is a thrilling insight into the world of social influence and an examination on controlling behaviour. I flew through this book in one sitting as it had me gripped from the very start. This is the first time I have read anything by this author but I will be keeping an eye out for what he does next as I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one!
When a young woman falls to her death in London, Poppy Taylor’s life is turned upside down! Because the prime suspect isn’t just anyone, it’s her ex-boyfriend Elliot Gardner, an millionaire internet influencer. Their life together looked perfect - designer clothes, expensive handbags, holidays of a lifetime. But Elliot is fake. Poppy endured emotional abuse, gaslighting and cheating. And she knows that he will do anything to get away with what he has done. To make sure he faces justice Poppy needs to return to her old life and face up to her demons.
This was a compelling read as it was very believable. I have always thought that the big influencers must be slightly narcissistic and this book doesn’t dispel this idea! It comes across as very authentic and real. Although, it dealt with strong topics it was done in a such a way that the book whilst addressing them was still entertaining. It also keeps the reader on their toes right to the end. I did manage to guess the ending but I was invested in the final reveal and it didn’t disappoint.
Let me know if you pick this one up!
