Book Review: He Started It by Samantha Downing

Book: 49/100

Rating: 4/5

Read this one if you like: sloppy family dramas, road trips, and a book you can read in one day.

Summary: After Beth's grandfather dies, she and her estranged siblings (Eddie and Portia) have to recreate the road trip they embarked on with their grandpa in 1999 in order to inherit the millions of dollars he has left for them. Now, without knowing that this is a thriller, that could be a sweet novel; but it isn't, because money can bring out the worst in people.

On the road trip, Eddie is joined by his new wife Krista and Beth by her husband Felix - Beth isn't really stoked about this considering the road trip they're re-enacting has some incredibly bizarre landmarks and pit stops.

All is going fine and well on the road trip (as one can with estranged siblings in a car together for weeks) until they notice they have people following them, sabotaging their car, and trying to drive them off the road. Not only that, but the siblings all have to follow very strict rules to ensure they get their inheritance. Is this possible with the secrets they're all keeping, especially the horrors that took place on their first road trip with their grandpa?

Thoughts: This. Book! I have a really high expectations for thrillers. One: it has to basically be a binge read for me. Any good thriller I've read and any I've really enjoyed I tend to read within 24-48 hours. This one was no exception to that: I started it on a Saturday afternoon and finished it up Saturday evening.

Two: the ending. The ending can always make or break a thriller. It can't be SO out of left field that it's unbelievable (I'm thinking of Behind Her Eyes), but needs to bring enough shock value that you didn't completely guess the ending.

I really enjoyed this one! The characters were all pretty awful and unlikable, which can make a book really fun to read if there's not really anyone to root for. The writing also made it easy to envision the book being played out as a movie. This one gets four stars because of the quick read, good ending, and interesting characters.

Thank you to Edelweiss for the free review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Buy it/loan it/skip it? Place this one on hold ASAP so when it comes out July 28th it's yours first!