Review: Follow Me

Follow Me by Angela Clarke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Like the book I read before this, Taylor: The Missing - my review, I found this through Dead Good books and again read Malia's Review and mostly agree, the MC Freddie and her former childhood friend Nas are not really likeable and Freddie is crass, too much swearing and anger, although I realize that is probably realistic, only I do not like that and therefore not her. Still, she is a strong MC.
This is on the shortlist of Dead Good Books - The Papercut Award for Best Page Turner. As I was waiting for a delivery this morning, I managed to read 40% today, hoping to finish it today or tomorrow.
While the story is mostly gripping and I cannot guess edited: a few pages later I realize where the killer/killers is. While not exactly who, or what will be revealed. But the main drift is announced and then with a nice turn before the real killer or killers is (are) seen.
Through the book the police is clueless, not pro-active, although in part I can understand them, and the hiring for cheap of Freddie as a social media-advisor - I can really see this happening due to budget-cuts. But Freddie is naive and even for a reporter not very strong, every time she sees blood she faints. Also I really really dislike (hate) then people state the obvious, even in form of the question -
for example "Freddie looked from Moast to Nas to Tibbsy and back again. ‘Can she do that?’ - ‘She can and she did,’ said Nas.". Duh!
For a reporter she should be used to noticing the obvious and not question it. With the reaction to bloody murder scenes and even by her own admission when she thinks about it, she is not fit for the jobs given to her or chosen by her (both reporter and police advisor). She knows a lot about social media and the technology involved, and I can understand that the police does not - in fact from everything I see here in Germany, they are even more dumbfounded than the police force in the book, with outsourcing too much.
Also I still cannot stand Freddie, and Nas (her old former ex-friend/school-BFF) is too bland for me, although some parts of and with her are interesting. The main parts of the story would get 4 stars, without the two female MC's, but given that they are there, at this point (84%), they would get 2 stars, giving 3 with barely a recommendation.
Recommended if you can stand the two MC's, 3 solid stars for the use of social media and up-to-date technology without mistakes and not exaggerated or doing thing that are not possible.
Being a former Helpdesk Slave and using VPN and other things on a daily basis, and even TOR sometimes, this is all entirely correct. Reading the material after the end of the story, I might buy the next book and read it, although I am not sure I want to meet Freddie again (which is more or less mentioned in the description).

(Edit a few minutes later...) Forgot to mention, as with the book before, this one takes place in the UK, although some US-expressions are used ("fuck" too often, but not as often as in some US books), some UK (pre-BREXIT) flair is there, but not too much, also, London? Again?


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