He Started It by Samantha Downing @smariedowning @berkleypub #bookreview #suspense

Susanne’s Review:

Family: You can’t Pick ‘em, but Sometimes, you sure which you could!

Ah, the nostalgia of family road trips!

Unfortunately for Eddie, Beth and Portia, they don’t exactly have fond memories of the road trip they took with their dear old Grandpa when they were young. Nightmares are more like it! So why, pray tell would they be willing to relive the experience all over again? An inheritance of course! Dear sweet Grandpa bequeathed them each with lots of dough on one condition, they must take that exact road trip one more time. Sounds easy enough right?

Eddie, Beth and Portia, should have figured that it would be dangerous, treacherous even. After all, each prides themselves on keeping secrets. Whoppers, if you will.. and let’s face it, if you aren’t going to keep secrets from your family, who are you to keep secrets from?

“He Started It” by Samantha Downing has an oddly addictive quality to it! I kept turning page after page even when I knew I needed to put the book down! It’s compelling and engrossing and all of those dastardly little secrets got me and got me good! After having read Ms. Downing’s debut novel, “My Lovely Wife” (which was one of my favorite reads of 2018) and now this, I can say that Samantha Downing is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and I will read anything and everything she writes. For those of you who haven’t haven’t read anything by her, it’s about time you changed that!

As far as family road trips go, thanks for the lesson, I plan on steering clear!

This was another fabulous buddy read with Kaceey.

Thank you so much to Elisha at Penguin Publishing Group for the arc and to Samantha Downing as well.

Published on Goodreads.

Kaceey’s Review:

Road trip!! WHEEEEEEE!

Remember those unbearable road trips you took when you were a kid? Stuffed into the backseat with your annoying siblings! So busy fighting you missed all the bizarre roadside attractions?
Well, what if many years later you had to retrace those steps? That’s right boys and girls! It’s another road trip! Only now you’re all grown up! And guess what…if you make it to the end?
There just might be a surprise waiting for you! Bonus!

Buckle up!

When grandpa died, the instructions in his will requested his grandchildren to retrace the trip he took them on as children. If they can pull it off while adhering to a few specific rules along the way, they will all inherit from his estate. Good luck kids! ‘Cause you’re all going to need it!

Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines!

Samantha Downing writes a clever thriller that will keep you flipping the pages as the sibling rivalries are re-ignited, ramping up to full throttle! Secrets! Lies! Maybe even murder? How terribly juicy! Quick question: How is your relationship with your family members? Think you could all survive the Highway to Hell road trip?

Happy trails!

I’m glad I read this one alongside Susanne as it created quite a conversation at the end! I think it will for you too! I’ll be curious to see what you all think!

Thank you to Elisha at Berkley Publishing and Samantha Downing for an ARC to read and review.