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There are currently 35 member reviews
for He Started It
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Barbara B. (Holbrook, NY)
He Started It - Samantha Downing
I was in the middle of this book when all of this news about the Coronavirus really began to escalate. This was able to allow me to escape (for a time) the scary news surrounding all of us. Not that this novel didn't have it's share of psycho and twisted events. Never knew how it was going to end. The ups and downs of this book were incredible. I truly loved it and highly recommend it to fans of the psychological thriller with some major surprises thrown in.
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RebeccaR (Western USA)
Totally Enjoyable, Twisting and Turning Plot.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and perhaps part of the fun was that I had no idea what to suspect. I had not yet read author Samantha Downing's previous bestseller, MY LOVELY WIFE. The premise of the book sounded like a universal event - the death of a family member. The few additional details continued to sound enticing. There is going to be a reunion of some kind, involving a road trip with siblings that had not been particularly close; okay, that's certainly understandable since many people agree on the concept of friends being the family one chooses for oneself. However, nothing could have prepared for me this fun read. My memories of grandparents are all so positive that I still miss them to this day, but the grandfather of Portia, Eddie, and Beth was something else. In addition, the siblings all seem quite different, and their relationship issues from the past are going to be intensified by the multi-million dollar inheritance. It is one they can access only after they meet a very specific requirement. Here is where the lies, deceit, and lack of trust intensify since the money comes with a very personal twist orchestrated by deceased Grandpa himself. The road trip, which was not a pleasant memory, must be recreated.
Why was this road trip so bad? It wasn't just the usual hardships of periods of boredom, restlessness, and varying bathroom needs for everyone in the vehicle. This one involved a plethora of strange day trips as well as downright scary behavior at times from Grandpa who is the the 'HE' in the title. Beth even refers to him as an a- -hole at one point. Get ready for this twenty-years-later reunion, narrated by Beth, as the two-week road trip unfolds. Any family member who fails to complete the trip is out, but another provision in Grandpa's will - that anyone who ends up in jail is out- builds a lot of unexpected suspense. Why jail? People will have fun discussing this contemporary story with other readers, and I am so pleased to have been fortunate enough to read an ARC from BookBrowse!
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Cheryl M. (Le Claire, IA)
He started it!!!
"He Started It " is a common childhood refrain. It usual identifies who "he" is and what "he" started followed by the typical consequences. Sounds familiar, we all did it and had to learn to take responsibility for "It". But what happens when it is carried too far, becomes a game, based on winning? Winning an inheritance by outlasting your siblings on a last trip stipulated by Grandfather to receive any part of that inheritance.The book "He Started It", draws you into several chilling scenarios where "He" could be one of any of the characters. And "It" could be any one of their actions to win. How does it start? Will it end? How far would you go? It's a quick, easy, increasingly chilling read right down to the last sentence. It would be interesting developing discussion questions for this book!
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Yana G. (Poway, CA)
Family, you cant pick them, but....
Since I LOVED "My lovely wife" by Samantha Downing I sure had high hopes for "He Started It" and I can tell you that I was NOT disappointed. I loved it through and through. From the blurb for this book, the storyline is clear; estranged siblings have to reunite for a road trip in order to gain their inheritance. Are you ready for the road trip from hell? Do you think your family is dysfunctional? Think again!
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Jill F. (Blackwood, NJ)
Wow!!
Not since "The Silent Patient" have I been caught so off guard by an ending. This book has more twist and turns than a roller-coaster! Who hasn't thought about killing somebody on a family road trip? This family is completely despicable but so much fun
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Julie B. (Culver, IN)
He Started It
Oh my goodness! Seriously, one of the best plot twisters ever. I haven't read Samantha Downing's debut My Lovely Wife, but I will now. This book had so many twists and turns, my head was spinning, and I couldn't put it down. Secrets, lies, murder among siblings taking a road trip that they had reluctantly taken with their grandfather years before all for his fortune and to scatter his ashes. I usually have a sense of how things might end in a twisty plot, but I was clueless with this one. It was an amazing ending that I wasn't expecting. Get this book as soon as it comes out. Thank you so much to BookBrowse for allowing me an advance read.
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Jennifer H. (Mishawaka, IN)
Wildest ride!
Just finished He Started It. "A wild ride" has become a cliché in describing this genre, but this truly was the "wildest" ride yet. Dysfunctional family, again an understatement. I would say a truly despicable cast of characters, each person deserving their ultimate fate. This book is compulsively readable, powering though it in two days. Had to see where this road trip ended, and certainly did not see the endpoint. Wow, an exhausting, suspenseful thriller. Samantha Downing surpassed her first novel, My Lovely Wife, no contest
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