Lynda McGowan knows all about stalkers. Her father, a musician with local acclaim, was brutally killed by his. She hung on his every word, so when he told Lynda she wasn’t cut out for a career in music, she gave up on her singer-songwriter dreams.
When an old friend begs her to play a few shows with his band after their lead singer’s mysterious departure, she can’t resist the opportunity.
But it isn’t long before she senses she’s being watched, and soon she’s facing a series of mysterious and disturbing events; events with circumstances similar to her father’s murder. Still, Lynda forces herself to refute the connection—after all, his killer is dead.
Is she paranoid? Or is she being followed as part of a dangerous game? And how far must things go before someone believes her?
But if someone is stalking her, Lynda has one advantage her father didn’t.
She knows they’re coming.
Follow Her Home is an edge-of-your-seat psychological suspense novel. If you like atmospheric stories, determined characters, and spine-tingling twists, then you’ll love Emerald O’Brien’s new page-turner.
Includes a downloadable original song by singer-songwriter Adrienne Ashley that features in the story.
Lynda McGowan knows all about stalkers. Her father, a musician with local acclaim, was brutally killed by his. She hung on his every word, so when he told Lynda she wasn’t cut out for a career in music, she gave up on her singer-songwriter dreams.
When an old friend begs her to play a few shows with his band after their lead singer’s mysterious departure, she can’t resist the opportunity.
But it isn’t long before she senses she’s being watched, and soon she’s facing a series of mysterious and disturbing events; events with circumstances similar to her father’s murder. Still, Lynda forces herself to refute the connection—after all, his killer is dead.
Is she paranoid? Or is she being followed as part of a dangerous game? And how far must things go before someone believes her?
But if someone is stalking her, Lynda has one advantage her father didn’t.
She knows they’re coming.
Follow Her Home is an edge-of-your-seat psychological suspense novel. If you like atmospheric stories, determined characters, and spine-tingling twists, then you’ll love Emerald O’Brien’s new page-turner.
Includes a downloadable original song by singer-songwriter Adrienne Ashley that features in the story.
Have you ever felt like you were being followed?
Maybe it was footsteps slapping against pavement behind you that tipped you off or the brisk whooshing of material brushing against itself with each stride. Maybe it was a glimpse of a figure in your peripheral vision—a shadow—something you couldn’t quite make out, but you could tell it was something. Someone. Maybe a whiff of cologne or body odor caught your attention in the breeze or surrounded you in a closed-in space, inescapable.
Or maybe, if you’re like me, it’s just a feeling without any proof.
The sheer terror of the unknown hovers ever closer, yet somehow, we feel the need to continue on our path as if it isn’t happening, paralyzed by fear.
I used to feel that way.
It’s like we’re afraid to be seen as paranoid if we glance over our shoulder or cross the street to see if they follow. Like we have more of a chance to get to safety if we don’t look back. If we don’t confront it. Maybe we do.
You could turn around. Maybe nothing’s there. Maybe it was all in your head.
Or maybe, you might get a good look at the person who’s already got you in their sights. Stare them right in the eye. Even speak up.
If you’ve ever felt like you were being followed, you know there’s danger in any course of action we take, and up until tonight, I chose to do nothing.
For the past few days, despite the terrible knot in my stomach and the chilling tingle of knowing on my neck, I picked up my pace to what I hoped was an unnoticeable amount. I rushed home to my mom’s and her boyfriend’s house, to the other side of the door, and locked myself in.
I tried to forget it happened—that it’s been happening since I made the agreement with the band—to ease the fear away. I tried to ignore my own instincts so I could feel some measure of safety while staying here alone since Ron took my mom on a two-week vacation to Maui to “relax and reset.” I told myself they’d be home next week, that I wouldn’t be alone so I wouldn’t be consumed with that same knotted feeling in my stomach, wondering who has been watching me these past two days and why, and if I’d be helpless if something came from it.
And it worked. I didn’t let the fear control me—until tonight.
Tonight, as the feeling crept over me again with home in view, I couldn’t ignore it any longer. I forced myself to turn around. I chose the known over the unknown, however dangerous it may be.
I never should have doubted myself, because what I know now has ignited my worst fears.
Life has not been easy for Lynda McGowan. Her father, a locally famous musician, was murdered in his own home by a crazed stalker, and Lyn and her mother were forced to witness the bloody aftermath while nearly becoming victims themselves. Though both mother and daughter have moved on in many aspects, they are not who they once were. Lyn lives a quiet and unassuming life working for her mother's dental office, never having pursued her real passion of becoming a renowned singer due to her father's discouragement. But when a childhood friend contacts her about filling in as a singer for his band, Lyn sees the opportunity to make her dream a reality. Things are looking up until she begins to feel as though someone is watching her. Traumatized by her past and afraid of making her fears known lest she seem paranoid, Lyn struggles to prove herself to the band while trying to shake off increasingly disturbing notions that she is being followed.
Follow Her Home has a great premise for a thriller: being stalked hits close to home through how feasible it is (this isn't the supernatural, there's no question as to whether or not you believe), and the unpredictability. However, the story falls short for me in its execution. The writing seems a little haphazard and there are awkwardly worded, unnecessary descriptions throughout ("I cover my face with my hands and use the darkness to wonder as usual") that keep me from being fully immersed in the plot.
There are not many depictions of strength from Lyn. The reader is frequently shown her dwelling on her deceased dad's lack of belief in her music career, her insecurity about the band's approval, her vulnerable position with a former flame who didn't reciprocate her feelings, and her fear of a stalker. There are very few instances in which she is not afraid or self-conscious. By no means is it unrealistic to feel all these things - being stalked would be utterly terrifying and I know I would be like Lyn in a lot of ways. But there is never any substantial defiance or anger from her either, which would serve the story well by breaking up Lyn's softer moments. Despite the actuality of her fears, it becomes monotonous reading her speculating in the form of rhetorical questions over and over.
There are certainly some shining achievements in Follow Her Home as well. The climax is pretty well done; readers finally see some backbone in Lyn instead of her default setting of helplessness and indecision. The culprit is not easily determined until the very end since there are a few suspects at play throughout the story, although when the big reveal does happen, it feels a little flat. Another plus is that O'Brien includes original poems for Lyn's songs and to mark the beginning of every chapter; she even includes the link to a recorded song, "Scopaesthesia," within the text. O'Brien could have gotten away with just tossing in a few simple lines to represent Lyn's singing/songwriting passions, but she goes the extra mile by including fully developed pieces.
All in all, Follow Her Home has great potential which it capitalizes on in some areas, but doesn't seem to reach in others. It did not quite click for me although I could very well see it being an enjoyable read for others.