Kathy Branfield
He Started It by Samantha Downing is a fiendishly twisted domestic mystery. Beth Morgan has a devilish sense of humor as she, her husband Felix, sister Portia, brother Eddie and sister-in-law Krista set out on road trip in order to inherit their grandfather’s fortune. They must follow the same path as their ill-fated trip with him twenty years earlier. Visiting the same horrible tourist spots as before, Beth muses on the increasingly tense trip in both the past and present. Beth is becoming more and more irritated with her siblings and husband as they spend long hours together in each other’s company. She is also internet stalking an unknown person and hints at her own past misdeeds. Beth’s frustration with Felix turns to amusement as she toys with him after an unexpected discovery. As they re-create their earlier trip, she remembers new details from the earlier journey that are as shocking as they are revealing. Although he did not initially plan on bringing his wife with them, newly married Eddie and Krista are blissfully happy. But as the days pass, Krista becomes very disillusioned with Eddie and she is very unhappy with their tourist stops. After one particularly stressful day, Krista returns home after an argument with Eddie. But why is not answering anyone’s texts? Baby of the family Portia is a bit spoiled and spends the trip drinking heavily. She is cagey about her life in New Orleans but Beth knows more about her sister’s profession that Portia thinks. She was only six years old during the first excursion so how much does Portia remember about that fateful trip? He Started It is an entertaining, darkly humorous mystery with a unique plot and a love to hate cast of characters. Beth is a slyly clever narrator who is pragmatic and somewhat unsentimental. The storyline is compelling and full of unanticipated twists and turns. With stunning revelations, Samantha Downing builds the tension to a fever pitch as the novel comes an abrupt and frustratingly ambiguous conclusion. I received a complimentary copy for review.
DJ Sakata
This book was an arduous read and heaving with an appalling and vile cast of annoying characters doing dastardly things. The entire family was exasperating, reprehensible, horrid, and despicable. They had been beastly as children during their first run of this peculiar choice of road trip, and were three times as horrific as adults while they retraced their original trek. I reviled and despised them all, yet their witty snark and shrewdly paced, intriguing, and mysteriously twisty tale kept me rapt to my Kindle and unable to stop reading. I was absolutely furious at the ending, stamping my little foot and turning the air around me blue with invectives. Yet I must give this guileful and wily author her due, as her provocative missive was cunningly crafted, deviously clever, and cannily plotted. I would caution her neighbors to tread lightly, ply her with treats, never ask for favors, and always keep a sharp eye open.
4 people found this review helpful