He Started it was a trip - a family road trip from hell, that is! The premise seems straight forward. Siblings are told to exactly recreate a road trip from their past, if they wish to inherit their grandfather's fortune. The story is told in dual timelines: Beth in the present and the journal entries from the past trip. It is clear from the beginning that something went very wrong during the first journey, straining the relationships between all siblings. Just when I thought I was figuring out a pattern and what was happening, there would be another blindside. I loved every diabolical page of this book!

Are you ready for the road trip with family you aren’t sure you like? Beth, Portia, and Eddie haven’t seen each other in years, for good reasons. When their wealthy Grandfather passes away he leaves explicit instructions on what they have to do to split his over $3 Million in assets. They must take a road trip together, the same exact road trip they took years ago with him as kids. Any deviation, or going to jail will eliminate them from the inheritance and they must all three go. All of the siblings are keeping secrets from each other and they think they are being followed by a black truck. But who would be following them?

I enjoyed the story from Beth’s view point, she is hilarious and snarky all at the same time. She was forced to take this road trip with her dysfunctional siblings, her not so nice sister-in-law and her nerdy husband all while trying to keep multiple secrets from the spouses. Talk about a disaster before she even started. The ending… well that just blew me away. Wow!!

This is a very clever story that is hard to put down. If you like a dark comedy, mystery/thriller type of story then this book should be in your to-be-read pile! The story definitely exceeded my expectations. I highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkeley and the author for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pretty enjoyable for about 98% (I’m bitter about this ending). Quick paced, easy to get through, and definitely engaging - but also totally deplorable characters who I didn’t really care about.

I am not even sure where to start with this book. I loved the writing style and the build up of the characters but the plot was.... or wasn’t.... anything followable. Characters all acted completely out of character, the plot did not make much sense and the big reveal after big reveal after big reveal... just... and then the ending was a giant question mark but not in a satisfying way.

Read this in one day. Hooked and just so curious where it was going. Similar to her first book, My Perfect Wife, every character was deeply flawed. And I don’t mean little small quirks that don’t stop them from being an overall good person - I mean DEEPLY flawed. No one is good or worth rooting for, yet you root for them anyway. And Beth, the main character, is self aware. She essentially starts the book off saying “I can’t be your heroine.”

No sophomore slump here. This book comes out in April and I highly recommend you read it!

Samantha Downing does it again! Family dysfunction is at the fore front of this thriller. Secrets, family, and a road trip, all I can say is you better buckle up.

Grandpa passes and Eddie, Beth, and Portia embark on a road trip to scatter his ashes. It is twisted and creative, you wont be able to put it down.

I absolutely loved it! Best book I've read this year, this far.

I received this book free. My review and rating are what I honestly think.

Two sisters and a brother take the same route on a trip they took as children across the States with their grandfather in order to get their grandfather's inheritance. The reader gets to know the characters along the way. They are interesting though not all are necessarily likable. The trip takes unexpected turns as they drive west. I enjoyed this story. It kept me wondering to the end. I will recommend this book to family and friends.

Me at certain stages of this novel:

10% -- Hmm, interesting.

50%-- What??

75% -- OMG

98% -- OMG OMG WTF!

Very original plot. You will probably not like a single character in this book, but if you enjoy black comedies and thrillers, take He Started It for a spin. This was an excellent second novel -- a feat in and of itself!

I really shouldn't have tried to compare He Started It with Ms Downings first novel, My Lovely Wife. I started reading it without looking at the summary. I wasn't enjoying it, so I went back and read the summary and started over. It made a huge difference! I thi k i kept trying to figure out who the "He" was, and now i realize it could be any of the male characters. I did enjoy the journey that these siblings took after their grandfather died. The writing made me feel as if I was along for the ride. Not really any huge aha moments, but I thoroughly enjoyed my ARC thanks to Netgalley.

The author says herself in the afterword that the second book is harder than the first, and I felt that struggle. I inhaled My Lovely Wife, and while this isn't a bad book, I didn't feel that same urgency to come back to it.

This is essentially the story of a really messed up group of siblings forced by their grandfather's will to recreate a road trip they took with him in their youth. If they reach the end and have followed his rules, they'll have $8 million to split. We stay mostly in the present, but occasionally the main character gives us tidbits from the childhood trip, revealing more and more each time about her very strange family, leading up to an even stranger ending.

My biggest issue with this book is the complete lack of reasoning for why any of the characters do what they do. Their behavior is never explained, and they aren't well developed enough as characters for us to infer that for ourselves. Downing's stories are over the top, for sure, and that's okay. But it worked in My Lovely Wife because the characters were complex enough for us to buy the story. Lots of odd things happen that just sort of, well, happen, and that's it. Nothing in the plot ever loops back around to make those events important. Seems like the push to get a second book out may have been a little too fast. This one has potential, but ultimately fell short for me.

You never know where the plot is going next so you want keep reading Character development is outstanding. Each one has some redeeming value that is often surprising.

I have to mention that I am proud to be a Clemson Tiger Alumni so I got a kick out of seeing the reference in the story. It was a surprise! 😂 Anyway, I loved the author’s first novel, “My Lovely Wife,” as I enjoy that how she writes about these people that seem so “normal” to the outside world but deep down are the craziest! The first chunk of this book alludes to this past event but you are not sure what it is...then layers of what happened are revealed...then the end hits! 😳 You are gonna fly through this one. If you are looking for a thriller/suspense book, definitely preorder “He Started It” and read “My Lovely Wife” too if you have not already! Posted on Instagram @carolinehoppereads and Goodreads.

I loved this book. From the very beginning, I was immediately hooked. Stayed up all night to finish it and am glad I did!

I’m really conflicted here. 98% of this novel was really interesting, fun and exciting. That last 2% falls at the very end of the book and that is disappointing. I don’t really want to say much else about it. Read this book if you’re interested in it- it is very good. But that ending though...

Without a doubt, Samantha Downing is becoming one of my favorites to read and recommend! This book did not disappoint in any way, and I have already started telling my coworkers how amazing it is.

Grandpa has passed away and he left a will. There are stipulations though...and the biggest one is that Beth, Portia and Eddie all have to go on the road trip that they took with their grandpa in their youth.


I LOVE some road trips...and this part of the story was my favorite. You have the family taking a long trip and the good and the bad comes out. Like how the food starts to stink right along with your family. Good stuff right there.

Then there is this family. Talk about some major dysfunction. There are so many secrets that when I started the book I was eating it up. Then the twists kept coming.
And coming...
And coming...


By the twisting turny end of this book I had turned off of it.

And that makes me sad. It is a good book! I hate that one of my pet peeves is when there is just TOO many twists and I lose interest.

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.

Thank you Berkley for providing me with a copy of He Started It. My first 5 star read of 2020! This book is crazy, friends!

As kids, Eddie, Beth, and Portia took a road trip with their grandfather. But this was not your typical family vaycay. It was full of secrets, drama, and maybe even a little crime.

Fast forward to present day. Their grandfather has died and left a sizable inheritance for the siblings. The only catch is they have to recreate the family road trip. Events took place on that road trip that they would rather not relive- but hey, you can endure a few days if it means inheriting millions, right?

I loved the plot of this book. I was so into it. I felt like I was another one of the siblings along for the ride. The road trip theme made this book so fun- it gave this sort of retro, throw back vibe to the book.

It has been a long time since I've had that feeling of, "I need to know what happens next!" while reading, but this book made me feel that way. It was an addictive, stay up all night kind of book and I loved every minute of it!

You may remember Samantha Downing as the author of the completely alarming yet un-put-downable <i>My Lovely Wife</i>.

She's back at it again with <i>He Started It </i>, and by it I mean some dark-a**, unreliable narrator, off-the-rails road-trip, bananas plot, business. I. Love. It. Give me more.

It has the feeling of a locked-room mystery at times, but Downing is a master of pacing, keeping you guessing at every turn!

I would recommend this book to anyone who was a fan of her first book (obvs), and to those who like their thrillers dark (like real real dark). Avoid this book if you can't handle unlikable narrators or people being terrible to each other.

Three siblings recreate the road trip they took with their grandfather after his death. The novelty wears off quickly, and none of them is telling the others the unvarnished truth, but they have to finish the trip to get their inheritance.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

After finishing this book I am a bit glad I’m an only child. These siblings were all scary crazy! Still, they, and their story, were completely riveting. It was a struggle to put the book down. From the first paragraph, I was hooked. The pace never let up. The characters were wonderfully written and the reader becomes part of this crazy family, like it or not.

I was especially impressed by how well the author described the two trips:- the time spent in the vehicles, the places they stopped to eat and sleep, and the attractions they visited. But, best of all, were the twists and turns this story took. We also went down some dark rabbit holes in this book and it was great. If you liked Ms Downing’s first book, My Lovely Wife, you’ll enjoy this one.