My emotions are mixed on this book. Some aspects I liked very much; others not so much. My rating, then, is something of a compromise - but I hasten to add that above all, it's a clever and well-written plot that made me wish I had a mind half as creative as this author.

The thing is, not a single character here is remotely likable or honest, nor do any of them like or trust each other. But on the plus side for those of us on this side of the pages, finding out how and why all that came about makes for interesting reading that leads to a bang-up ending I didn't see coming - one that left me feeling a bit like I'd been sideswiped by an errant tumbleweed (not an uncommon sight in a desert, which is where the adventure comes to an abrupt halt).

Grandpa, you see, is dead and cremated but not mourned. As the sole survivors (well, except for two others who are pretty much out of the running), brothers and sisters Beth, Portia and Eddie Morgan stand to inherit a bundle. But as in life, with Grandpa there's always a catch. This time around, he's put strings on the deal; according to his iron-clad will, the "kids" must complete a cross-country road trip exactly as they did when he took them on an adventure when they were kids. That trip holds many memories for the siblings - most of them quite unpleasant - but if they want to get rich, they have no choice but to follow his instructions which, not insignificantly, include taking his cremains along for the ride. Two of the kiddies - Beth and Eddie - are married, and they've dragged their spouses along for better or worse (based on what I've written so far, I'll let you guess which description is more accurate).

As the chapters unfold, readers learn what happened on that earlier trip as well as secrets known only to the occupants of the car (and perhaps a couple of other nefarious characters who pop in and out of the travelogue). It all makes for great intrigue, although I have to admit that somewhere around the time they'd completed three-quarters of their trip, they were growing weary of the journey and I began to wish they'd just get it over with, already. But just a few pages later, the action caught fire and reignited my attention from there to the last page.

My own conclusion? Well worth reading. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-publication copy.

This one had me guessing right up until the end! It’s a family road trip and no one wants to be there. Slowly as the time passes we learn that this trip has been taken before, and it wasn’t a good experience. Strange Things begin to happen but they keep going. I can honestly say that I did not expect this ending! Thank you to Netgalley for the e ARC!

What a wild ride! "He Started It" is full of twists, turns, and truly terrible people. This book definitely kept me reading right up to the end. I don't want to spoil it, but I am still wavering if the ending was great or just "meh."

I was really looking forward to reading this one after loving My Lovely Wife last year. Unfortunately this one didn't work for me. It was highly unbelievable and extremely scattered. It felt like the author was trying to do too much and it showed.

This one completely missed the mark for me. I can appreciate a good slow burn if it’s done well and for me this one just wasn’t. I felt it was all over the place with the storylines and subplots. I also felt the last 20% of the book was thrown together. I can see where some may have liked the way the book ended but for me I just didn’t enjoy it. I will say though this one definitely kept me reading because I just couldn’t figure out where it was going. This one gets 2.5 stars from me.

Three siblings are tasked with following the same road trip they took years ago with their grandfather in order to “win” the inheritance he has left behind - totaling millions... however, the first road trip wasn’t ideal and neither is the current!
With twist after shocking twist, the author tells the stories from both trips through the eyes of middle-child Beth. Needless to say, this is one screwed up family.
I found it far-fetched and unbelievable at times, amazed at how manipulative and conniving these siblings truly are. There was a point halfway in I wanted to stop, but kept going until the end. It wasn’t my favorite book, but it wasn’t something I disliked.
If you’re someone who loves the shock factor and constant twists, a splash of thriller, then this one is for you!!
Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for allowing me to read this and give my honest opinion.

For the most part, I enjoyed this story. The dynamics of a road trip worked well. I thought the pacing was good, and there was a nice balance and action / dialog. I loved the characters' internal dialog. However, I didn't love the characters - sadly. I don't mind unlikeable characters, but a story needs to have at least one character that I can root for. I just didn't care about any of them by the end.

My initial thought about this novel: what the heck did I just read?

But I thought this in a good way.

Samantha Downing, the author of My Lovely Wife, delivers another thriller that is just as enthralling and entertaining as her powerhouse debut.

Thank you Berkeley Publishing for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

He Started It follows three siblings on a long road trip that their grandfather set up for them to complete before earning a massive inheritance. All of them have their secrets, of course, and the first time they took this "famed" road trip, it ended in shock. Why is their grandfather making them repeat this trip? What lies before them at the end?

Wow. Downing is a talented author. There is no doubt about it. Her writing voice is crystal clear and original. Her characters are the perfect blend of mysterious and recognizable. None of them are likable, yet have qualities that make you admire their struggles and sins. This novel brought out a dynamic road trip crew: the narrator, Beth, her siblings, Eddie and Portia as well as her husband and Eddie's wife. I do not want to share much about their personalities because the characters are the driving force as to why you would continue on with this story. There were a few subplots that all garnered a "WTF" from me, but that is what I love most about this genre. The ending had me breathless until the last page then I gave out an audible, "WTF" again. Well-done!

This novel earns a solid 4.5 stars.

Downing is easily my favorite thriller author and definite auto-buy writer as well.

Wow. For a book with such unlikable characters, I was surprised I enjoyed this as much as I did. The familial twists and secrets will draw you in. Very interesting book.

WOW! Talk about a book that will keep you guessing. This one was fantastic. The characters were all pretty awful and you slowly start seeing their flaws throughout the story. I loved the duel timeline with the road trips and how they unfolded. The ending of this book was top notch. Loved it!

I just had the ‘pleasure’ of reading this highly unsettling psychological thriller by Samantha Downing and I’m still trying to shrug off the unease even after hours if reading it!

‘He Started It‘ is about three siblings who take a road trip across the country to trace the previous trip they’d went with their grandfather when they were kids. Why such a long road trip? Why not take the flight, you might ask. Well, that grandpa if theirs has written a treacherous Will that leaves #8 F**King million dollars to inherit among the siblings if and when the complete the trip. Money changes everything doesn’t it?

Told from the PoV of the middle sibling Beth Morgan, we get to know more about the Morgan family, the siblings, and their parents. And the evil grandpa!! Along with chunks from the previous road trip they took as a bunch of devil children. And what went bad with it (well, almost every f**king thing!). It’s a slow burn, you’ll have to wait for it it heat up but the author makes sure the pages turn themselves with her brilliantly-themed writing.

There are SO MANY things that I want to discuss about the book, like why did the author choose to show us Beth’s perspective in particular? Why not any other sibling? And why such a dramatic ending? Guess, I’ll pray for a chance to really ask the author all these questions and leave you guys to have fun with the book for now.

HE STARTED IT is a dark and creepy psychological thriller which delivers what it promises – a disturbing sibling rivalry and a disastrous road trip across the country. The chapters are short even though the book is descriptive and there is no way you can skim the paragraphs. That is Samantha Downing’s writing for you, my friends. When I read Beth’s words in my head, it did sound like I’m the insane one. When actually, that’s exactly how the author wanted Beth to look like. None of the characters are likable. But then that’s how it goes in thrillers like these. Samantha has become my new favorite, especially with her sarcasm filled plotting and bold and brutal character development.

Many thanks to Berkley Publishing for my advanced digital copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Okay then, didn’t see this coming at all. Almost stopped reading in the beginning, but kept at it. Was that a good thing, smart, stupid, head shaking thing to do? What an ending, could it have ended any other way? Don’t know, but it will give me something to think upon.
Thank you edelweiss/netgalley.

Nothing better than family thrown together by a death that are on a mission to get through a trip that was set in the will. All of the children know that they will not receive their inheritance without completing the trip as set out in the will. This trip will include many shocking twists and turns and will have many surprises and secrets exposed that shock everyone.

This book was unputdownable and I would highly recommend it!

What starts as a pleasant road trip across the U.S. turns into a psychological thriller. As much as I wanted to like this it kept getting stranger as they got closer to their destination. The ending was just too far fetched. The author put a lot into choosing the tourist attractions and I really enjoyed reading what she choose.

This was a fun road trip involving siblings and a mysterious past. However, the ending was left WAY too open for my liking.

I must say that I was cruising along, reading this book and really loving it, so much so that I was very seriously considering 5 stars for it ...

And then the ending happened.

I feel a little gypped. So much so that I reread some of the last few pages to see if I had missed something. Nope. I hadn't.

Nevertheless, I still recommend this one. This story is compelling and engaging and of course one hell of a road trip. I can't wait to see the hype about it and to talk about it with people after publication. I can't help wondering if it were to be made into a movie or a TV series if the ending would be slightly changed??

Read it for yourself. You'll have opinions.

Nevertheless, I'm a fan of Samantha Downing. If you enjoyed My Lovely Wife, you'll probably like this one too. She writes horrible stories about horrible people, and I love practically every moment.

Thanks, Netgalley, for this arc.

After finishing this wild story my reaction is to sit here alternating between chuckling and letting my mouth hang open in amazement. I’m sitting here dumbfounded by this whole story. Very well done, Ms. Downing. I started typing my review immediately after reading the last sentence because I don’t want to forget how I feel right now and my mind is running ahead of my fingers so much that I keep having to fill in words I skipped. 😂
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Guys, there was bombshell after bombshell and twist after twist in this book and the suspense was through the roof. People say this all the time but I wholeheartedly mean it when I say that I couldn’t put this book down. The main character narrates the story and it was written in a way that at some points she’s talking directly to the reader, which made it more creepy and hard to decide whether or not to trust her. I also never knew if I could trust any other character in this book. The writing style and the untrustworthy characters were probably my favorite things about this book. I’m gonna be thinking about this freaking crazy story for a while! This book is the definition of a thriller and I highly recommend it!

*I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.*

I remember reading Ms. Downing's other book My Lovely Wife and really not being sure how I felt about it. He Started It, however; did not leave me with any doubts about the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I started and finished it in one day because I just couldn't put it down.

Beth and her siblings are going on a road trip to spread her grandfather's ashes. None of them are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts though-- there's inheritance money involved. They have to make it through the trip together without getting into any trouble-- but none of them are there for the right reasons.

Honestly, none of the characters were good people. That just made the book even more interesting to me though, because you wanted to get into their minds and figure out what their motives were for the things they were doing. The ending definitely made the book as well-- I didn't see it coming and that's new for me. I would definitely recommend this book over her first one!

I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would! Slow to start, but picks up and quickly grabs you after about 15%. While this is definitely a thriller, it is also largely a family drama. The siblings are all hiding secrets from each other and Downing does a good job of setting the scene and making us doubt each character's intentions and stories. Some of the characters were so whiny, but that is the only part I really disliked. Just when I thought I was starting to piece together some pieces, she threw another surprise in and kept me on my toes, which is a trait of all good thrillers!. SO MUCH happens in the final 10%, most of which I hadn't figured out and my head is still spinning. Well done!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this digital advance reader copy to me in exchange for an honest opinion. Downing’s second book was an excellent thriller. If you’ve ever wondered what extremes a messed up family would take to get an inheritance, this is the book for you. The story twists and turns as many times as these travelers twist and turn their way through the US. I love a book that keeps me guessing and this one sure did. I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending, but not all books can end happily with a neat and clean solution. 4 stars for He Started It.