Having been a fan of Adam Cesare since we first were introduced to Frendo in Kettle Springs, I was excited to be approved for this ARC of his newest book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

This book, set on Long Island, is Cesare’s most psychological yet. It shows the impact the obsession with social media can have on the youth, how a hive mind mentality and blindly following someone can lead to all kinds of chaos. You never know who is truly the person on the other side of an Instagram stream.

One hiccup I had with the book was the sheer unlikability of the antagonist, Aaron. Maybe Cesare meant to make him that much of a tool, but god there was never any liking the guy. The same can be true for the protagonist, Crystal. She just isn’t someone I wanted to root for. The only likable character was Trevor who struggles with his own identity and trying to protect his friends from the beginning.

Overall, this book was a great read. The plot lines were solid and I couldn’t put it down. I wish the ending wasn’t so abrupt though. It reached the climax and then immediately went into an epilogue. But this was definitely one of Cesare’s best.

It was not nearly as good as Clown in a Cornfield. I hope teenagers aren't so dumb and easily influenced to do things like the characters in this book. Also, there was no need to throw the murder of a cat into it. NOT COOL!

Thank you NetGalley, Adam, and the publishing company for approving me to review the eARC of Influencer. Since this is my first book by the author, I went into this blind and picked it based on the book cover and title. It’s something I enjoy doing to get a better feel for the book. Influencer was better than I expected it to be. Of course based on the title it was something to do with a social media presence but with a twist! The storyline was dark, intense, gory, fast paced, and kept me on the edge of my bed! This is a book I wouldn’t put down. A great psychological thriller to read! I highly recommend it.

Adam Cesare’s writing was outstanding and incredibly descriptive. You basically can picture the entire book in your head like you were watching a movie or even one of the characters. Each of the characters brought a real sense of how kids are nowadays following “influencers” on social media and become easily influenced by what they see on the internet which made the story interesting to read.

My two favorite characters were no doubt Adam and Crystal. Aaron Fortin, social media influencer and new guy in town, was definitely an unhinged psychopath and he was a senior in high school! He the main reason I was glued to the book. The fact that he got away with murdering 6 people prior to moving to the small town was crazy! It was easy for him to manipulate them into doing anything he wanted. He pretty much created a cult like following without having to do anything besides post a couple videos a week and cryptic poems. Crystal was a more complex character. She basically was a social outcast who lacks confidence and has an overactive imagination. Just like Aaron, she observes people from a far and makes her own impression of them. Her character development throughout the story was probably my favorite. She could care less about who he was to others and saw right through the fake persona. That didn’t go well with Aaron so he wanted to tie up loose ends and stop her from ruining his true plans.

I was shocked when I seen Influencer by Adam Cesare sitting in my self!
I loved Cesare’s Clown in a Cornfield series! So I was ready to jump into his newest novel.
Which did not disappoint.

Getting Aaron and Chrystal’s POV was very entertaining.
Adams writing is incredibly descriptive without being labourious, the imagery is so vivid the words literally jump off the page.
The story was amazing, the characters were fabulous, and the atmosphere was perfection.

Thank You NetGalley and Union Square & Co. for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This book was dark, creepy and gross. This is a great read for YA horror fans. I would’ve totally gotten into it when I was a teen. It’s not my genre so much anymore, but it was still a decent read. I thought the writing was well done and if you like teenage psycho vibes, you’ll enjoy it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader’s copy.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WOAHHHHH! The first chapter drew me in, in an instant. I would love to see more from the author. This was such a great sotry and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Makes me think of how much stan culture and social media is impacting kids, now this was on another level but wow. Great read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Adam Cesare for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Influencer coming out October 1, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I’ve read a couple books by this author. He seems really popular, so I was surprised to get this book. I’m obsessed with horror books, so I was excited to check this out. I’ve read a few books in the social influencers genre. I think it’s an interesting plot to explore. I obviously hated Aaron’s character. He’s a real psychopath. I get why he had his own chapters, but I hated it. Crystal was a really awesome, complex character. I felt like there was something missing for why her friends were distant with her before everything went down. If she used to be best friends with Gayle, then why were they kind of standoffish with her? It was a dark, creepy book. I loved there was a lot of fast paced action. I would’ve liked a little more explanation of what happened with the “cold opener”. It seemed to move past that. Also there wasn’t much adult presence in the teens’ lives but I guess that was the point. Overall, I loved this book. I would definitely check out more books by this author.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA horror books!

This is an interesting and exciting read that kept me glued to the pages. Teenager Aaron is new to East Bay, New York having moved from Arizona where a terrible incident occured. While Aaron wants to keep his online life as a well known influencer called the Speaker separate from his new life as a senior at high school, the truth about his online persona is soon discovered by a student he meets. Crystal and her friends are a bit of a misfit group of friends, hanging out together at lunch until the new guy joins their group. Crystal is soon sure that Aaron is hiding something, but while she's sure what she knows is true, her friends believe she is just being paranoid.

This is a brilliant and dark psychological thriller told from two points of view, Aaron's and Crystal's. At the start of the book there is a prologue which is told from a third person's viewpoint as we follow a teenage girl who is pregnant and wakes up to hear intruders in her home. This first scene is quite violent and sets up just how dark and creepy this story is before it moves on to East Bay in New York where Aaron has recently moved to with his parents and begins attending public high school where Crystal and her friends also attend.

I enjoyed getting to know Crystal's character. A girl who lacks confidence in herself and has an overactive mind that often results in her overanalysing her relationships with others in her friend group. Despite her insecurities though I did enjoy getting to know her, and the other friends in her group, as they hang out, some of them becoming obsessed by a new social media influencer called The Speaker. Crystal doesn't follow the Speaker, and doesn't even know who he is, but we soon learn more about him and from his side as we follow Aaron's chapters.

Aaron is a very dark character, in fact it's not a spoiler to tell you that he's a psychopath, and part of why this book is so deliciously creepy while also keeping you glued to the pages is reading Aaron's narration as he goes about observing others and manipulating them. It soon becomes quite a dark story, as we see both Crystal's point of view as she tries to understand Aaron and what he is later doing to her friend group, while also seeing the action from Aaron's twisted point of view, the constant comments he makes about the other characters, as well as how he is manipulating them. This makes for a very interesting if a little dark and creepy read.

As the story moves on a lot happens to Crystal and her friends. I found it interesting and felt myself racing through the pages as it was so engrossing, however at some point the story moved on from just slightly creepy towards a more horror story, ramping up the violence and death in the story to be even darker than in the prologue. Despite everything that happens though, I did enjoy Crystal's character, her paranoia but also determination to struggle through what is happening in her mind and reality making for an interesting character to follow as events unfold. The story builds up to a good conclusion, although I did feel like the ending was a little abrupt and not as dramatic as I would have expected it to be (even thoug hit still is pretty dramatic), though it does have quite a satisfying epilogue chapter at the end.

The book does have some violence in it, mentions of deaths, blood and some more gory moments. There is also some dark manipulation and coercion in the story as well as drug use and quite a few uses of the f swear word. This is a dark story, with the mind of a psychopath playing out in the alternating chapters, however it is also a very interesting story , and shows just how anyone, young or older can be so easily influenced, especially by online personalities these days. An exciting story that's interesting but also very dark and violent in parts too, but brilliant if you are looking for a dark psychological thriller!

Wow, what an opening! Per usual, Adam Cesare did not hold back.

While the opening was super intense and action-packed, the rest of the book slowed down into a very tense psychological thriller.

Influenced is told through the POV and Aaron and Chrystal. Aaron’s chapters made me SO uncomfortable!! Being in his head was something 😅

I feel like I can never properly review Cesare’s books because I’m afraid to give anything away! I think it’s best to go into this one knowing as little as possible. Definitely check trigger warnings at the beginning of the book!

3.5 stars! This was an unhinged wild ride, a horror story based on a psychopath influencer and just how far people will go to follow their favorite influencers. This was dark, gory, intricate and unsettling in all the ways good horrors are. However, it did suffer some pacing issues and caused my interest to drop off in the middle, but the ending had me gripped again anxious to see how it all ended! Overall, I really enjoyed this one, if you’re a horror fan, like books with cult-y vibes, and some humor here and there you’ll enjoy this one!

Publishing 10/1/24

Thank you so much to Union Square & Co./Sterling Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

So do I love the book? Yes. It's is what I believe as a horror, thriller junkie, how a sadistic influencer would think and act.

Would I want my Godson to read it? No, not because of the violence, but Aaron's chapters are realistic and frightening.

It reads like a serial killers biography and one can almost forget it's fiction. It's that well written.

"Follow him or die..."

Adam Cesare takes us on a RIDE that is very different from his Friendo series (which I also loved). This book is very much a dark and gory ride into the world of a deranged internet personality. Seeing the dual perspectives worked great for me and I really loved this story. Thank you so much to Union Square Co. & NetGalley for the ARC. Pick this up when it publishes October 01, 2024!

Adam Cesare is now a go to author for horror.. The protagonist was well written and the threat level felt believable. Excellent book about the manipulation of a cult figure on a social media platform. Will definitely be recommending. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

This was a wonderfully done horror novel, it had that feel that I was looking for and enjoyed about the genre. I always enjoy the way Adam Cesare writes and thought everything had that feel that I wanted. I thought it was a strong use of an horror influencer and thought everything worked well. I enjoyed the young adult element to this and can’t wait for more.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

This book is quite hard to review without spoiling anything but this was an absolutely wild and unhinged ride that doesn't water down any of the gory details.

The narration was really interesting as we are following two people, one a psychopath but both unlikable in their own ways. I really liked that both of them were unlikable as that made the story interesting to follow for me. The writing overall was great!

The opening of this hooked me and then unfortunatel it did get a little boring for a bit but then it really picked up again after 50ish pages and I couldn't put it down. The ending was so good and chaotic but it really fit the whole vibe of the book.

So, if you're looking for an unhinged book with unlikable narrators and all the gory details. This is definitely the book for you. (Please check trigger warnings before reading)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book!

This book surprised me in the best way! First, the opening was a 12/10. Consider me hooked and doing nothing else until I finish the book. Influencer explores the dark side of social media and the possibility for a modern-day Manson or Bundy to use it for evil. I liked the dual POVs and the way all the characters were written. This is a dark story, but one that I think my high school students will enjoy! Perfect for readers who enjoy psychological thrillers.

Wowowowow, I read this in one sitting. I was sucked in and terrified! Reading this made me question my own social media use, or for sure spooked me for the next few days. I am looking forward to reading more from Cesare because this had me freaked out more than adult horror I've read. 10/10

This book went from zero to one hundred very very quickly.
From the first chapter I was drawn in to Aaron's world, his headspace.
This one is dark and twisty, focusing on social media and the power of suggestion. Has some excellent psychology within the pages.

This novel gripped me from the first chapter. It literally gave me chills. Crystal is your average teenager whose ennui is overwhelming. She and her motley crew of friends have been making through high school unscathed up until her friends Paul and Harmony become entranced by a new influencer. Then a new student arrives at the school. Aaron is a sociopath or psychopath depending on your preference, he wishes only to leave chaos and destruction in his wake. When he arrives in NY as new student he finds fast friends in Crystal's tight knit group and Crystal finds herself on the outside trying to avert disaster at her school. This book disturbing but also timely. I found to be a real page turner and I also listened to it on audio and it was a great production. Well done Cesare!

One of the more welcome and unintended side-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and an extended nationwide quarantine that saw many schools switch to virtual instruction was the halting of mass school shootings. Of course, we're no longer in quarantine, and the start of the 2024-2025 school year was marred by that most American of all pastimes as a 14-year-old shot and killed two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Georgia on Sept. 4. According to CBS News, this was the 218th gun incident at a school in 2024.

To say that Influencer is a timely read feels a bit on the nose. I began reading Adam Cesare's latest in the shadow of this most recent tragedy because, let's face it, school shootings have become an inescapable facet of American life that we simply refuse to do anything about or care a whit about at all, as evidenced by our continual reelections of politicians who proudly wear AR-15 buttons on their lapels and shrug off scores upon scores of dead kids with a "whaddaya gonna do" indifference. Sure, I could have held off on starting Influencer for another time but, odds are, there'd just be another cycle of mass violence and thoughts and prayers, so may as well dive on in.

Take two parts disturbed teen and school violence, add in social media obsession, teenage angst, and perpetually techno-savvy kids keeping at least ten steps ahead of their parents, it feels unlikely that Influencer will feel dated anytime soon. In some ways, it's a modern riff on Stephen King's yanked Rage, by way of a Zuckerbergian American Psycho for the YA crowd. Aaron Fortin (pronounced with Frenchie flair as "fourteen," which also makes our central antagonist sound like a walking, talking username handle) is a minor Instagram celebrity, broadcasting anonymously as the masked The Speaker. He's built up a steady cult following, with Cesare spectacularly highlighting the cult aspect, à la a young, upstart Charles Manson.

Aaron's parents have yanked him across the country to a Long Island suburb, giving him a chance to reinvent himself as the new kid on the block and expand his profile. At least until Crystal blows his cover and quickly identifies him as The Speaker in front of her friends. It's something Aaron hadn't planned on, and he is nothing if not a meticulous planner. He's unsettlingly intelligent and charismatic, and he stalks through these pages like a spider tracking its prey across dangerous webs he's woven. Crystal immediately becomes his sworn enemy, even if she doesn't realize it right away, and Aaron sets about enmeshing himself with her friends on the road to completely destroying her, mentally and physically.

Cesare delicately and deliberately engages the two in an escalating game of cat-and-mouse. Crystal is driven out of the group, her friends banishing her in favor of the new, attractive, and mysterious Aaron. Aaron subtly and effectively manipulates all of them, engaging in their desires and influencing their decisions, shaping them into the killers he wants them to become. It's not his first rodeo of course. Cesare lays out the stakes immediately in a wildly fraught opening sequence revolving around a home invasion that has been staged by Aaron and ends in a confusing symphony of violence, murder, and arson. What Aaron has planned for Crystal and her ex-friends will make all that look like small potatoes.

High school and horror are simpatico bedfellows, and the horror genre is rife with what Roger Ebert derisively called "Dead Teenager Films." Influencer doesn't feel derivative of works like Scream or Prom Night, but it certainly wears those cinematic influences on its sleeve, along with plenty of true crime inspo, while also engaging in the hot button topic of deranged kids who kill. It's a taut, and often uncomfortable, work of psychological suspense, cult horror, and with a few moments of slashery goodness for some extra oomph, but one that exists within a uniquely American political flashpoint we perpetually choose not to extinguish.