Influenced

Such an amazing mystery read! Like I was hooked! Didn't want it to end!
This was so well written. Its been awhile since I've read a good thriller and this one helped me get out of that funk! Amazing!

Book Review for Influenced
Full review for this title will be posted at: @cattleboobooks on Instagram!

It is hard to believe this is the author’s first thriller, as the suspense built at a pace that you hardly see by new authors. I couldn’t put this down, as the twists kept coming and keeping me reading!

I absolutely love this intense thriller. It’s about an obsessive friendship. It was a thrill ride of a book and I absolutely recommend it.

Hannah is a school psychologist and mother. She reconnects with a former high school friend Rowan who is a very famous Instagram star. Their friendship blossoms quickly and Hannah even soon starts to dress and look like her. While attending a party for a project they are working on someone is found dead. They are both suspects in the murder. Who did it? Was it one of them or someone else at the party? Maybe even someone close to them?

I thought this was a great thriller. I enjoyed the fact that it was quickly paced, since I am not a fan of slow-burn novels. I liked all the clues the author gave us to try to identify the killer. The conclusion left me satisfied and was totally believable. I do highly recommend this one to any thriller fans.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Riveting and suspenseful. The characters jump out of the pages as those you might know in real life which is the hallmark of a great writer. The story starts out fairly mundane and builds to a crescendo with a twist. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.

Wow... what a cracker of a thriller. Eva Robinson really knows how to get your pulse racing. With so many twists and turns, this book had me glued to pages.

A modern psychological thriller with relatable characters and a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat till the very last page. A must read for thriller fans.

Fabulous read - keeps you turning the pages and engaged with the characters! Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this gripping read in exchange for an honest review,

it was amazing
Wow, this book was amazing. I typically don’t read thriller books, but I could not put this down. You never knew what was going to happen next and just had to keep reading to find out what was going on. And the twist at the end?! Totally unexpected. I figured everything out...right when the cops did. That’s how good this book keeps you guessing! A brilliant read!

When I saw that this book was dedicated to Mike Omer I thought, “Okay this has gotta be good”.
Then I read the first chapter and my next thought was, “Woah, okay wtf is going on!?”
Two very strong starts. But then as I got a few chapters in I wasn’t so sure. There were quite a few perspectives and it seemed to be centered all around image. Everyone wanted a different life and image - that it they could have just had a life like someone else everything would’ve been better. Hannah wanted to be Rowan. Rowan wanted to be Arabella. Arabella was so sure someone was out to get her. And then she ended up dead.
Next we were introduced to the two detectives of the story: Michael and Ciara. Now things were starting to get interesting. Hannah was losing time, Rowan was convinced someone was following her and all the while everyone was projecting to be someone they weren’t. The elite would do anything to get what they wanted. Ethics went out the window and all narrators seemed unreliable (love this trope by the way), but I still wasn’t sure where this was going or even if I liked the image-oriented plot.
Then, with about 100 or so pages left in the book it was clear there was much more going on than a couple of unreliable narrators. A couple of twists, a psychopath and more than one dark past turned this from okay to really good. I felt the ending came together nicely and that everything got wrapped up. My one complaint was that I had wanted more of Michael and Ciara throughout the story. And then I saw that there will be more to come for them and could not be more excited!
Wonderfully done Eva Robinson, and I’ve already signed up to hear about the next!

A great story filled with twists and turns and an ending that I did not see coming! The characters were well developed and the story moved at a good pace.

Influenced by Eva Robinson is a psychological thriller with lies, deception, and social media. Hannah is a school psychologist who quits her job and reconnects with an old friend, Rowan, who is a social media influencer. Hannah would love to get Rowans following on social media. Several people in Rowan’s circle of friends are turning up dead and you will be guessing who the killer is. Many twists and turns make this a suspenseful thriller.

Influenced was a roller coaster ride filled with lies, secrets, betrayal and a whole lot of twists that you will never see coming.

I liked Hannah for the most part except sometimes she came across as being desperate and a bit fake. I didn’t really like Rowan because she didn’t really seem to care about anyone but herself. I felt like she always needed the attention of others. My favourite characters were definitely Michael, Ciara and Luke because i found them to be the most intriguing.

I had my suspicions about who the murderer was but of course like usual I was oh so wrong. This was a great book and I can’t wait to see what this author does next.

Influenced is another murderous frenemy thriller. But there is a great twist, the reader doesn’t know which friend is evil and which one is good! The book begins with a bang of a flashforward chapter!

“A sharp blow splintered the back of her head. Pain shot through her skull. [...] Her friend wanted to kill her. [...] A single thought rang out. I don’t want to die.”

Hannah is the sleep-deprived single parent of baby Nora. Nora is the result of a drunken hook-up with her best friend Luke. After friend zoning him, Hannah is having some regrets. After all, Luke is a caring father, a fantastic friend, and handsome as all get out.

One day at work as a prep school’s school psychologist, Hannah panics and quits her job. Unable to find work, bored at home, and still sleep deprived, Hannah begins to look up old school chums on social media. Has that ever ended well in any thriller? The answer is no. I’m going to stop my synopsis there to avoid spoiling the twists ahead. This a very fast-paced read and this summary only covers the first ten percent of the plot.

Ultimately, Influenced is about accepting your own life and not envying someone else’s life. Hannah wants the easy money raised by social influencer, Rowan. Rowan wants the life of Arabella, who is working on a Harvard PhD and is respected for her brains. Somehow, I doubt that Arabella is envying Hannah’s unemployed, sleep-deprived life. Or maybe she is from another dimension. For you see, Arabella is dead after being poisoned.

The twists just keep coming in Influenced. And the ending is amazing. I highly recommend the book. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars.

Thanks to author and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4.5stars
Publishing date: 5/14/2021

Hannah, a school psychologist, after quitting her job at the beginning of the book, turns to social media as an escape from her own world that revolves around her daughter, with sleepless nights and constant ant problems. She follows a high school classmate on Instagram and realizes how influential Rowan is on social media and how she wishes she too could make a living off of being an Influencer on Instagram. She reconnects with her Rowan. However, reconnecting with her old high school friend isn't all that she hoped when she becomes a murder suspect…
This murder mystery/psychological thriller was such a great read! It is very fast pace and it grabs your attention right from the start. The author starts with a scene of someone being pushed over a ledge and you don't know who is being killed and who is doing the killing. Throughout the book you end up pointing fingers at every character which shows just how well written this book is that the author gives only subtle hints to the twist. The chapters were broken into different point of views from each of the characters which helped us get varying information from each of them.

I also really enjoyed the plot. 1. it really touched on the downside of social media; the evil that can be social media when it comes to internet bullying, self-esteem issues and the influence that these "influencers" can have on people's lives in the good and the bad. 2. the touch on collage admission issues - both interesting concepts that I have not read in my usual thrillers/murder mysteries.

This one really kept me up all night with its twists and turns - I JUST HAD to know what was going to happen!

Such a great read and highly recommended!

Thank you to the author, publishing company and NetGalley for this electronic review copy in exchange for my honest review!

Annie is a single mom to two year old precocious Nora. As a school psychologist, Annie experiences tremendous pressure from parents - pushing her over the edge, Annie quits.
She's been losing a lot of sleep, not just from Nora kicking her head at 3 am. Annie feels like she's losing it - lack of sleep causing her to become obsessed about minor details - something I have experienced many times as a single mom to my own intense toddler.
Rowan is an Instagram star- she has spent years building her brand, with the help of her agent. But Rowan can't stop obsessing over all the negative comments. Alcohol and drug abuse certainly don't help. Rowan desperately wants to be smart, to be more than an image. More like her PhD candidate friend, Annabella.
When Annabella dies in the ER, Michael and Ciara are assigned the suspicious death.
Fast paced, excellent writing, intriguing characters suck you in.
Great read.

Social media, murder, psychology, single motherhood, alcohol and drug abuse, friendship and college admissions all combine in Influenced, the first in a new series featuring detectives Michael Stewart and Ciara Munroe.

Psychologist and single mother Hannah quits her job in frustration. Sleep-deprived and lonely, she reconnects with Rowan, a friend from school. Rowan is an “influencer” whose posts of styled photos and poetry bring her praise and vitriol. She introduces Hannah to Stella, a beautiful, independently wealthy free spirit. Things go downhill from here. Many things that Hannah believes are shown to be not only false but dangerous.

Michael and Ciara are new partners, just learning to work together. The theft of a computer and what might be a poisoning lead them to Hannah, Rowan and Stella. Can they solve this complicated case before there is another murder?

Michael and Ciara are the stars of Influenced. Although at times I thought that the plot was overly complex, burdened with unlikeable characters, I rate Influenced a 5 star read because I want a sequel! I want to know more about Micheal and Ciara.

Thank you to NetGalley and Eva Robinson for this ARC.

This book blew me away. I read in one day, which is something that happens when I find a book entertaining. Why is it so great? 1) the characters: all are well-developed, distinct, and many of the characters have something sinister about them, which adds to the mystery behind the murder; 2) interesting setting and premise: I've read many thrillers about influencers. I found the world of prestigious prep schools and ivy league schools interesting. And; 3) the big reveals are well-done. I want to read more books from this author. Thanks for the ARC.

Wow! Hannah is a school psychologist who is at the end of her rope with her thankless job at a high school. When she reconnects with an old acquaintance who is an Instagram influencer she thinks that could be a new beginning for her. As Hannah and Rowan both have their own secrets and a shared history involving suicide/possible murder, their connection is tenuous at best. Extremely twisted and told from several characters points of view this book is impossible to put down. Excellent psychological thriller.

Influenced
By: Eva Robinson
Publication Date: May 14, 2021

This book opens with a bang and we find out there will be a murder but who is murdered and who is the murderer is the big question. From then on you are riding a psychological roller coaster of two women Hannah and Rowan as they slowly unravel. Taking on issues of social media and college scams this book kept me reading way past my bed time.

Hannah has just walked out of her job as a school psychologist and as a single mom she needs to find a way to make money fast. Why can’t her life be more glamorous like her old high school classmate, Rowan? Rowan seems to have it all, she is a social media influencer, author and gorgeous. But being perfect is taking a toll on her and the secrets she keeps are rotting her from the inside. When these two reconnect, not unintentionally, they both see the other as who they should be more like. As their friendship grows and they slowly start to unravel, bodies and secrets start showing up.

I could not get enough of this book. I was hooked from the beginning and loved that nothing was given away too early on. In Influenced, we follow unemployed psychologist Hannah as she reconnects with her old high school friend turned influencer Rowan. From the outside, Rowan has a carefree life being a rich influencer, and as Hannah gets closer to her, she learns that Rowan's world is falling apart. Both have secrets they don't want to be shared, and when their friends are murdered, they worry their secrets will be exposed, and that they will be next. This is a psychological thriller that captures the toxic world and mental effects of social media and college admissions for the privileged. I would definitely recommend this book! Thank you, NetGalley!

I really enjoyed this crazy psychological ride! The book started strong as we know in the very beginning that the story is going to end with a murder though the he identities of the murderer & victim are unknown until the very end. The story is told from multiple POVs, Hannah, the single mom, and school psychologist, Rowen, the well off, internet influencer, and the two detectives-Michael and Ciara, they are a newly paired team and I enjoyed getting some background on them in the story as well, At the beginning of this book, I wasn't into Hannah, but by the end I was rooting for her. This was common for me through the book, that nothing stayed the same and everyone I liked and disliked switched with the pages. I don't want to spoil so I will stop at that. I do really enjoy stories set in this privileged arena of college placements and Ivy league schools. I've never actually been a part of this kind of life and opportunity so it is interesting to read about. I kept trying to figure out who was the culprit in the conspiracy and the who actual murderer was, but I'm excited to say this was written well enough that I did not figure things out!

This was a very different thriller than I was expecting. I read many books in this genre and tend to find that many of them follow the same format, but this one was not like that. It is told from the POV of several characters whereas, in the beginning, it seemed like it was just going to be told from Hannah's POV. I can find this both annoying and confusing in most books but it worked very well here.

This book does a great job of portraying the downside of social media and how people put so much of their own self-esteem into what strangers on the internet think of them. It really shows the side of how social media can be extremely damaging in how Rowan gets trolled so badly but also how she too doesn't show her real self to the world. Everything is filtered and shown through a lens that is not the whole truth. Her pictures are beautiful, outfits trendy, makeup perfect...but when we see the real Rowan she is a mess; her apartment is filthy, she drinks too much, she has stains all over her clothes.

I found all of the characters individually very interesting but felt like I needed more. I guess a downside of having the story told from so many POV was that we never get a full picture of what each character is like, apart from Hannah whose story we see the most. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though. It just means the characters were interesting enough that I wanted more and I believe a lot of them would make great spin-off books; particularly Michael and Ciara. They were so interesting as detectives and there seems to be so much more to them than we know. (Please write a spin-off of these two Eva!)

The story itself was particularly interesting given the recent college admissions scandal. It was something different from the usual run of the mill murder mysteries.

I really enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more by the author.

Whoa. Just...whoa. This took us all over the place and it was a wild ride. This isn't normally a book I would reach for but I'm glad I requested it.

Oh wow, what an intense read! We start off with a murder of an unnamed person, and then go back in time to meet Hannah & Rowan. I really liked the way the story unfolded, with social media influencers & the desperation to be liked, and everyone questioning if they are going crazy. I found it really hard to put down, and there were a few twists that made me gasp out loud. I also liked Michael & Ciara, really want to read another book with these detectives.

Hannah reached the end of her rope at her job as a school counselor/psychologist and walked out. Now she is in need of a new job, and some sleep wouldn’t hurt either. In search of something, anything, she runs across the Instagram of a former classmate and decides that perhaps becoming an influencer will change her path and fortune. However, one thing Hannah did not count on is the fact that just because the grass looks greener on the other side, does not mean that it is necessarily the case, especially in the world of social media where filters and contrived poses are the norm, not the exception. Soon Hannah is drawn into a whole new world and discovers that what she thought she wanted may not be the case. Before long she finds herself involved in a shocking event that changes things forever.
This is a great read! You will find yourself running thru a myriad of feelings for Hannah as she attempts to work her way though this maze called life. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

I highly recommend this page turner! This is an amazing book and the “Ivy League” characters will keep you intrigued while engaging in the world of social media drama. Murder, drugs, alcohol and academics are in full force throughout this book.

Wow this was quite a compelling and addictive read..the pace was pretty great --fast and most definitely held my attention. It's told from multiple POVs and there were plenty of secrets and lies. The twists were well done and I was surprised the ending the didn't disappoint (because I feel like even the best books lately sometimes fail at the ending special in their genre but it didn't)

Definitely and intense read that explores obsession...there are tigger wantings btw. Drugs, alcohol, violence, and more.

I can't believe this was a debut. Looking forward to reading more from the author.

I really enjoyed this novel. It was fast-paced and held my attention throughout. The twists kept coming, which kept me reading – I was sad when the book ended.

The author and told from alternating perspectives of different characters in the story. I’m not usually a fan of this style of story telling, but in this case, it works. I highly recommend this novel to any fans of psychological suspense novels. This is a solid debut novel from Eva Robinson – you’d think she’s been doing this for years by the way she told this story.

Thank you to NetGalley, BookBuzz.Net and Eva Robinson for the opportunity to review this ARC. This review and all opinions are my own.

Deception, lies, mystery, twists and turns. A fast paced read told from multiple perspectives you’ll be on the edge of your seat the whole time. This ones unputdownable!

If you're interested in Ivy Leagues, "elite circles" and mystery. You have to pick up this book. You may have or may not guess who's behind all the mayhem, but you have to guess who the psychopath or sociopath in the characters to have an idea of whodunnit.

CW: murder, violence, alcohol and drug abuse, manipulation

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Hannah is a school psychologist, but she feels like she's losing her mind. After quitting her job, she makes a point of finding and reconnecting with an old high school classmate, Rowan, who now makes her money as an influencer on instagram. Hannah is determined to provide for her 2 year old daughter, Nora. But when Hannah is in the wrong place at the wrong time, the police begin to look at her as a murder suspect...

This book was fast-paced, told from the perspective of multiple characters, and contained layers of information that all tied together to tell a whirlwind of a story. There were no lulls at any point, and all of the buildup provided a surprising ending. I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and BookBuzz for this eARC.

If you want a dark and twisty psychological thriller about social media gone wrong, then this is the book for you! I was sucked in almost immediately as we meet Hannah, a school psychologist and single mother on the verge of a complete and total breakdown. Hoping to turn her life around, she tracks down an old high school classmate, Rowan, who has now become a social media influencer. Hannah can't help but get sucked into her world and the darkness that surrounds her. As Hannah grows closer to Rowan, the pair find themselves in the sight of two detectives, as murder suspects!

This story was told from the alternating perspectives of Hannah, Rowan, another friend, and two police detectives and the alternating perspectives really worked! I wouldn't say that the characters were likeable, exactly, but I certainly was invested in finding out how their stories worked out. This was a phenomenal thriller from Eva Robinson and I'll be eager to see what's next!

True rating: 4.5/5
Who doesn't love a book that is filled with lies and deceptions? All Hannah wants is to be liked, to be popular, to be instagram famous like Rowan. But as Hannah quickly finds out, there is more than meets the eye when your life is constantly in the spotlight. Has Rowan finally snapped? Is Hannah having a psychological breakdown? The twists and turns in this book are ones that are going to keep you on the edge of your seat. Rowan and Hannah are toxic for eachother...or so it seems. I LOVED the plot twist at the end. I also loved watching Ciara and Michael's partnership develop and would have loved to see more of the investigation side to it all.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Very captivating with amazing character development. A Instagram influencer and a old friend reconnect. They each have things to gain from each other, have things that they want from each other. Be careful what you wish for …. This isn’t just new for her but also for her family. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.