Review: He Started It by Samantha Downing

Beth, Portia, and Eddie Morgan haven't all been together in years. And for very good reasons—we'll get to those later. But when their wealthy grandfather dies and leaves a cryptic final message in his wake, the siblings and their respective partners must come together for a cross-country road trip to fulfill his final wish and—more importantly—secure their inheritance.

But time with your family can be tough. It is for everyone.

It's even harder when you're all keeping secrets and trying to forget a memory—a missing person, an act of revenge, the man in the black truck who won't stop following your car—and especially when at least one of you is a killer and there's a body in the trunk. Just to name a few reasons.

But money is a powerful motivator. It is for everyone. 

Hardcover, 384 pages

Published July 21st 2020

by Berkley

4.5/5 stars

This is my first time reading a Samantha Downing book and it’s a ride that I’m not going to be able to forget for a while.

I’m just going to come out and say that this was a whacked-out story that I couldn’t stop reading. Usually I’m not a fan of ‘tell’ verse 'show' books but this one worked so well I didn’t even realize how telling it was.

So picture this, 3 estranged siblings are forced onto a road trip, kinda sorta similar to one they did 20 years ago but different. Throw in a couple of spouses, a secret diary, a black truck and a mitt full of secrets and lies. In a nut shell that is He Started It.

With nice short chapters it wasn’t hard to just read another chapter, sneak one here and there until finally I sat for 2 hours to finish it off. What a ride!

The characters are so flawed and at time unlikable and comical - what a bunch. The story itself is so messed up as it jumps back and forth in time that it totally worked. The mystery was...well mysterious and I didn’t have a clue what to expect nor could I predict the ending.

So hats off to my introduction to Samantha Downing - I’m off now to check out her previous book, My Lovely Wife.

My copy was obtained through my local public library.