AN INSTANT INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER“Wholly original. Scarily clever. Completely mesmerizing. You will never look at family road trips the same way again.”—Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling authorA most anticipated book by Hello Sunshine ∙ Cosmo ∙ Entertainment Weekly ∙ Betches ∙ Hollywood Reporter ∙ Parade ∙ PopSugar ∙ OK! Magazine ∙ Hello Giggles ∙ Bustle ∙ Yahoo! ∙ She Reads ∙ Book … Hollywood Reporter ∙ Parade ∙ PopSugar ∙ OK! Magazine ∙ Hello Giggles ∙ Bustle ∙ Yahoo! ∙ She Reads ∙ Book Page ∙ CrimeReads ∙ New York Post Best Book of the Week ∙ Goodreads
From the twisted mind behind mega hit My Lovely Wife comes the story of a family—not unlike your own—just with a few more violent tendencies thrown in….
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.
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Sibling rivalry reaches new and downright despicable heights in HE STARTED IT, a novel where nothing is as it seems, and no one can be trusted. Creepy, unnerving and deliciously evil, Samantha Downing is one of the boldest authors I know. This will no doubt be a must read book of 2020!
From the blurb for this book you all know the basics; estranged siblings have to reunite for a road trip in order to gain their inheritance. They have to exactly duplicate the road trip none of them will ever forget, with their Grandpa, decades before. They all found out about the road trip the same way, a conference call with his lawyer when he died. He read Grandpa’s words exactly as stated “Go on the road trip. Scatter my ashes at the end. Once I’m in my final resting place, my estate will be equally divided between you.” THE ROAD TRIP, not A ROAD TRIP. There had only been one. “Your grandfather stipulated that anyone who ends up in jail, who does ot complete the trip, or deviates from the original trip in any way, will get nothing.” The inheritance was a lot of money that they all needed, of course they would do it!
To say that this family is dysfunctional is a gross understatement. The original road trip with Grandpa wasn’t something that was planned, he gathered them together one summer and off they went in his grayish green minivan. Their parents weren’t consulted or even advised of the plans but you’ll get to that in the story. Grandpa had some pretty crazy ideas of what were the sites to see on the trip, no fun amusement parks for this group. There was a cadillac graveyard where everyone got to paint the rusting cars; the Bonnie and Clyde museum complete with replicated bloodied dummies and the car with hundreds of bullet holes; just what every child wants to see.
I know that this is a thriller but I still require some amount of believability in any book and this one had none. The characters were all unlikable and unreliable narrators. The book plodded along at the same pace as the road trip, I grew tired of the wait. Many find this book very entertaining but I felt bored during at least three quarters of the book, it’s a long time to wait for a POW ending.
It’s a great book to read along with a friend, which I did, which made it more interesting. The ending was so far fetched it was as though the author could have just thrown anything at us!
I’m giving it 3 stars for originality and craziness but I can’t say that I would recommend it.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.
The book publishes April 28, 2020.
Samantha Downing is an absolute genius at creating twisted characters you’re desperate to follow. HE STARTED IT is superbly structured, deliciously dark, and kept me guessing, heart pounding, through every single razor-sharp sentence. A psychological thriller like none other, this addictive read is impossible to put down.
I hate books that don’t really end, or end as a cliff-hanger. Still, it kept me guessing, wondering what exactly was going to happen next, and I kept revising my opinion of who “he” in the title really was.
Excellent all around – it’s enough to put anyone off family gatherings!
I LOVED it. Totally original and unpredictable. Samantha Downing, I would love to meet you and it seems extra possible because I live in New Orleans too!
The story starts off a bit slow only because it’s difficult to know the authors writing style and where the story is going. But soon it picks up as you feel underlying threads of tension and disturbance start to creep into the situation. Each person has weird quirks and personality traits that start to unfold.
As the story develops, the author keeps us on our toes with multiple turns and developments that were surprising and uncomfortable in some instances. She threw in a number of shocking acts that are definitely unexpected and amped up the interest fast.
The ending was completely out of the blue and there were a number of curveballs that completely changed the overall feeling of the story. Plus, Downing offers us no true conclusion on this one, which tends to leave the door open for your imagination… Or maybe a sequel somewhere down the road.
Overall, He Started It is interesting, odd, definitely captivating, if even a bit screwed up! You may never look at family the same way again!
Years after a family cross-country trip ended with questions and secrets, three grown siblings and their spouses set out to make the trip again to meet the terms of their grandfather’s will. The last time was pretty bad as kids, but as adults, they all have secrets and none of them are good. The pacing is excellent and kept me hooked from the first page. I did not see the truth coming. Still not sure I know what the truth is. Great read that left me feeling thankful for my straight forward and honest siblings.
Where do I even begin??
This story is about 3 siblings who have to go on a road trip to collect their grandfathers inheritance. They have not seen each other in 3 years, and the first time they went on this trip, it was not fun at all.
At every turn I was put in suspense. Every time I thought I knew who or what was going to happen, it turned out to be wrong. I love books that keep me on my toes. I was not happy with the ending. It wasn’t even really an ending, I was hoping for more and to find out if anyone got the money at the end.
Overall I loved this book, just wish a few things were different or if she wrote a few more chapters.
He Started It is about the worst road trip ever. Three siblings and two of their significant others take their grandfather’s ashes across America in order to collect their substantial inheritance. The road trip follows the same path as a holiday the siblings took with their grandfather as children, stopping at the same attractions along the way. Only something very dark and very wrong happened on that road trip, and the same is happening now, too.
I loved this book. It’s an absorbing page-turner you can’t put down. And most of all, it’s fun. Great fun.
I don’t think I’ve ever read a psychological thriller that centred around a road trip, and now I’m wondering why, because it’s such a great idea. The crazy attractions along the way were ingenious, such as the memorial to Bonnie and Clyde’s last stand or the Codger Pole, which prompts one of my favourite lines in the book.
There isn’t a dull moment in He Started It from beginning to end. The ending is going to be divisive, but I think it was fitting to the story. Highly recommend this one!
Interesting characters and good interaction between them. Enjoyed the twisted ending.
Overall well written, drew me in , kept me intrigued until the end , I was disappointed in the ending .I think the author wanted to leave it up to the reader to fill in the ending how we interpreted it , may have worked cause I am still thinking about it hours after reading .
This is the 2nd book I have read by Samantha Downing and it did not disappoint! “He Started It” is filled with despicable characters with absolutely zero redeeming qualities, but it was a lot of fun. You are definitely required to suspend belief and reality, but if you can let it go and just go along for the ride, you will really enjoy this book.
Told in alternating past and present, this road trip from hell you don’t want to miss.
Thank you to Penguin Publishing Group for my copy of this book via Edelweiss
One thing that I read about this book prior to picking it us, was the amount of twists that take place. I do have to agree, there were a heck of a lot of plot twists along the way. Honestly, this book had me guessing up until the very end. Some of these twists were believable while others were downright outlandish (IMO).
From the very beginning of this book the MC tells you that she’s not a hero and that’s definitely true. To be honest, there wasn’t a single likable main character in this story. On top of that, I found Beth’s tone to be flat and the narration to drag out a bit too much with repetitiveness. If it weren’t for my buddy read, I don’t know how far I would have made it into the book for the narration/pace/tone alone. Glad glad that I finished it but the twistiness just couldn’t overcome my initial frustrations.
3.5 stars
Last year, I read My Lovely Wife, and I was utterly blown away. Samantha Downing pushes the boundaries of the thriller genre, and left us with an utterly addictive WTF page turner. While I still enjoyed He Started It, I definitely enjoyed the storyline of My Lovely Wife more.
He Started It is a story that centers around three siblings (Beth, Eddie, and Portia) who are tasked with taking the road trip that they took with their grandfather 20 years prior in order to inherit his estate as his final wishes. In addition to the three siblings, Eddie’s girlfriend Krista and Beth’s husband Felix are along for the ride.
Let’s talk characters, all of them suck. Okay, maybe not Felix. He seemed genuine, but everyone else is SO unlikable. Our MC Beth warns us from that start that she’s no heroine, so pay attention to that. The amount of arrogance, condescension, and manipulation that drips off each page made me want to shake some sense into all of them.
Now in true Downing style, this is quite literally the road trip from hell. This is a slow-burn road trip that really starts to grate on you. I think the author does a great job with this because it really builds the tension between everyone in the vehicle. There are flashbacks to the original road trip sprinkled throughout the present road trip. That’s when we really get to know the Morgan family and the secrets that they harbor.
I don’t want to give away any plot details because honestly there are so many twists and turns and you just need to experience it. If you’re a person that loves to hop on a rollercoaster of a ride that constantly turns everything upside then this book is for you.
Thank you to Berkley for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
Another thrilling and twisted winner from Samantha Downing.
Talk About a Dysfunctional Family! I don’t know where to start with this crazy, disturbing family drama about the Morgan siblings who get kidnapped one summer by their grandfather and taken on a cross-country trip that warps them for life. The middle sister Beth tells the story in then and now timelines. Eddie is her older brother, and Portia, her younger sister. They all have major personality issues that begin to come to light as the story unfolds. Estranged for years, they don’t know each other very well, yet they share many secrets.
In a way, it reminded me of road trips I took with my family in the old station wagon and all of us fighting and crying and my father saying, “don’t make me pull over.” Except in this story, horrible and crazy things happen. They happened twenty years ago on the trip with grandpa. And they are happening again as they set off on the exact same road trip with Grandpa’s ashes as per his wishes if they want to receive an inheritance. This time Eddie and Beth’s spouses are along for the ride. The five of them make for different and unusual characters, and they argue and nitpick just like small children.
This recent cross-country trip is fraught with many misfortunes, flat tires, missing car parts, a strange truck following, missing ashes, dead bodies, etc.
I listened to this book on audiobook via Audible, and this family was so weird and dysfunctional I could not stop listening even though I was quite troubled most of the time. The only complaint I have is that the ending was a little flat. The new to me narrator, Karissa Vacker, did an excellent job. I highly recommend this book to people who like mystery, suspense, and just all-out wacky family dramas. I gave it four freaky stars.
It was a good story with a cliffhanger ending. I’m still trying to figure it out. The story revolves two family road trips. One from the past and this one in the present. It was a fast read and entertaining!
Wow! Smanatha Downing has done it again. I loved her first book, My Lovely Wife, so I couldn’t wait for her next one. I was not disappointed. Downing has an amazing ability to craft quirky characters who are totally believable. She’s also proving to be a master at constantly keeping the reader guessing, but always guessing wrong. Just when something appears to be one way, she deftly twists it to something completely unexpected. This occurs time after time throughout the story. If you like stories with an unreliable narrator, you probably won’t find one better than this.
After reading My Lovely Wife and now He Started It, I can see that Samantha Downing is quickly going to become one of my favorite authors.
Quirky, fun, dark, and oh so convoluted. This is a wild ride. Don’t miss it.