August 23, 2024 - fundinmentalfundinmental

MY REVIEW

I had seen Mary Keliikoa’s name around and always wanted to read some of her work, so when I saw Don’t Ask Don’t Follow on Edelweiss, I grabbed me a review copy. I was glad I did. I quickly got attached to Beth Ralston and curious about her sister, Lindsay.

Beth’s relationship with her family members are complicated, but she is confident and can stand on her own two feet. She was the responsible one, covering for her sister when they were growing up. Lindsay was the one taking risks, telling Beth, Don’t Ask, Don’t Follow.

When Beth’s boss is found murdered, she begins an investigation that reveals secrets that affected her life and her family’s life. I consider myself a realist and I know that sometimes it is family that can hurt you the most. Beth will be discovering. Maybe, too often, I think the worst of people.

As the investigation deepens, I found people playing God. They may mean well, but who are they to play judge, jury, and executioner. What makes their decisions the RIGHT one?

Guess what? I also saw my name, Sherry, was given to a character. Will she be a good one or a bad one? I don’t care. It’s just fun to see my name in a book. Author’s don’t use it a lot.

There are Book Club Discussion questions at the end of the book, and I think this could be a good one for your book club. There are plenty of questions about the characters motivations and the dysfunctional family that Beth is part of. Mary Keliikoa threw out enough false leads for me to follow and question how I could be wrong about this or that. Red Herrings are always fun to run across, being lead down a fuzzy path of clues.

The only thing I found missing was that heart in my throat, what will happen next feeling. That’s what makes the difference between a mystery and a thriller to me, and I consider Don’t Ask Don’t Follow more mystery than thriller.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos — 4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Murder, dark family secrets, and the unwavering bond of sisterhood— regardless of the cost

Beth Ralston, a paralegal in Portland, Oregon, would rather be racking up billable hours than mingling at an office party— especially when her sister Lindsay, aka her plus one, is a no-show.

After making her obligatory rounds, Beth returns to her office to find that her boss, who she’d talked with moments before, has been murdered. She sees a woman fleeing the scene. Wait— was that Lindsay? Unable to catch up to her in time, Beth waits for the police to arrive and notices that Lindsay has left her phone behind with an unsent text message to Beth displayed on the screen: “ Don’t ask. Don’t follow.”

Lindsay is unreachable for days, and when Beth starts to come under suspicion for the crime, she decides that waiting is impossible. While retracing Lindsay’s steps, determined to bring her home, Beth uncovers what her sister, an investigative reporter bent on changing the world, was trying to expose— corruption, secrets, and betrayal on an unimaginable level. Revealing the truth might bring back the one person she’s desperate to find— but it could also destroy the only life and family Beth’s ever known.

Perfect for fans of Gregg Olsen and Karin Slaughter

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller
368 pages, Paperback
First published June 4, 2024 by OceanView Publishing
Goodreads Reviews & Ratings – 3.91 – 318 ratings, 193 reviews

ABOUT MARY KELIIKOA

Mary Keliikoa is the author of the award-winning HIDDEN PIECES and DEADLY TIDES in the Misty Pines mystery series, and the PI Kelly Pruett mystery series, which includes the Shamus Finalist and Lefty, Agatha and Anthony award-nominated DERAILED for best debut.

Her first domestic suspense, DON’T ASK, DON’T FOLLOW will be out June of 2024.

A Pacific NW native, she admits to being that person who gets excited when called for jury duty. When not in Washington, you can find Mary with toes in the sand on a Hawaiian beach. But even under the palm trees and blazing sun, she’s plotting her next murder—novel that is.

www.marykeliikoa.com