Review: He Started It

He Started It by Samantha Downing
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Once again, I absolutely loved a book that many others just didn’t. In fact, I devoured it in one sitting, inhaling every word. Samantha Downing has truly mastered the art of the unreliable narrator and uses it to great effect here by presenting a narrator who, at first blush, appears to be forthright and self-aware. Downing needs this foundation to build a house of cards that is forever just one sway away from collapse.

When the book begins, we learn that three siblings, and two of their spouses, are embarking upon a journey to satisfy the stipulations in Grandpa’s will—to fully recreate a road trip they all took together many year prior. Do so together and without being arrested, and Grandpa’s estate, worth millions, is theirs. From the time the reader learns of the premise, he is lulled in a false sense of almost complacency when things seem to progress slowly and without incident. Just when one is certain that the plot is plodding towards an unremarkable end, Downing serves up a series of twists that are nearly impossible to predict. The reader learns to pay close attention to everything and believe nothing.

This is the second novel I’ve read by this author, and in both, the artistry carries the story, though definitely with a better outcome here. The interwoven plot lines, furthered by narration that seems to be just slightly left of center, left me wanting to follow the characters through to see what they experienced once the story ended. I hated leaving their lives, knowing that with the turn of the final page, they would be forever silenced—unless, of course, Downing can be convinced to write a sequel. I’d be first in line for the release.

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