Following Polly by Karen Bergreen (Book Review)

Following Polly is a fresh and fun novel about Alice Teakle, a women who tries to inject some excitement and pulse into her nondescript life by following a more interesting woman, a former classmate named Polly. Alice finds the stalking strangely affirming, but things turn when Polly ends up murdered and Alice finds herself the prime suspect in the murder.

I started Following Polly not sure what to expect. I suspected that the book was written primarily for women (in the vein of The Nanny Diaries), but I was intrigued enough by the hook of a bored and lonely person following someone much more interesting that I knew wanted to start reading. I'm glad I did, as I enjoyed the evenly-paced plot, the dialog, and the blurring of genre elements, especially as the book shifted from a traditional romantic fantasy to a comedic murder mystery thriller and then went back and forth. Ultimately, the book will likely appeal more to a female audience, but I think male readers will enjoy it as well, especially those who enjoy light murder mysteries.

Following Polly is the debut novel by Karen Bergreen. The author has a distinctive but smooth style that made for easy, enjoyable reading.

Full Disclosure: The author is the best friend of the wife of one of my best friends, and I learned of the book through that relationship.

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