Last year’s Cold Truth was an unpredictable and tense thriller. Ashley Kalagian Blunt’s new novel, Like, Follow, Die, is disturbing, engaging and frighteningly plausible.

Benjamin Gray lives in Vaucluse, Sydney, with his mum. It’s an expensive part of town and Ben attends the local private school, gets good grades and dreams of becoming an Olympic swimmer. He’s an intelligent teenager juggling the demands of school, society and his mother. He falls for a girl and is swept up in a love affair. His attempts to improve his life and understand the world around him are heartbreakingly genuine.
Detective Kyle Nazarian is an Armenian-Australian trying to fit in with his macho Aussie colleagues. He has his own secrets and a very pregnant wife at home. His first day as a homicide detective begins with a bang and he needs to succeed. But his first case is confusing and the clues are baffling. They will lead him to a startling discovery.

Kyle’s partner is approaching the twilight of his storied career and keen to quickly close cases. Kyle, on the other hand, works to uncover the truth wherever the clues lead him. Corinne Gray is a middle-aged mother under fire. She has problems with her health, her job, her finances and she has yet to face the problems her estranged but beloved son will bring into their lives.

Among the beauty of Sydney’s Eastern suburbs, three lives unravel. Is social media destroying our children? What responsibilities do parents bear? This well-written and timely novel explores the relationship between parents and children. A complex murder mystery is the structure that holds it all together.

A confronting story that is well-suited for book clubs.

Reviewed by Susan Gorgioski

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ashley Kalagian Blunt is a writer, speaker and podcaster. Her number one bestselling psychological thriller, Dark Mode, is out now in Australia/NZ, the UK, Germany and South Korea. It was shortlisted for the 2024 ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year, the Danger Awards Best Crime Debut, and the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction.

She is the author of two previous books, How to Be Australian, a memoir, and My Name Is Revenge, a thriller novella and collected essays. Her writing appears widely across Australian and international publications.

Ashley is a frequent speaker and panel moderator, and co-hosts a podcast on writing, creativity and health.

Her latest thriller, Cold Truth, is out now, and Like, Follow, Die, a full-length Audible Original, is available in audiobook and coming in print and ebook in March 2026.

Visit Ashley Kalagian Blunt’s website here.