Unfollowed

by Christian White, Anna Skellern (Narrator), Summer DeRoche

To their followers, influencer couple Jess and Nick Brooks are beyond aspirational—they’re proof that you can have it all. They can dance and cook and surf, and somehow, they’re still madly in love despite juggling two young boys, Oliver and Archie. When a brand deal lands the family a free trip to an idyllic Balinese luxury resort, their dream holiday becomes a nightmare when Archie goes missing from the Kids Club.

As the hunt for Archie begins, the loving and wholesome family that the Brooks present to their millions of followers starts to unravel. Who is behind this disappearance? Is it Elta, the overworked local nanny at the Kids Club? Is it the mysterious girl who's befriended Oliver beside the pool? Or is this the work of the sinister online troll in Jess's DMs? And what happens when the Brooks' virtual selves fracture completely from their real-world personas?

White Lotus meets The Beach in this thrilling new mystery from the authors of Still House and The Call.

Genres: Audiobook, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Domestic Thriller, Family

Audible Audio

Published July 1, 2025

About the author

Christian White is an Australian author and screenwriter. His debut novel, The Nowhere Child, won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript. He co-created the television series Carnivores, currently in development with Matchbox Pictures and Heyday TV, and co-wrote Relic, a psychological horror feature film to be produced by Carver Films (The Snowtown Murders, Partisan).

Born and raised on the Mornington Peninsula, Christian had an eclectic range of ‘day jobs’ before he was able to write full-time, including food-cart driver on a golf course and video editor for an adult film company. He now spends his days writing from his home in Melbourne where he lives with his wife, the filmmaker Summer DeRoche, and their adopted greyhound, Issy. He has a passion for true crime podcasts, Stephen King and anything to do with Bigfoot. The Nowhere Child is his first book. Christian’s currently working on his second novel, due for publication by Affirm Press in 2019.

Reviews

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** 3.5 Stars ***

This one is so full of truth it’s sad. How we are consumed by our electronics (more so than others), how things go wrong within relationships, how we lose perception when we are in a happy space and misjudge, and so many other things.

While Archie was an irritating little child, so were his parents. This makes the reader think all the way around.

[EmG ReadsDaily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A frighteningly realistic story of influencer culture.

This worked brilliantly as an audiobook.

[Shell (Camping with Style Blog) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 Great narration, fab character building, and all very believable.

Archie is a nightmare child and you can see the negative impact of child-led parenting (which imo will never not be just lazy parenting) when a child is allowed to do as they please, made worse by neuro divergence and behavioural issues.

I actually liked the mum, I know what relentless content creation feels like, the demands and work that no one truly appreciates or considers. I found myself heavily disliking the dad however a lazy, incompetent man-child who could never fully be depended on in terms of child care and decision making, a gendered imbalance in childcare responsibilities that is sadly all too often the case.

I found him particularly galling - getting drunk on a flight and sleeping instead of taking care of the kids - knowing ultimately that his wife would pick up the slack. Gross but it only made their dynamic that bit more believable. I listened to this on holiday and it was a perfect quick thriller listen.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm as addicted to Insta as the next person, but I have to say the whole influencer thing makes me want to vomit. That is to say, I wouldn't normally give a book like this a chance, except that it's written by husband and wife team Christian White & Summer deRoche, who are renowned for their mindblowing twists. The Ubud setting was great and the story chugged along at a decent pace, but I felt a little short-changed at the end. There are two twists I'd say, but my brain was left undisturbed.

A good read that's currently free on Audible.

[Norrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jess, the asshole (Jesshole) has nearly 1 million followers on Insta where she regularly uploads videos exploiting her family, aka an edited version of her life where everything is perfect and she and her husband are #couplegoals. In reality Nick can't be bothered to participate in looking after the kids most of the time when the camera is not on him. She & the family gets invited to a fancy ass resort in Bali in exchange for some strictly positive reviews and daily Insta stories.

Jesshole’s two sons, 13-year-old Oliver and 6-year-old Archie are also regularly featured in her photos and videos. The fact that Archie is totally out of control most of the time is carefully edited out, his ADHD never mentioned. Jesshole briefly flirts with the idea of “coming clean” about Archie’s problems when she figures these things are “on trend” nowadays and she figures it would serve her interest more.

All goes as expected, that is Jess is glued to her phone the whole time while her husband keeps getting drunk at various hours of the day, until Archie vanishes from the Kids Club. Then it’s tears! Panic! Sad content!

I really enjoyed listening to this one and watch how everything crashed and burned for Jesshole. Who doesn't like to hate an unlikeable character?

Unfollowed was a fast paced thriller that perfectly sums up what's wrong with living our lives online, pretending to be something we are not for likes, and making everyone else miserable for money.

[BrookeC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here’s the thing, if it’s about an influencer who is also a married mother…I’m probably gonna read it!
This was a roller coaster of a ride and I enjoyed every minute of it. The narration and production on Audible was 5 stars!

[Once Upon a Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent read / listen, just let down a little by the ending.

It annoyed me that the main plot point in the blurb didn’t happen until 59% through. It felt like a spoiler so I’d suggest avoiding the blurb in the unlikely event you haven’t already read it…

The narrator was fantastic! 10/10

[Girija Bhonsle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty quick read! Narration was also fantastic! Nothing super remarkable about the story, but solid psychological thriller with influencer vibes.

[Sarah Ringsdorf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really liked the story - however I did not like the ending. It showcases an online family that is on vacation for “views” - when a tragedy hits - they find out what happened and while tragic - it was more of a setback for their views - and not the terrible event it should have been.

[Emily Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy listen! I think this a very realistic take on the world we live in today and her not deleting any social media after all of her internal and external conflict at the end really shows how attached to the digital world we are

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was somewhat dark and featured extremely unlikable main characters. I felt like this captured 'Influencer' families really well. This is short and well done.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Bethany Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 rounded down.

Middle of the mark, easy to listen to short audiobook! Narrator did a great job and storyline was interesting enough to keep me hooked.

[Kara Citarella · Rating 3 out of 5]

It kept me engaged, for sure! And the moral of the story at the end was super deep. The characters annoyed me, except for the 13-year-old kid. He seemed to be the only half decent one, but even he had some major flaws. At least most of his intentions were good. It’s hard to read a book where you don’t like any of the characters, but this truly was reflective of the morality of our times and the damning effect of social media.

[ReadinGnome · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welp, that was dark- holy crap! I knew social media was rough but this takes it real dark and I really despised the mom but I think that’s the point. This was really compelling and make you think twice (if you haven’t already) about the toll it takes to be an influencer. Eek! Worth the read for sure!

[Jules Harker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't read this if you're expecting a story!!! This book is a social commentary in disguise.

As I delved into this story I was pretty excited. Having been impressed by Christian White's novels, I was looking forward to the mystery and twists.

Spoiler alert: there are no twists 🙄

It became apparent to me fairly early on that this book was just a series of happenings designed to shine a light on the society of today.

Pics or it didn't happen
Smoke and mirrors
Being glued to our phones
The worth of the have's versus the have nots
Instagram v Reality
Materialism

Whilst I have respect for what this story had to say, I just didn't enjoy the journey. It was so obvious to me that this was a social commentary that it detracted from my reading experience. It just felt preachy and lacking in authenticity.

Perhaps if there was a twist, and then a punch of a moral to the story, I might have enjoyed it better.

Anyways... respect for going there. The folly of the picture perfect lives we portray on social media.

[KATHY Dorris · Rating 5 out of 5]

It you like the White Lotus tv series, you will enjoy this book. Fraught with the perils of maintaining an influencer lifestyle, it was interesting and just a little bit twisty. Even though I thought I had figured it out early, the story unfolded in a compelling way.

[Megan (ReadingRover) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

[AttackGirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Changes in technology are not always positive.

[Faith Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really like the audio version, but wasnt a fan of the ending and sometimes the story line was weak

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid book by Christian White and so reflective of today’s society, people portraying a life that is often far removed from reality, so focused on capturing a moment rather than living it.

[Hollie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing plot with way too many holes. The ending was shocking, but not in a good way.

So much was just… dropped. SO MANY drawn out stories, the fish? Archie being unwell? The hotel staff? The CCTV? The child being locked in a cupboard???? And Zoe.. oh boy. The intense stalking was disturbing, but it’s okay because she’s a “fallen fan”? All that creepy behaviour because she was parasocial? Then she just decides to delete it all at the end 💀
None of these things had a link to Archie going missing whatsoever.

And honestly, the moment that really lost me was the ending. Everything wraps up in a completely rushed and random way, and then Jess, whose child just DIED, goes straight back to being an influencer lol. She’s sad for maybe 12 hours before she’s back on social media. It felt like a massive disservice to anyone who’s been through real tragedy.

Such a shame, because the first 1/2 of the book had me hooked.

[Karen Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

The audiobook was okay to listen to. Nothing remarkable or disconcerting.

The lot was one I could tell from a mile away so for a thriller, this didn’t really do its job. I didn’t love the plot or story really but the characters were lovable and the audio book was great

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

audiobook

[Claire Trigell · Rating 1 out of 5]

100% brain rot made worse by the fact there’s hundreds of people just like this in the real world.

Horrible Characters.
Horrible Parents.
Stupid job.

Wouldn’t recommend.

[Fiona Cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good commentary on the evils of chasing likes and social media obsession!

Quick little thriller but hated the ending and the fact that, ultimately, nothing changes for Jess who still can’t relinquish her chokehold on social media attention.

Couple of unanswered questions but overall a nice quick holiday read.

Audiobook had a good narrator and lovely voice.

[Lucy Griffiths · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 and a half stars rounded down.

What was good:
- engaging from the start
- short enough to rip through pretty quickly
- did have me intrigued as to how it was all going to play out

What was bad:
- it was clear from pretty early in the book that Oliver was involved somehow
- I was expecting one final twist (that it was intentional) but that didn’t happen
- the main plot point didn’t come until the second half of the book which seemed strange
- some threads left open or unresolved. What was Archie sick with then if it wasn’t a UTI? He threw up on the plane, then suspected UTI, took antibiotics, and then he was fine…. No real point to that. Why did all the staff know he was sick and what medicine he had been given? Why did he pee in the koi pond? What happened to the fish they looked for? What was the point in the scene on the plane where Nick is catatonic?
- why was Zoe so flirty with Nick if she was so in love with her husband? Why did she invite him to her room if her paralysed husband was there?

Disappointing overall but not the worst book I’ve read this year by a long shot.

[Charlie M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this, had me hooked right up until the end.

I think the direction the end went in, glossing over what happened with Oliver and Archie and just focusing on the followers and likes really ruined it for me.

I felt like Jess really had an opportunity to reconnect with her husband and Oliver and grieve Archie and move in a different direction with her life was an opportunity missed. Instead it was glossed over and just left a sour taste in my mouth.

Really like the narrator, she did a good job. Would listen to more books she’s narrated in the future.

Would have been 5 stars but you lost me at the end.

[Danielle Parhalo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gipped my attention, but it was built up to seem like someone kidnapped Archie that the accident explanation was confusing. Specifically, when she went in for a massage and the lady who wouldn’t let her in with her phone was supposedly never there? It was a bizarre plot hole that was left without explanation. I will say I have always wondered about influencers and how happy they truly are behind the camera, so this was an interesting perspective. I know my kids get annoyed with how many pictures I take and that’s hardly any and just for family memories not for social media 😅

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book in spurts when I could. I’m not sure how to rate it, as it was depressing and uncomfortable. The Brooks family are a family of influencers, the children living their lives on social media, showing “their best selves” every time Jess wants them to. Archie is an absolute pain of a child but they love him, and when he goes missing, his loss impacts them all deeply. Jess’s first thoughts are generally about what her social media audience will think about whatever she posts, to the detriment of spending authentic time with her family. She is not completely self-absorbed, but she has allowed her empire to take over her life. Oliver seems to be a genuinely lovely child. The holiday in Bali should be a great way for them to all spend time together and unwind, while at the same time earning an income from their obligatory social media posts highlighting the resort they are staying in. As the story plays out, there are a couple of elements that annoyed me, such as stating that a 5km walk to a nearby waterfall was only about half an hour away - unless I misunderstood it and they meant to journey in was about half an hour, and the journey back out the same, but with children in tow, including one who generally refused to do anything he was asked, this seemed like a ridiculous expectation to make of them. Later on, a phone is able to find itself with someone who shouldn’t have it, and I found it hard to believe the events that explained this would have happened at such a high end resort. Apart from this, it was a riveting story, but depressing as hell, particularly as it went on towards its eventual ending.