SYNOPSIS
As a mother and a famous author, Ward DeFleur has it all. She lives in a beautiful estate in picture-perfect Connecticut, along with her teenage daughter, Stevie, where nothing can go wrong. Until, one night, when Stevie is brutally murdered and Ward’s entire world is shattered. Consumed by panic and grief, Ward vows never to put pen to paper again.
Enter Bree Bennett.
Bree is a recently-divorced, former-journalist-cum-housewife, desperate to fill her days with something other than Pilates classes and grocery shopping. So she decides to start writing for the town newspaper. What begins as Bree’s effort to tell Ward’s tragic narrative turns into a fixation with finding her favorite author. Unfortunately, Ward doesn’t want to be found. Even worse, Stevie’s killer is still on the loose.
Enter Bree Bennett.
Bree is a recently-divorced, former-journalist-cum-housewife, desperate to fill her days with something other than Pilates classes and grocery shopping. So she decides to start writing for the town newspaper. What begins as Bree’s effort to tell Ward’s tragic narrative turns into a fixation with finding her favorite author. Unfortunately, Ward doesn’t want to be found. Even worse, Stevie’s killer is still on the loose.
Title: Perfectly famous
Author: Emily Liebert
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication date: June 2, 2020
REVIEW
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐💫
In the words of Elphaba from "Wicked": "Did that really just happen? Have I actually understood?". That's exactly how I felt after the very last sentence. I actually had to go backwards and listen to the last couple of minutes again cause I wasn't sure I had understood right the first time. When all seemed said and done...BAM! there was a last second twist that left me like...wait, WHAT??!! But, was it really necessary? Not at all. In fact it left me with more questions than answers.
With so many domestic noir out there right now you need something to make yours stand out, so I'm all for last minute surprises coming out of left field, but they have to be believable and really bring something to the story and, in this case, I don't think the story needed it.
Right until that point Perfectly Famous was a really entertaining domestic suspense and it made the perfect listen for a couple of road trips. I'm always up for books about writers and this one about an author disappearing after a personal tragedy and another woman's obsession trying to find her was the perfect fit for me.
It was really engaging right from the start and the two different POVs made for a really nice pace. There were several characters acting shady, so there were suspects aplenty, but some red herrings made me change my mind several times.
Despite my misgivings about the final twist it was a highly enjoyable story so I'll definitely be reading/listening to the author's other novels.
Comments
Post a Comment