Paige is the best friend of Zanna Zagalo, and also her ghost writer. While Zanna's face is everywhere as an influencer, Paige is happy to write her blogs and generally be a dogsbody to her. The narration takes us through the beginning of their relationship to the end and at many times I have no idea why Paige is involved, she clearly doesn't care that much.

The present time is filled with a documentary that is being made five years after Zanna's death. Was it murder? Not helping anyone is the fact that Paige is now living with Zanna's boyfriend.

I really enjoyed the way the author wrote this book. the dual timelines and the documentary transcripts, but for me, the story wasn't strong enough. I can suspend disbelief but I cannot work out how on earth some of these characters stayed in this circle and it really didn't become believable.



I received this book as an ARC from netgalley in return for an honest review, which this is.

What a debut from Emily Jane Hodgkins this is. A modern day thriller very relatable to those of us who proudly support and follow (online) our favourite influencers. Ms Hodgkins skill of drawing us into the world of Zanna and giving us a glimpse behind the curtain and let me tell you it isn’t that pretty.

The book flip flops from present day, past and documentary chapters. This all works incredibly well and it allowed the reader to get different points of view which was extremely clever.

We have themes of toxic friendships, jealousy, greed, family dynamics and dangerous lust.

As the reader you are essentially playing detective and as the truth unravels you really are sat there like OMG!

I really enjoyed my time with both Zanna and Paige. I could see things from both points of view. It is incredibly difficult to work with friends and there is at times that power struggle for sure. I don’t think everyone will but I saw good in both of them. But the idea of fame, money and status was a real driving force for Zanna and it was all consuming.

The documentary entries were my favourite. You get snippets of conversations between Zanna’s family and friends. It elevated the story to another level.

I was so excited by the refreshing modern day feel and relatability. It is exactly what we as readers have been waiting on. Something fresh to get our teeth into. If you love an excellent thriller then this debut should be high on your list.

Emily Jane Hodgkin is now a new automatic buy author for me. I am really looking forward to what is next. But mark my words we will be seeing her name everywhere and at all in the crime festivals in the future.

Zanna appears to have the kind of life young girls now days dream of. As a social media influencer she’s got the looks, the boyfriend, trips around the world, and the designer handbags. She also has a best friend, the type that would do anything for you, who is loyal… and a bit weird.

Told through various flashbacks, present day moments and some interview style sections, the book unravels the friendship between Zanna and Paige, shining a light on how the glamorous lifestyles portrayed in social media are seldom the reality. There are other interesting topics that are covered such as female friendship dynamics and of course stalking!

This was one of those books that I didn’t want to put down. I was intrigued as to what would be uncovered and more snippets get revealed as you read on. Whilst there is sort of a big reveal (which I only guessed right before it came) you are drip fed various reveals throughout that keep you wondering who the real Paige and Zanna were.

A relatively quick and easy read, I’d definitely recommend.

When Paige White and Hannah Zagalo (aka Zanna) decided to work together to parlay Paige's starter-journalist credentials and Zanna's charisma and charm to create an online presence that would bring benefits to both of them, they had no idea that success would be so swift or striking.

But everything changes after Zanna's untimely death, and Paige is left without the necessary source material for her writing. An opportunity to makeup her losses - well, the financial ones at least - comes with the offer to participate in a documentary about her friend.

But does Paige know more than she is saying about the nature of Zanna's death? An anonymous note she receives, containing a threat, would seem to indicate so...

This is an entertaining read, and takes a critical look at the social media influencer lifestyle and its less wholesome elements. The real price of fame and fandom is laid bare in the book, and its mystery/thriller elements will keep readers engaged throughout. It get 3.5 stars.

The book definitely drew me in right away and I was immediately hooked by the social media element to this mystery.

Immersive, Compelling..
Paige White and Zanna (Hannah) Zagalo were the best of friends, inseparable in fact. At least they were, once upon a time. As influencer fame and fortune beckoned for Zanna, Paige was the ghostwriter that no one really noticed was even there. Things were about to change. Fast forward to present time - is a documentary about to open up some nasty truths? Contemporary and timely, this propulsive suspense is deftly crafted, immersive and wholly compelling, skirting the harsh truths of social media stardom, the faces behind the facades and the real price of fame - at the same time as acknowledging that revenge may well be sweet.

the story starts with a documentary transcript about two girls, paige and zanna.

as the story transcends through the past and present day, you get glimpses of each part of both girls timelines.

the book takes a peak into social media influencing, fame and popularity.

i thoroughly enjoyed reading the interview transcripts from the documentary between each chapter. it made the book feel really unique and interesting, whilst keeping you guessing.

this felt like a modern social media thriller, it deals with anonymous hate coming through, hate blogs, and the mystery behind a social media stars death.

at times the plot felt a bit juvenile for me, and the characters felt, one dimensional and underdeveloped.

however for a debut novel, i thought this was a wonderful piece of work and i would definitely keep an eye out for this authors next projects.

A sort of modern day on a classic. The comparisons made to inventing Anna meets Agatha Christie stand up. I found this engaging and fresh. There is a lot of books taking the insta generation on and a lot them don't stand out but this with its classic whodunit plot running though made it stand out from the crowd. I did feel it was maybe targeted at younger reader group than myself perhaps more later YA but nonetheless a good interesting engrossing read. A lesson learned DO NOT LIVE YOUR LIFE ONLINE