Review by Booklist Review
In the era of the social-media influencers, no one rules the "Mama" hashtag more than London-based mom Emmy Jackson. Emmy's Instagram, "Mamabare," has over a million followers who can't get enough of her perfect life with her husband, Dan, and their two adorable children. Dan is beginning to see the cracks in Emmy's obsession with her brand, though, while also starting to suspect that their family is being overexposed. Dan's concern turns out to be valid, as an obsessed woman is following the Jackson family, clearly with malicious intent. This suspense-filled novel is clever and sharp as Emmy, Dan, and their circling stalker each narrate the story with compelling voices, albeit ones that are occasionally unreliable. Ellery Lloyd is a pseudonym for husband and wife Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos, and their debut novel together blends their skills and knowledge to create a well-timed story reminiscent of Gone Girl and Caroline Kepnes' You (2014). Learning the complicated and "grass isn't always greener" details of the influence lifestyle is another fascinating aspect of this book, and will have readers thinking twice before daydreaming about those "perfect" lives on Instagram.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
With a million-plus Instagram followers, former fashion editor Emmy Jackson, the co-narrator of this unnerving debut from the pseudonymous Lloyd (husband-and-wife writing team Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos), is Britain's most famous Instamum. Emmy claims her Mamabare account offers an unfiltered view of life raising three-year-old Coco and five-week-old Bear, but Emmy's embittered husband and co-narrator, Dan, can attest that her posts contain about as much truth as the novel he published eight years ago. Still, without Emmy's endorsement deals, they couldn't pay their bills, so Dan (aka Papabare) keeps quiet and plays his part. Little do the Jacksons know, someone watching their lives unfold online deeply resents their "perfectly imperfect" existence, and is determined to destroy it. Some of the multilayered plot's more nefarious twists strain credulity, but clever red herrings, sharply drawn characters, and steadily mounting dread largely compensate. Lloyd dramatically highlights the artificiality of influencer culture and the toxicity of society's social media obsession. Agent: Hillary Jacobson, ICM Partners. (Jan.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A British "Instamum" navigates the dangers of fame--and finds herself the target of a killer. Former fashion editor Emmy Jackson traded her magazine cred for Instagram fame with her first pregnancy. Now her life is more breastfeeding than brunches, and she works hard to convince her tribe of eager mamas that she's barely keeping up--just one of the many myths she's constantly perpetuating. In truth, she has to be savvy and tough, three steps ahead of everyone else, commiserating with the sleepless one minute, plugging one of her sponsors--perhaps a toilet paper company?--the next. Her husband begins to feel like his wife is always performing, like he barely knows her anymore, especially when she turns their 4-year-old daughter's birthday party into a public event or ignores her best friend's messages with a wave. But when their daughter temporarily disappears at the mall and then there's a break-in at their flat, they begin to worry that the price of Emmy's fame might just be too high. Someone is posting stolen pictures; someone else is watching and waiting for the opportunity to take revenge. The first half of the novel is a delicious guilty pleasure: hyperbolic descriptions of the glamorous superficiality that we all suspect lies at the heart of most Instagram lives and experiences. But the second half takes us to a darker place as Lloyd explores the pitfalls of living a life on the internet, especially when that life involves kids. How can we ever assume privacy and safety? And when does the line between persona and person no longer exist? Despite a rather melodramatic climax and rushed conclusion, this one will get under your skin. Silence your notifications and lock the doors, then indulge in this delightfully distasteful, cozily creepy thriller. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
