Perfectly Famous by Emily Liebert

Perfectly Famous by Emily Liebert

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

June 2, 2020

NetGalley July 8, 2020

Arc, fiction, mystery

Gallery Books

320 pages

ISBN: 9781982110314

6/14/20-6/22/20

“No one-they think-deserves to shine forever, to eclipse all the others who are just as worthy of recognition.”

Holy cow! Once I started this book I couldn’t put it down. There’s nothing “perfect” about being famous. I know the reviews are mixed on this book but I enjoyed it despite the obvious lack of strong character development. It’s not your typical mystery thriller which I believe contributes to the mixed reviews. It is not a “thriller” but more of a suspenseful mystery. Once I reframed my perspective I was able to enjoy the book.

Bree Bennett and her friend Maggie attend a book signing for the renowned author, Ward DeFleur for her latest book, “Mysterious Stranger”. Coincidentally, there are several “mysterious strangers” who enter their lives.

The story alternates narrators mostly between Ward and Bree. It provides the scenario in which their two lives become tangled. When Ward receives an urgent message regarding her 15 year old daughter missing, she immediately cancels the rest of her book tour. She’s a single working mother doing very well as an author living in m affluent Connecticut gated community. Her daughter, Stevie, has always been her priority so when discovers that she went missing from Lily’s house she becomes frantic to find her daughter. Unable to cope with the loss and all the publicity Ward goes into hiding.

About 6 months later, Bree is still trying to find her new “normal” after her divorce from Jeremy. With her 16 year old daughter Chloe becoming rebellious she is at her wits end. She happens upon a news article reminding her of the tragedy with Ward DeFleur and how she and Maggie happened to be at the book signing the night Stevie went missing. Bree feels a connection with Ward since the book signing and being a single mother of a teen.

In order to get her life on track she applies for a job with the Fairfield Chronicle. While she is working on a temporary basis, she begins fascinated with Ward DeFleur and her mysterious disappearance. Needless to say, Bree enters reporter mode and begins to investigate this as a possible story to relaunch her writing career.

Things become messy and dangerous for Bree as she goes snooping into the history of Ward DeFleur whose real name is Laura Whitney. Bree’s mother provides comedic relief with her sassy self centered comments. People are not always who you think they are and often naïveté does not serve Bree well. Again, like most of the other reviews, just as it seems to be resolving most of the questions, the book ends with the most provocation sentence. Trust me even if you read the sentence you wouldn’t understand unless you read the entire book. And then, you ask why?!!

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley and Gallery Books in exchange for an unbiased review.



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