07/23/2018
Akhtar’s gleefully bloodthirsty debut sends up the mean girls of the New York fashion industry. Anya St. Clair, whose buzzing, intrusive thoughts lead to violent urges toward anyone who disrespects her, has grown from troubled child to unacceptably chubby style editor at fashion magazine La Vie. Obsessed with becoming the BFF of her perfect, blonde coworker, Sarah Taft, Anya is willing to use everything at her disposal—mood boards, spy software, planted evidence, or elimination of the competition—to suck up to Sarah or bring the woman down, whichever works. When Anya and Sarah become rivals for a promotion, Anya starts making increasingly unrealistic choices. Akhtar’s decision to bring in a detective as a romantic interest only highlights the implausibility of Anya being on the loose. This dark novel has the energy of Heathers gone 20-something and corporate, but its creatively staged revenge murders aren’t enough to carry a story marred by shallow stereotypes and an inability to sell its protagonist as simultaneously psychopathic and relatable. Agent: Deborah Schneider, ICM. (Sept.)
#FashionVictim: A Novel
Narrated by Bailey Carr
Amina AkhtarUnabridged — 10 hours, 3 minutes
#FashionVictim: A Novel
Narrated by Bailey Carr
Amina AkhtarUnabridged — 10 hours, 3 minutes
Overview
A darkly thrilling take on the fashion world—and soon to be a major television series on E!—#FashionVictim is Heathers meets The Devil Wears Prada.
Fashion editor Anya St. Clair is on the verge of greatness. Her wardrobe is to die for. Her social media is killer. And her career path is littered with the bodies of anyone who got in her way. She's worked hard to get where she is, but she doesn't have everything.
Not like Sarah Taft. Anya's obsession sits one desk away. Beautiful, stylish, and rich, she was born to be a fashion world icon. From her beach-wave blonde hair to her on-trend nail art, she's a walking editorial spread. And Anya wants to be her friend. Her best friend. Her only friend.
But when Sarah becomes her top competition for a promotion, Anya's plan to win her friendship goes into overdrive. In order to beat Sarah...she'll have to become her. Friendly competition may turn fatal, but as they say in fashion: One day you're in, and the next day you're dead.
Editorial Reviews
Praise for #FashionVictim:
“#FashionVictim is sick and vicious and funny and voicey...I ’totes’ loved this one."
—Caroline Kepnes, New York Times bestselling author
"For those craving a new fashionably vicious read, this book is darkly satisfying."
—Martha Stewart Living
"A diabolical page-turner...impossible to put down."
—Forbes
"Darkly funny."
—Fashionista
"As awesome as it sounds...welcome to the cruel world of fashion where women’s looks, weight, and youth is the only thing to value."
—Book Riot
Hilariously funny as well as profoundly unsettling...will keep readers hooked and laughing, if a bit uncomfortably, from Page 1 until the shocking ending.”
—Kirkus
"Full of suspense, social satire, and deliciously dark humor, #FashionVictim gives ’killer wardrobe’ a whole new meaning. I couldn’t put it down."
—Alison Gaylin, USA Today Bestselling Author of If I Die Tonight
“#FashionVictim is sharp, stylish, and gleefully sinister; you’ll never read Vogue the same way again."
—Jessica Morgan and Heather Cocks, founders of Go Fug Yourself and authors of the national bestseller, The Royal We
“#FashionVictim gives new meaning to the phrase “Dressed to Kill”...instead of the devil wearing Prada, she’s wearing her victim’s blood in a perfect shade of Essie red."
— Aliza Licht, EVP marketing & communications and the author of Leave Your Mark
“Every page of #FashionVictim pops with a dark and dishy verve. Fierce in every sense of the word.”
—Jessica Tom, author of Food Whore
"#FashionVictim is a book to not only buy, keep and read, but to inhale from page one. The sense of menace in the prologue will hook readers from the get-go, and Akhtar’s sharp as a tack writing will carry you along this entertaining read to a stunning end, um, ending."
—New York Journal of Books
"Gleefully bloodthirsty...This dark novel has the energy of Heathers gone 20-something."
—Publishers Weekly
“The characters reminded me a great deal of the dark movie, Heathers...A whole lot of sick fun...All I can hope is that the author was not speaking from reality...and that another book will be written very, very soon."
—Suspense Magazine
"The story’s dark humor is one of its best attributes, and while the reader may wonder if Anya will get caught, there’s no doubt that whatever happens, she’ll be dressed to kill."
—Mystery Scene
Narrator Bailey Carr’s perfect deadpan tone is fitting for Anya St. Clair, a fashion magazine contributor who expresses more worry over blood-soaked shoes than she does over its source. What begins as friendly competition for a promotion between Anya and her co-worker and obsession, Sarah Taft, turns fiercely fatal as Anya justifies what she’s willing to do to achieve her goal. Delivering dark humor at its finest, Carr’s narration is most notable for its crystal-clear quality, mostly void of emotion except for moments of rage delivered through gritted teeth. Anya’s smooth voice belies her inner turmoil and disdain for the majority of humanity. Her editor, however, is a sharp and commanding presence spitting out orders that only compound the situations Anya finds herself in. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
2018-06-18
A psychotic fashion editor murders her co-workers to get closer to her intended BFF in this comedic mystery novel, the author's debut.Anya St. Clair, fashion editor at New York magazine La Vie, is obsessed with her co-worker Sarah Elizabeth Taft, a tall, willowy, rich blonde who is "the source of all things fashionable." Anya is so determined to hang out, do nails, go to bars, and take selfies with Sarah that she will do anything, including murder. Anya's first victim is editorial assistant Mulberry von Gratz, a "fashion girl who couldn't walk in heels," who's found dead in a closet with a vintage shoe smashed into her head. More murders follow as Anya's obsession deepens and the buzzing noise in her head gets louder. If Anya's co-workers seem one-dimensional, it's all part of the fun as death is met with manicures, green juice, and an article about what to wear to a funeral. There's no doubt that Anya is "totes" psychotic, but will Detective Hopper see past her crush on him and figure out the "obvi" fact that she's responsible for the murders? And what's up with Anya's clueless psychiatrist, the mysterious Dr. M? Much of the humor comes at the expense of characters engaged in excessive exercise, self-harm, starvation dieting, narcissism, and paranoia, yet Anya's point of view makes their behavior hilariously funny as well as profoundly unsettling.The shallow friendships, betrayals, shifting alliances, and many, many designer shoes will keep readers hooked and laughing, if a bit uncomfortably, from Page 1 until the shocking ending.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940172611407 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Brilliance Audio |
| Publication date: | 09/11/2018 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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