A picture-perfect trip goes horribly wrong in this fast-paced exploration of friendship and the dark side of social media, perfect for fans of Lucy Foley and Andrea Bartz.
Miscarriage.
Everyone wants to be them, but internet fame comes at a price…
Two days after arriving in Iceland for a promotional trip, Instagram influencer Alabama Wood goes missing. With no leads, the Icelandic police start their investigation by focusing on the two influencers seemingly closest to Alabama on the trip: Celeste Reed, Alabama’s best friend of ten years, and Hollie Goodwin, fitness guru and Alabama’s unwilling idol.
Celeste and Alabama have grown apart recently because Celeste has been too distracted by her five-year-old’s behavioral issues and her husband’s refusal to admit that there’s a problem. What Celeste doesn’t tell them is how she has been coping with these worries and how it involves Alabama in ways no one would guess.
On the outside, Hollie appears to have everything—the husband, the body, and over one million Instagram followers. In reality, however, Hollie came to Iceland to escape the implosion of her life behind the screen. The only person who suspected something amiss behind Hollie’s precisely filtered pictures is Alabama.
As secrets are revealed and loyalties are tested, debut author Nicole Hackett asks: do we control our online image, or does it control us?
Don't just take our word for it...
“A savvy, witty thriller in which Nicole Hackett focuses an unfiltered lens on social media influencers. The Perfect Ones is a timely reminder that there are two sides to everyone, even those you think you know, and that perfection can only ever be an illusion.”
– Emma Bamford, author of Deep Water
“An influencer trip goes terribly awry in this character-driven drama. Nicole Hackett expertly scrutinizes online culture intersected with mental health; this razor-sharp debut novel is unputdownable, and the scenery of Iceland makes the chills drop. You won’t know where Hackett is steering you until the very last page!”
– Elissa R. Sloan, author of The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes
“We devoured this thrilling romp through Iceland in one sitting! An influencer trip gone wrong sets the stage for this stunning debut—with an ending you won’t see coming.”
– Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke, authors of How to Save a Life
Taste the very first page
Hollie
The Morning After
Vík, Iceland
Alabama Wood was missing.
The announcement rippled through the group of women gathered at the foot of the staircase like electricity hurrying across a live wire. The officer, three steps above them, paused, perhaps sensing that anything he said for the next few seconds would not be heard.
Hollie Goodwin stood near the back of the group. Behind her, wind whistled through a poorly insulated window, creating the sensation of someone just over her shoulder, whispering in her ear.
“We’ll be opening an investigation,” the officer said after a moment, once the murmuring had stopped. The stair beneath him groaned as he shifted his weight. “First, it will be important for us to construct a time line of the trip so far.”
His gaze fell to the window behind Hollie, the glass clattering faintly in its frame. Gray sky had swept in from the ocean the night before, causing a thin veil of fog to pool over the tiny fishing village. It looked like the sort of day that could keep secrets, Hollie thought. The sort of day someone could disappear into. Hollie wondered if the officer was looking out the window and thinking the same thing…
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