In This Edition of
The BookBrowse Review
The BookBrowse Review
Published December 4, 2024
ISSN: 1930-0018
The BookBrowse Review
Published December 4, 2024
ISSN: 1930-0018
Contents
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Literary Fiction
Historical Fiction
Essays
Poetry & Novels in Verse
Mysteries
Thrillers
Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Biography/Memoir
History, Current Affairs and Religion
True Crime
Travel & Adventure
Literary Fiction
Historical Fiction
Mysteries
Thrillers
Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Graphic Novels
History, Current Affairs and Religion
Science, Health and the Environment
| Critics: |
Succession meets Megan Abbott in this seductive, technological suspense about the dramatic downfall of one of America's most affluent families.
The old-money Wieland family has it all―wealth, status, power. They're also famously cursed.
Clara and her brother, Teddy, grew up on a small island in Maine in the shadow of their parents' tragic deaths, haunted by rumors and paparazzi. Fourteen years later, they've mostly put their turbulent past to rest. Teddy has married Clara's best friend, Jess, and the three of them have moved back home to take over the sprawling, remote family mansion known as Vantage Point.
Then Teddy decides to run for the Senate―an unnerving prospect made much worse when intimate videos of Clara are leaked online. The most frightening part is that she doesn't remember filming any of them. Are the videos real? Or are they deepfakes? Is someone trying to take down the Wielands once and for all?
Everyone thinks Clara is losing her grasp on reality. But she knows the truth: the videos are only the beginning. Years ago, the curse destroyed her parents. Now, it's coming for her.
Sara Sligar, the critically acclaimed author of Take Me Apart, returns with a shocking family drama full of suspense. Brimming with palpable tension, Vantage Point carefully unravels a twisted web of family secrets and political ambition that raises questions about the nature of "truth" in our digital age.
"A few preposterous twists tilt the plot toward soap opera territory, but Sligar's nuanced, psychologically complex characters provide sufficient counterweight. Sarah Pinborough fans should take note." —Publishers Weekly
"A unique twist on the thriller genre with an appealing side of female empowerment." —Kirkus Reviews
"Vantage Point is a thriller for our times, where politics meets paranoia, and technology turns into terror. Sara Sligar has tapped into our most contemporary fears and turned them into a feast of a story. I devoured this book." ―Janelle Brown, New York Times-bestselling author of Pretty Things and I'll Be You
"Vantage Point is a haunting, pitch perfect exploration of paranoia and perception, the ways we craft our identity both publicly and in our own minds, and the fine line between loyalty and complicity, power and control. Sara Sligar is that rare writer whose high concept is matched by faultless prose, rich emotional insight, and a vein of delicious dark humor that bleeds when pressed. This is a novel to devour, then savor. I loved every mind-bending page." ―Katie Gutierrez, author of national bestseller More Than You'll Ever Know
"Vantage Point is a sophisticated suspense novel that's as thought-provoking as it is unnerving. With her signature seductive prose, Sligar holds up a mirror to the dark side of privilege and the true horrors of being a woman on the internet, crafting a story that feels like shattered glass: brilliant and exquisite, but it will cut you deep." ―Layne Fargo, author of The Favorites and They Never Learn
Sara Sligar is an author and academic based in Los Angeles, where she teaches English and creative writing as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Southern California. She holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Pennsylvania and a master's in History from the University of Cambridge. Her writing has been published in McSweeney's, Quartz, The Hairpin, and other outlets. Take Me Apart is her first novel.
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