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4 Books to Read After Bingeing Dead to Me

by  | June 25

You know how you’re scrolling aimlessly through Netflix and you’re praying to the Netflix gods that you find something good, and then it happens—that unicorn of a show that sends you on the binge of all binges. Your butt never leaves the couch. You ignore friends and family. That was what happened to me when I stumbled upon dark comedic gold: Dead to Me. Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini (from cult classic Freaks and Geeks) are amazing in this series about a friendship between a very angry widow who is trying to find out who killed her husband in an unsolved hit-and-run and a quirky woman with a murky past when they meet in a support group. Dead to Me hits all the right buttons for me…twisted humor, an unsolved murder, unreliable characters, powerful female friendship, messed up relationships, and hidden secrets between friends. So if you like books that explore a friendship that’s gone tragically awry, then I’ve got a list for you!

Social Creature

Social Creature

by Tara Isabella Burton

The best way to describe Social Creature is if The Talented Mr. Ripley, Party Monster, and Black Mirror got together and had a threesome! Social Creature tells the story of two friends, Lavinia and Louise, who have a toxic, co-dependent, and highly obsessive relationship that ends up with one of them dying. The story takes place in exclusive New York City nightclubs, at decadent parties, and in fabulous apartments that only the very rich have access too. Social Creature touches heavily upon what friendship really means in the digital age, especially when a life documented on Instagram or Facebook is often very different from what’s happening IRL. If you like twisted novels that explore the dark side of technology and narcissistic behavior, then this is the book for you!

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Her One Mistake

Her One Mistake

by Heidi Perks

Okay, this book is one of my worst nightmares. It’s hard enough keeping track of your own kiddos when you’re out and about, but then you’re watching your friend’s child and they go missing?? In Her One Mistake, that’s exactly what happens. Charlotte has taken her three kids to the school fair and, as a favor, also takes along her best friend Harriet’s daughter, Alice. She looks away from watching the kids for one second, and Alice goes missing. Harriet is devastated and feels like she can never trust Charlotte again. But as the police try to work out what happened to the little girl, there are some dark secrets that make the investigation more complex. And Harriet starts to realize that unless she confides in Charlotte, she may never see her young daughter again.

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My Friend Anna

My Friend Anna

by Rachel DeLoache Williams

I know it’s terrible, but I enjoy reading true stories about grifters with sociopathic tendencies. It’s not that I get a kick out of reading of others’ misfortune; I am just always amazed about how people can just lie and lie and lie without a shred of guilt. My Friend Anna is a fascinating read about Rachel DeLoache Williams, a photo editor for Vanity Fair, and her friendship with a woman who was passing herself off as an über-wealthy German heiress.

Anna Delvey lived in luxury boutique hotels, hung out at all the New York City hot spots, was a shopping fiend, and allegedly was working on developing an event space for artists when Rachel met her through friends. Rachel and Anna quickly became BFFs, and Rachel became Anna’s plus-one at expensive dinners at Le Coucou, infrared sauna sessions at HigherDOSE, for drinks at the 11 Howard Library bar, and at almost daily workout sessions with a celebrity personal trainer. Anna paid for it all without batting an eyelash. So when Anna offered to take Rachel on an all-expenses-paid trip to Morocco, complete with a personal trainer and a videographer who would be shooting a documentary of Anna’s travels, Rachel was excited to be her guest at the $7,500 per night private villa.

While they were planning the trip, Anna’s credit card suddenly stopped working, and she asked Rachel if she could pay for the trip up front, saying she would reimburse her ASAP for their flights, expensive meals, and shopping sprees, even the villa! Next thing Rachel knew, more than $62,000 had been charged to her credit cards, including her corporate card (that alone makes me break out in hives). When Rachel got back to NYC, unsettled and eager to get her money back, her alleged BFF became shady and elusive, leaving Rachel to question if she even knew who Anna was after all. The story became headline-news during Anna’s trial earlier this year… you’ll get to read Rachel’s perspective when the book hits shelves on July 23.

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When Life Gives You Lululemons

When Life Gives You Lululemons

by Lauren Weisberger

Okay, spoiler alert: there are no murders or kidnappings or grifters in this book. But it is a book about female friendships, some secrets, a cheating husband, and a very public DUI arrest of a supermodel who was driving around some of her son’s friends. Sometimes you want a little drama that’s light on tragedy. And if so, this book, which is a spin-off of perennial favorite The Devil Wears Prada, will not disappoint. Emily Charlton has left Miranda Priestly and New York City, and she’s been working in LA as a publicist for celebrity clients. But, she’s been losing clients to millennial image consultants who are also social media gurus. She flees to visit an old friend, Miriam, in Greenwich (the NYC suburbs, the horror!). When Karolina Hartwell, former supermodel and Greenwich resident, is arrested, her image is in shambles. Emily knows that Karolina is the perfect client for her big comeback, but first she has to figure out how to navigate this world of Stepford Wives clad in overpriced leggings.

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Photo Credit // Photo Courtesy of Saeed Adyani / Netflix

Categories // TV

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