Perfectly Famous

April 20, 2020
Early in this half-baked novel from Liebert (Pretty Revenge), mega-bestselling author Ward DeFleur, who’s about to go on a 15-city promotional tour, learns that her teenage daughter, Stevie, has disappeared. When Stevie is found severely beaten and dies, Ward vanishes from the public eye. Meanwhile, recent divorcee Bree Bennett has rejoined the work force as a journalist for a Connecticut newspaper. After seeing Ward on a television program, Bree becomes inspired to find Ward and write her tragic story, and pitches the idea to her newspaper as well as a literary agent. Unfortunately, several quotidian tangents, such as Bree starting to date again and her challenges in co-parenting a rebellious teenage daughter, distract from her efforts to locate Ward. Toward the end, Liebert effectively builds up tension, but some of the twists feel farfetched and the conclusion dissatisfies. Readers who appreciate strong, independent, female characters with a wicked sense of humor may enjoy this one. Agent: Alyssa Reuben, Paradigm.