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Unmasking Samantha Cookes: The Many Lives of a Serial Fraudster
Unmasking Samantha Cookes is the chilling true story of a master manipulator who spent more than a decade reinventing herself across the UK and Ireland with an arsenal of false identities. Once known to millions as ‘Carrie Jade Williams’, she slipped seamlessly from au pair and nanny to therapist, psychologist, terminally ill author and online ‘sickfluencer’. Each persona carefully crafted. Each lie more audacious than the last. And each one designed to gain trust – and exploit it.
What started with the tragic death of a baby soon became a trail of fraud, deception and shattered lives. Every reinvention brought new victims, until her most audacious lie, a fabricated terminal illness, triggered a TikTok reckoning.
Drawing on exclusive evidence and firsthand accounts, Unmasking Samantha Cookes pulls back the curtain on a mastermind of deception hiding in plain sight, and reveals just how easily trust can be weaponised, with an unsettling question at its how well do we really know the people we trust with our children?
What started with the tragic death of a baby soon became a trail of fraud, deception and shattered lives. Every reinvention brought new victims, until her most audacious lie, a fabricated terminal illness, triggered a TikTok reckoning.
Drawing on exclusive evidence and firsthand accounts, Unmasking Samantha Cookes pulls back the curtain on a mastermind of deception hiding in plain sight, and reveals just how easily trust can be weaponised, with an unsettling question at its how well do we really know the people we trust with our children?
297 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 21, 2026
About the author
Alan Bradley
43 books8,695 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
With an education in electronic engineering, Alan worked at numerous radio and television stations in Ontario, and at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson University) in Toronto, before becoming Director of Television Engineering in the media centre at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, where he remained for 25 years before taking early retirement to write in 1994.
He became the first President of the Saskatoon Writers, and a founding member of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild. His children's stories were published in The Canadian Children's Annual, and his short story, Meet Miss Mullen, was the first recipient of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild Award for Children's Literature.
For a number of years, he regularly taught Script Writing and Television Production courses at the University of Saskatchewan (Extension Division) at both beginner and advanced levels.
His fiction has been published in literary journals and he has given many public readings in schools and galleries. His short stories have been broadcast by CBC Radio.
He was a founding member of The Casebook of Saskatoon, a society devoted to the study of Sherlock Holmes and Sherlockian writings. Here, he met the late Dr. William A.S. Sarjeant, with whom he collaborated on their classic book, Ms Holmes of Baker Street. This work put forth the startling theory that the Great Detective was a woman, and was greeted upon publication with what has been described as "a firestorm of controversy".
The release of Ms. Holmes resulted in national media coverage, with the authors embarking upon an extensive series of interviews, radio and television appearances, and a public debate at Toronto's Harbourfront. His lifestyle and humorous pieces have appeared in The Globe and Mail and The National Post.
His book The Shoebox Bible (McClelland and Stewart, 2006) has been compared with Tuesdays With Morrie and Mr. God, This is Anna.
In July of 2007 he won the Debut Dagger Award of the (British) Crimewriter's Association for his novel The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, the first of a series featuring eleven year old Flavia de Luce, which has since won the 2009 Agatha Award for Best First Novel,the 2010 Dilys Award,the Spotted Owl Award, and the 2010 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie has also been nominated for the Macavity, the Barry, and the Arthur Awards.
Alan Bradley lives in Malta with his wife Shirley and two calculating cats.
With an education in electronic engineering, Alan worked at numerous radio and television stations in Ontario, and at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson University) in Toronto, before becoming Director of Television Engineering in the media centre at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, where he remained for 25 years before taking early retirement to write in 1994.
He became the first President of the Saskatoon Writers, and a founding member of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild. His children's stories were published in The Canadian Children's Annual, and his short story, Meet Miss Mullen, was the first recipient of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild Award for Children's Literature.
For a number of years, he regularly taught Script Writing and Television Production courses at the University of Saskatchewan (Extension Division) at both beginner and advanced levels.
His fiction has been published in literary journals and he has given many public readings in schools and galleries. His short stories have been broadcast by CBC Radio.
He was a founding member of The Casebook of Saskatoon, a society devoted to the study of Sherlock Holmes and Sherlockian writings. Here, he met the late Dr. William A.S. Sarjeant, with whom he collaborated on their classic book, Ms Holmes of Baker Street. This work put forth the startling theory that the Great Detective was a woman, and was greeted upon publication with what has been described as "a firestorm of controversy".
The release of Ms. Holmes resulted in national media coverage, with the authors embarking upon an extensive series of interviews, radio and television appearances, and a public debate at Toronto's Harbourfront. His lifestyle and humorous pieces have appeared in The Globe and Mail and The National Post.
His book The Shoebox Bible (McClelland and Stewart, 2006) has been compared with Tuesdays With Morrie and Mr. God, This is Anna.
In July of 2007 he won the Debut Dagger Award of the (British) Crimewriter's Association for his novel The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, the first of a series featuring eleven year old Flavia de Luce, which has since won the 2009 Agatha Award for Best First Novel,the 2010 Dilys Award,the Spotted Owl Award, and the 2010 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie has also been nominated for the Macavity, the Barry, and the Arthur Awards.
Alan Bradley lives in Malta with his wife Shirley and two calculating cats.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 9, 2026
The amount of energy this woman has put into deception is WILD. This was really well done and researched and I enjoyed it but also WOWZA
July 21, 2026
And to think that I ordered this book based solely on the erroneous thought that this was written by one of my favorite mystery authors. Wrong! But, this page-turner kept me engrossed from the beginning.
A true story that had so many "situations" by page 25 it would seem to be fiction. The deftness of the author's writing was both lyrical and expeditious. It might seem that there were too many names with the plethora of frauds, but the author smartly places reminders of which victim is which once the denouement is imminent.
I only wish I knew the U.K. and the metric system better in order to better understand the courses Cookes traversed.
A true story that had so many "situations" by page 25 it would seem to be fiction. The deftness of the author's writing was both lyrical and expeditious. It might seem that there were too many names with the plethora of frauds, but the author smartly places reminders of which victim is which once the denouement is imminent.
I only wish I knew the U.K. and the metric system better in order to better understand the courses Cookes traversed.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A brilliantly written book about a woman who is a master manipulator. I cannot believe how gullible the Irish people she encountered were in dealing with her. A woman with 4 children let this young girl into her home without checking on references or putting a Garda check in place. She put her 4 children in danger as Samantha Cookes was not the person she claimed to be. There were so many people deceived by Cookes that it doesn't bear thinking about. I cannot imagine giving large sums of money to a stranger for a holiday or indeed anything else as is the case in this book. If you want to go to Lapland with your children you could organize it yourself. The amount of money Cookes conned out of people was unbelievable. Nobody thought of checking on her background which would have been very easy to do as many of her cons took place in towns not far from each other. Even her claim that she was going to marry a pastor in Dun Laoghaire could easily have been checked on earlier as Glenageary is not far from Dun Laoghaire. I really couldn't believe that any GP would take the word of a patient that she had Huntington's Disease without finding out where she was diagnosed and by whom. Any properly trained GP would contact the consultant who diagnosed his patient and get details of her condition. Even in the pandemic her GP could have picked up the phone and checked if her story was true. I cannot believe that people could be conned so easily. A thoroughly good read which I found difficult to put down. In my opinion those who were conned deserved it as nobody thought of checking on this woman's background. I wouldn't give 5 pounds to anyone just because they told me a sad story. I would check on the organization that was collecting the money and see if the collector was authorized to do so. I believe that Cookes was suffering from some form of mental illness. I would thoroughly recommend this book
October 7, 2026
A revealing telling of the audaciously insolent and duplicitous life of Samantha Cookes. Under countless aliases (names and fake jobs: nanny, arts teacher, surrogate mother, best-selling author, etc.) she cunningly infiltrated the lives of innocent, trust-seeking people in England and Ireland between 2011 - 2024. Diagnosed as a pathological liar and yet an incredibly brilliant woman, Samantha Cookes, used her smarts to do wrong and commit crime after crime, maliciously preying on people when they were at their weakest and needing her to swoop in and rescue their situation. Not only did she betray their trust, but she conned them into forking over money for made up trips, classes, therapies and much more. I was blown away by her brazenness and how long she got away with her swindling schemes.
July 23, 2026
Audiobook Review:
I had not heard of Samantha Cookes before listening to this book, and I would say I should count myself lucky! Of course to many she was not known as Samantha Cookes. Perhaps you’ve heard of her alias, Carrie Jade Williams, the “terminally ill author” who captured the hearts of thousands online.
I loved how the book primarily focused on the victims and their experiences with Cookes. Hearing their first hand accounts about bringing her into their homes and their children’s lives as a trusted au pair, nanny, therapist, and psychologist was both terrifying and heartbreaking. It showed how desperate these families were for the help she pretended to provide, and how little if any conscience Cookes has. Many of the stories were absolutely devastating to hear.
And I must mention the narrator, Aoife McMahon. Her distinct voice she created for Samantha really made it seem like you were hearing the devil herself, speak. I was really impressed to hear how she gave each person their own voice, as if they were all telling you their stories individually. It was fantastic narration.
I had not heard of Samantha Cookes before listening to this book, and I would say I should count myself lucky! Of course to many she was not known as Samantha Cookes. Perhaps you’ve heard of her alias, Carrie Jade Williams, the “terminally ill author” who captured the hearts of thousands online.
I loved how the book primarily focused on the victims and their experiences with Cookes. Hearing their first hand accounts about bringing her into their homes and their children’s lives as a trusted au pair, nanny, therapist, and psychologist was both terrifying and heartbreaking. It showed how desperate these families were for the help she pretended to provide, and how little if any conscience Cookes has. Many of the stories were absolutely devastating to hear.
And I must mention the narrator, Aoife McMahon. Her distinct voice she created for Samantha really made it seem like you were hearing the devil herself, speak. I was really impressed to hear how she gave each person their own voice, as if they were all telling you their stories individually. It was fantastic narration.
October 14, 2026
By far one of my favourite books of 2026. Very well wrote. I'm still shocked how I never heard the Samantha Cookes case ever before this book came out. In some respects, her ability to maintain all the stories/personas and extremely high IQ and ability to detect being found out is almost admirable. With so much negativity around social media, it was inevitably the power of social media that brought victims together who brought their shared hurt and grievance to a productive use to bring her down.
August 24, 2026
This was a real life drama. It was a fascinating experience, this really happened and the author really made you feel you were in the same room. I can’t wait to see if there will be more like this. I devoured every page. I must say that this is a keeper and well worth every minute you read this. Don’t think twice just read this gem, you too will be sucked into the world of Samantha. It is a real winner, BRAVO!
August 30, 2026
Alan Bradley tells this story remarkably well. It really does read like a Hollywood blockbuster, how one woman can wreak such havoc on so many unsuspecting people. Though this story is about Samantha Cooke’s, it really is about all her victims and how with courage and determination they set to right her wrongs.
June 27, 2026
This book seemed thoroughly researched and was well written, although the language was a little too flowery in places. It moved along at a good pace and gave thoughtful insights into a complex person, who still remains an enigma.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Brilliantly written, bombastic story. Amazing debut
July 1, 2026
Bloody Hell. What a pathological liar. Would love to know why she does the thing she does, other than attention.
July 29, 2026
Utterly fascinating.
One star deducted for what I felt was slightly too melodramatic writing style.
One star deducted for what I felt was slightly too melodramatic writing style.
July 30, 2026
A gripping insight into the mind of Samantha Cooks. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
August 27, 2026
This is just a long repetitive list of all the frauds this woman committed. No real analysis on the reason why, or the effect that it had on people. Repetitive and boring.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews