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I'll Eat When I'm Dead
Every weekday morning, as the sun rose above Sixth Avenue, a peerless crop of women-frames poised, behavior polished, networks connected, and bodies generally buffed to a high sheen-were herded by the cattle prod of their own ambition to one particular building. They're smart, stylish, and sophisticated, even the one found dead in her office.
When stylish Hillary Whitney dies alone in a locked, windowless conference room at the offices of RAGE Fashion Book, her death is initially ruled an unfortunate side effect of the unrelenting pressure to be thin. But Hillary's best friend and fellow RAGE editor Catherine Ono knows her friend's dieting wasn't a capital P problem. If beauty could kill, it'd take more than that.
When two months later, a cryptic note in Hillary's handwriting ends up in the office of the NYPD and the case is reopened, Det. Mark Hutton is led straight into the glamorous world of RAGE and into the life of hot-headed and fiercely fabulous Cat, who insists on joining the investigation. Surrounded by a supporting cast of party girls, Type A narcissists and half- dead socialites, Cat and her colleague Bess Bonner are determined to solve the case and achieve sartorial perfection. But their amateur detective work has disastrous results, and the two ingenues are caught in a web of drugs, sex, lies and moisturizer that changes their lives forever.
Viciously funny, this sharp and satirical take on the politics of women's bodies and women's work is an addictive debut novel that dazzles with style and savoire faire.
When stylish Hillary Whitney dies alone in a locked, windowless conference room at the offices of RAGE Fashion Book, her death is initially ruled an unfortunate side effect of the unrelenting pressure to be thin. But Hillary's best friend and fellow RAGE editor Catherine Ono knows her friend's dieting wasn't a capital P problem. If beauty could kill, it'd take more than that.
When two months later, a cryptic note in Hillary's handwriting ends up in the office of the NYPD and the case is reopened, Det. Mark Hutton is led straight into the glamorous world of RAGE and into the life of hot-headed and fiercely fabulous Cat, who insists on joining the investigation. Surrounded by a supporting cast of party girls, Type A narcissists and half- dead socialites, Cat and her colleague Bess Bonner are determined to solve the case and achieve sartorial perfection. But their amateur detective work has disastrous results, and the two ingenues are caught in a web of drugs, sex, lies and moisturizer that changes their lives forever.
Viciously funny, this sharp and satirical take on the politics of women's bodies and women's work is an addictive debut novel that dazzles with style and savoire faire.
336 pages, Paperback
First published May 2, 2017
190 people are currently reading
9901 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Bourland
4 books276 followersBarbara Bourland is the award-winning author of three novels, most recently The Force of Such Beauty and Fake Like Me. A finalist for the 2020 Edgar Best Novel Award and the recipient of a 2022 Independent Artist’s Award from the Maryland State Arts Council, her writing has been translated into Japanese, German, Hebrew, and Mandarin. She is at work on her fourth novel, Fields and Waves, forthcoming from Dutton. She lives in Baltimore.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 332 reviews
April 28, 2017
Barbara Bourland, a renowned fashion columnist and industry expert, has written a bitingly funny and canny satire on the huge behemoth that is the fashion industry. It begins with the death of Hillary Whitney in a locked room in the offices of the magazine. RAGE Fashion Book. She appears to have suffered from a heart attack induced by her extreme eating disorders. After a donation to NYPD and the discovery of a note written by Hillary, the case is reopened. The good looking and ambitious detective, Mark Hutton, investigates, aiming to ascertain whether there is more to the death of Hillary.
Catherine 'Cat' Ono had known Hillary since her schooldays and is a senior editor at the magazine. She wants to know what happened to Hillary and embarks on a rollercoaster of a relationship with Mark Hutton. Cat and Bess Bonner decide to get to the bottom of the mystery of Hillary's death, only to find themselves out of their depth and mired in trouble. There is the the illegal use of drugs in products that lead to addiction by a cosmetics company. We have Cat justifying the importance of the fashion conscious industry. There are non stop digs on brands, drug-taking, celebrity, socialites, party girls, models, the expectations to be ever thinner at all costs and be up to date on fashion trends. Cat's work turns out to develop, to be more driven, highly stressed, pressurised and competitive in the age of social media and new start ups like Mania.
This is a light-hearted and entertaining read packed with comic humour and cutting jibes, the subject matter treads similar ground to The Devil Wears Prada. There are numerous threads in the novel and the mystery aspect of it is downgraded as a sideshow to the central focus on the shortfalls of the fashion industry. Bourland comes at the story from a place with ethics and principles but on occasion it was tiring to be bombarded with endless satire. Nevertheless, I found the book to be an interesting and enjoyable read. Thanks to Quercus for an ARC.
Catherine 'Cat' Ono had known Hillary since her schooldays and is a senior editor at the magazine. She wants to know what happened to Hillary and embarks on a rollercoaster of a relationship with Mark Hutton. Cat and Bess Bonner decide to get to the bottom of the mystery of Hillary's death, only to find themselves out of their depth and mired in trouble. There is the the illegal use of drugs in products that lead to addiction by a cosmetics company. We have Cat justifying the importance of the fashion conscious industry. There are non stop digs on brands, drug-taking, celebrity, socialites, party girls, models, the expectations to be ever thinner at all costs and be up to date on fashion trends. Cat's work turns out to develop, to be more driven, highly stressed, pressurised and competitive in the age of social media and new start ups like Mania.
This is a light-hearted and entertaining read packed with comic humour and cutting jibes, the subject matter treads similar ground to The Devil Wears Prada. There are numerous threads in the novel and the mystery aspect of it is downgraded as a sideshow to the central focus on the shortfalls of the fashion industry. Bourland comes at the story from a place with ethics and principles but on occasion it was tiring to be bombarded with endless satire. Nevertheless, I found the book to be an interesting and enjoyable read. Thanks to Quercus for an ARC.
June 5, 2017
This book is more chick-lit than mystery. At the beginning I was excited to immerse myself in a conspiratorial thriller that takes place in the corporate offices of a fashion magazine but soon discovered this story was more Sophie Kinsella than Paula Hawkins. Anyways, it was an ok read, I didn't find the characters particularly interesting or inspiring but it wasn't as bad as too abandon it half-way.
May 2, 2017
Did you like Sex and the City or/and The Devil Wears Prada, but thought it could have been better with some unexpected deaths? Then I'll Eat When I'm Dead by Barbara Bourland is a book for you. Personally do I not really care that much about fashion, but I liked the idea of the book. At first, I thought it would be some kind of locked room kind of murder, but the plot took a different route. Another thing that I thought of during the books progresses what how suitable the story is for today's nonstop celebrity attention. With mobile phones can you guaranty to always be watched even if your celebrity is because of, for instance, a jail stint.
Catherine "Cat" Ono and her friend and colleague Bess Bonner are shocked when Hillary Whitney is found dead, but this is only the start. Going through a bag Hillary left behind do they find a strange bottle. What is in the bottle? What they don't foresee is how their lives will change dramatically thanks to the small and insignificant bottle...
I'll Eat When I'm Dead is a book that I think will appeal to readers of fashion magazines or just like fashion. Personally did the book work on some level for me, but since I'm more likely to spend money on books than clothes were there moments in the book when my interested dwindled. I liked Cat and Bess enough to find their trials and tribulations interesting and I can understand how daunting it must be for them to be thrust into the limelight. But, when a little over half the book was done did I feel like the story started to slow down and I was thinking is this it? What happened to "the criminal" part of the story? Is the rest just about Cat and Bess suddenly famous? However, the story did pick up towards the end of the book and the turn into did make so much sense that I was astonished that I didn't see it coming earlier. But, I guess I was blindsided by all the fashion things going on.
I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!
Catherine "Cat" Ono and her friend and colleague Bess Bonner are shocked when Hillary Whitney is found dead, but this is only the start. Going through a bag Hillary left behind do they find a strange bottle. What is in the bottle? What they don't foresee is how their lives will change dramatically thanks to the small and insignificant bottle...
I'll Eat When I'm Dead is a book that I think will appeal to readers of fashion magazines or just like fashion. Personally did the book work on some level for me, but since I'm more likely to spend money on books than clothes were there moments in the book when my interested dwindled. I liked Cat and Bess enough to find their trials and tribulations interesting and I can understand how daunting it must be for them to be thrust into the limelight. But, when a little over half the book was done did I feel like the story started to slow down and I was thinking is this it? What happened to "the criminal" part of the story? Is the rest just about Cat and Bess suddenly famous? However, the story did pick up towards the end of the book and the turn into did make so much sense that I was astonished that I didn't see it coming earlier. But, I guess I was blindsided by all the fashion things going on.
I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!
April 24, 2017
The opening scene of I'll Eat When I'm Dead depicts the discovery of a woman's body. Hillary Whitney is found in a locked office at her place of work, the luxury magazine RAGE Fashion Book. The verdict: death by starvation, a cautionary tale about what the quest for extreme thinness might drive an otherwise sensible woman to. What follows, however, is mostly an entertaining, frothy comedy-drama and send-up of the fashion magazine world. The plot features a couple of mysterious deaths, but there's also the question of who will get promoted to Hillary's fashion director role at RAGE, and a love triangle involving Cat, the editorial heir apparent who emerges as the novel's main figure.
There are a few nods to deeper issues, but ironically (or deliberately?) they're about as superficial as the features about feminism and ethical fashion often found in women's magazines these days. I never felt the book was sure whether it wanted to condemn or celebrate the fashion industry and its attendant excesses, and I grew fed up of the exhaustive descriptions of everyone's outfits and beauty regimes. It's also pretty difficult to care about the professional fates of super-rich people who got their jobs through nepotism in the first place anyway.
Despite its edgy title, I'll Eat When I'm Dead is ultimately a bit of a silly confection; think cosy crime with a side order of couture and sex, rather than the 'viciously funny, sharp and satirical' affair the blurb suggests. (If this had been published in the 90s, the cover would've been pink with a loopy font and an illustration of skinny legs in high heels emerging from a New York taxi.) I'd say it's far more chick-lit than thriller, but that's no bad thing. It's fun, feather-light and sugary – I would say 'like a meringue', but the women of RAGE Fashion Book would probably break out in hives at the mere mention of one.
I received an advance review copy of I'll Eat When I'm Dead from the publisher through NetGalley.
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There are a few nods to deeper issues, but ironically (or deliberately?) they're about as superficial as the features about feminism and ethical fashion often found in women's magazines these days. I never felt the book was sure whether it wanted to condemn or celebrate the fashion industry and its attendant excesses, and I grew fed up of the exhaustive descriptions of everyone's outfits and beauty regimes. It's also pretty difficult to care about the professional fates of super-rich people who got their jobs through nepotism in the first place anyway.
Despite its edgy title, I'll Eat When I'm Dead is ultimately a bit of a silly confection; think cosy crime with a side order of couture and sex, rather than the 'viciously funny, sharp and satirical' affair the blurb suggests. (If this had been published in the 90s, the cover would've been pink with a loopy font and an illustration of skinny legs in high heels emerging from a New York taxi.) I'd say it's far more chick-lit than thriller, but that's no bad thing. It's fun, feather-light and sugary – I would say 'like a meringue', but the women of RAGE Fashion Book would probably break out in hives at the mere mention of one.
I received an advance review copy of I'll Eat When I'm Dead from the publisher through NetGalley.
TinyLetter | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr
April 9, 2017
With a fantastic title, good blurb and an interesting setting, this novel seemed to have everything to create an excellent mystery. It is set around the fashion industry, in general, and the offices of a fashion magazine, “RAGE Fashion Book,” in particular. Catherine Ono is a senior editor at the magazine and was a school friend of her colleague, Hillary Whitney, whose body was found in a locked workroom in the New York office building where ‘RAGE’ is housed, having suffered a heart attack due to end-stage starvation. The only clue to her mysterious death was an upturned box of ribbon, referred to in a postcard found later by her brother; whose huge donation to the NYPD was enough to see the case re-opened. Enter handsome detective, Mark Hutton, who sets out to try and make a name for himself by solving the case. Did Hillary Whitney die due to a long term eating disorder, or was something else involved?
Cat Ono is the central character in this novel and she is confused as to why the NYPD are re-investigating the case. Indeed, it does seem unclear, even to the reader, as her death was initially given as natural causes. Cat has good reason to be unimpressed by the initial police investigation, but the author is at pains to tell us, firstly, that the fashion industry is not a frivolous one and, two, to emphasise the bonds of sisterhood among the female characters. It is difficult to combine fashion and feminism, but this is a point which is laboriously driven all the time, with Cat keen to point out why her job is important, the fact that how she presents herself is part of her role and that spending money on fashion is not frivolous. So, we have the office of ‘RAGE’ which does not contain anything as boring, or provincial, as a receptionist; but, instead, houses a single phone – while staff members wave mobiles at apparently blank walls to open them. Appearances are, literally, everything and this involves a lot of partying, being seen at the right places, an unhealthy reliance on drugs and staying thin, along with many characters seeing eating disorders as quite acceptable.
Lots of this novel was really enjoyable, and many of the points made were very interesting. Staff members at ‘RAGE’ spend their time being bombarded by products, by those hoping their clothes, bags, cosmetics and jewellery will be presented in the magazine. Still, like most published magazines now, they are under pressure to stay relevant in the era of social media, where other forms can showcase fashion more quickly, and cheaply, than a printed publication. Sometimes, though, the different issues overwhelm the story. I enjoyed the parts set in the magazine offices most; with the elderly matriarch editor in chief, Margot Villiers, the hard working associate editor, Bess Bonner and the bizarrely named replacement for Hillary, Whig Beaton Molton-Mauve Lucas (thankfully known as Lou). Detective Mark Hutton worked less well, although I would have liked the mystery element to have taken more of a centre stage to the desire, by the author, to show her knowledge of the fashion world. Still, an interesting read – it would be a good choice for book groups, as it has a lot to discuss – and I would certainly try more by this debut author.
Cat Ono is the central character in this novel and she is confused as to why the NYPD are re-investigating the case. Indeed, it does seem unclear, even to the reader, as her death was initially given as natural causes. Cat has good reason to be unimpressed by the initial police investigation, but the author is at pains to tell us, firstly, that the fashion industry is not a frivolous one and, two, to emphasise the bonds of sisterhood among the female characters. It is difficult to combine fashion and feminism, but this is a point which is laboriously driven all the time, with Cat keen to point out why her job is important, the fact that how she presents herself is part of her role and that spending money on fashion is not frivolous. So, we have the office of ‘RAGE’ which does not contain anything as boring, or provincial, as a receptionist; but, instead, houses a single phone – while staff members wave mobiles at apparently blank walls to open them. Appearances are, literally, everything and this involves a lot of partying, being seen at the right places, an unhealthy reliance on drugs and staying thin, along with many characters seeing eating disorders as quite acceptable.
Lots of this novel was really enjoyable, and many of the points made were very interesting. Staff members at ‘RAGE’ spend their time being bombarded by products, by those hoping their clothes, bags, cosmetics and jewellery will be presented in the magazine. Still, like most published magazines now, they are under pressure to stay relevant in the era of social media, where other forms can showcase fashion more quickly, and cheaply, than a printed publication. Sometimes, though, the different issues overwhelm the story. I enjoyed the parts set in the magazine offices most; with the elderly matriarch editor in chief, Margot Villiers, the hard working associate editor, Bess Bonner and the bizarrely named replacement for Hillary, Whig Beaton Molton-Mauve Lucas (thankfully known as Lou). Detective Mark Hutton worked less well, although I would have liked the mystery element to have taken more of a centre stage to the desire, by the author, to show her knowledge of the fashion world. Still, an interesting read – it would be a good choice for book groups, as it has a lot to discuss – and I would certainly try more by this debut author.
Read
July 25, 2017A delicious read as satisfying as eating a box of my favorite sour, sweet, and juicy candy! Bourland has extracted the magic of contemporary women/”chick-lit” books and woven in a detective mystery novel creating a great read. Think The Devil Wears Prada minus the monster boss, where the women are friends, and activists, and now throw in murder and a hot detective! Sounds good, right? It is! It starts with a locked-room mystery as Hillary Whitney is found dead in a room at her job seemingly having died from starvation… but how? Well that’s what Detective Hutton wants to figure out now that a postcard mailed by Whitney has shown up. Also on the case are two of Whitney’s coworkers/friends, Cat and Bess. But the more everyone digs the more strange things happen–including another death!
–Jamie Canaves
from The Best Books We Read In April 2017: http://bookriot.com/2017/05/01/riot-r...
–Jamie Canaves
from The Best Books We Read In April 2017: http://bookriot.com/2017/05/01/riot-r...
June 1, 2017
5 Words: Fashion, attraction, friendship, ambition, fame.
When I first heard about this book, I was excited. Although I'm not the most fashionable person, I do love to follow fashion and have my glossy's on subscription. RAGE is everything I wish I could actually read. And this book absolutely delivers on every promise the blurb hints at.
I was very quickly hooked by this book and could not put it down. I was completely entranced by Cats' story, and the only thing that could have made it better was if there was more Bess.
I loved the intrigue and the descriptions of fashion, the colourful cast of characters, and the subtly intertwining relationships.
This book really is The Devil Wears Prada meets American Psycho.
When I first heard about this book, I was excited. Although I'm not the most fashionable person, I do love to follow fashion and have my glossy's on subscription. RAGE is everything I wish I could actually read. And this book absolutely delivers on every promise the blurb hints at.
I was very quickly hooked by this book and could not put it down. I was completely entranced by Cats' story, and the only thing that could have made it better was if there was more Bess.
I loved the intrigue and the descriptions of fashion, the colourful cast of characters, and the subtly intertwining relationships.
This book really is The Devil Wears Prada meets American Psycho.
June 30, 2018
I think I’m always going to be searching for a novelist capable of serving up silliness, ridiculous wealth, fashion faux pas, irony and impeccable characterisation, appetising with a rollicking plot, surfeit with loopy mysteries, an unexpected love story and the satisfaction of a villain rightly captured. But, after enjoying the dry British goofiness of Jilly Cooper for so many privileged years, my hope continues runs eternal...
Unfortunately, “I’ll Eat When I’m Dead” isn’t my pot of gold.
Lots of glitz. Lots of recreational drugs. Fashion according to Instagram, which is of course very au courant. A mystery which began with a big case and simpered away rather sorrily until the last few chapters. A villain which could have been much, much more...
So... very bouffant, but not much style.
I liked the settings. And a Flemish main character, hmmm, that is unique.
Barely there three stars. Hoping novel #2 knits together with a bit more panache.
Unfortunately, “I’ll Eat When I’m Dead” isn’t my pot of gold.
Lots of glitz. Lots of recreational drugs. Fashion according to Instagram, which is of course very au courant. A mystery which began with a big case and simpered away rather sorrily until the last few chapters. A villain which could have been much, much more...
So... very bouffant, but not much style.
I liked the settings. And a Flemish main character, hmmm, that is unique.
Barely there three stars. Hoping novel #2 knits together with a bit more panache.
May 25, 2017
Beauty can be deadly … quite literally in Hillary Whitney’s case. When the editor is found dead in one of the work rooms at Rage Fashion Book, the magazine she works for, a heart attack caused by near starvation is found to be the cause. However, friend and colleague Cat Ono suspects otherwise.
I have mixed feelings about this book, as somebody who doesn’t read magazines and has no interest in fashion and beauty, I’ll Eat When I’m Dead wasn’t an obvious choice of book for me. I was drawn in by the promise of biting humour and the investigation of a death. I did find some of the book amusing with its sardonic look at the fashion and publishing industry but I would have preferred more emphasis on the suspicious death of Hillary.
Cat Ono, the main character, is well constructed and likeable. A feminist at heart, she dislikes the way in which women are used as commodities but sadly finds herself pulled into this position. I loved the tongue-in-cheek humour with the names given to Rage’s photo shoots making me giggle. I’ll Eat When I’m Dead’s underlying theme is that of the murky side of the fashion industry and consumerism and Bourland highlights the impact of globalisation and how we, women particularly, are perceived to be worthy by the products they own, the clothes they wear and the way they look. The issues of bulimia are raised along with cocaine use and fad diets, all issues you would expect to see within the world of fashion.
Bourland has cleverly created a sardonic look at the world of fashion, however I would have liked more focus on the death of Hillary. While she captures the world of fashion and the pressures of working within a magazine environment really well, I did struggle to get into I’ll Eat When I’m Dead. I don’t think this is a reflection on the book or Bourland’s writing, but more about me and my tastes.
If you are interested in fashion and enjoy sardonic humour then give I’ll Eat When I’m Dead a read. The novel has a lot to say about some pertinent issues which I liked and parts of it made me laugh, however I was expecting more about the death and the investigation and the focus being on the fashion industry, sadly, made it difficult to hold my attention.
A huge thank you to Barbara Bourland and Alainna at Quercus books for the advance copy.
I have mixed feelings about this book, as somebody who doesn’t read magazines and has no interest in fashion and beauty, I’ll Eat When I’m Dead wasn’t an obvious choice of book for me. I was drawn in by the promise of biting humour and the investigation of a death. I did find some of the book amusing with its sardonic look at the fashion and publishing industry but I would have preferred more emphasis on the suspicious death of Hillary.
Cat Ono, the main character, is well constructed and likeable. A feminist at heart, she dislikes the way in which women are used as commodities but sadly finds herself pulled into this position. I loved the tongue-in-cheek humour with the names given to Rage’s photo shoots making me giggle. I’ll Eat When I’m Dead’s underlying theme is that of the murky side of the fashion industry and consumerism and Bourland highlights the impact of globalisation and how we, women particularly, are perceived to be worthy by the products they own, the clothes they wear and the way they look. The issues of bulimia are raised along with cocaine use and fad diets, all issues you would expect to see within the world of fashion.
Bourland has cleverly created a sardonic look at the world of fashion, however I would have liked more focus on the death of Hillary. While she captures the world of fashion and the pressures of working within a magazine environment really well, I did struggle to get into I’ll Eat When I’m Dead. I don’t think this is a reflection on the book or Bourland’s writing, but more about me and my tastes.
If you are interested in fashion and enjoy sardonic humour then give I’ll Eat When I’m Dead a read. The novel has a lot to say about some pertinent issues which I liked and parts of it made me laugh, however I was expecting more about the death and the investigation and the focus being on the fashion industry, sadly, made it difficult to hold my attention.
A huge thank you to Barbara Bourland and Alainna at Quercus books for the advance copy.
June 18, 2017
Ok, so I get that this book was trying to be the next "The Devil Wears Prada", but there was a huge difference between the two books. One was successful and relevant and one fell flat. Yes, I understand it was satire and that the author was trying to make a statement and a point about women in a man's world and blah, blah, blah. But all I got out of it was a bunch of two dimensional characters who couldn't even function through the day without some sort of drug or alcohol. Those aren't real women. Those aren't the women I know. These women were spoiled, entitled, and unlikeable on every level. Maybe that's what the author was going for. I think the biggest difference between this book and TDWP was that TDWP was about how a person changed and then realized who she had become and didn't like it. This book was too schizophrenic in nature to get any sense of a deeper story than the superficial plot.
June 22, 2017
For some reason, I really wanted to like this book. Even though the beginning started off slow for me, I tried convincing myself not to give up and to stay invested. I liked the idea of following women who worked for a fashion magazine, but it was quickly evident that they weren’t going to be my cup of tea. I held on until about halfway through, but the chapters seemed to drag on and there were so many unnecessary plot points that I had to start speed reading. The ending seemed a bit all over the place and it was just too hard to like any of the characters and to really focus on any particular storyline due to the frenzied writing. Interesting premise, but overall fell flat for me.
I received a review copy
I received a review copy
January 8, 2025
2.75⭐️
— Unfortunately this one was like pulling teeth for me to finish. I came into it with low expectations that it never superseded. For me I was hoping it would be more of a mystery but it was just largely about fashion and relationships which is nothing wrong it just made it much more boring. I didn’t connect to any of the characters and everyone felt two-dimensional which is disappointing to me. Bourland tried to make a satire about an important idea in theory but it never was development correctly. Extremely flat overall.
— Unfortunately this one was like pulling teeth for me to finish. I came into it with low expectations that it never superseded. For me I was hoping it would be more of a mystery but it was just largely about fashion and relationships which is nothing wrong it just made it much more boring. I didn’t connect to any of the characters and everyone felt two-dimensional which is disappointing to me. Bourland tried to make a satire about an important idea in theory but it never was development correctly. Extremely flat overall.
May 14, 2017
Didn't think too much of this one - very unsatisfying story, only mildly interesting.
July 31, 2022
meh, not really my type of book. besides that i thought the portrayals of anorexia and bulimia were horribly inaccurate. at times i thought it was trying to hard to be like the devil wears prada.
March 28, 2017
The thing about satire is that even when it's genuinely funny and witty as here, it inevitably becomes wearing in a novel where every other sentence is having a pop at some well-known targets: women's magazines, rampant acquisitiveness and consumerism, fashion trends, skinny minnies and so on. Bourland has a right-on perspective and even quotes that old Berger axiom of men looking, women watching themselves being looked at (from the 1970s, almost 50 years old now, hardly news, right?).
I started off sniggering at the skewering of a certain world: 'with the right combination of stress and a diet of alkaline-only green juices, a fatal heart-attack could've happened anytime', but as the snide humour piles up and the characters get more cartoon-like, my enjoyment began to wane. Not even the introduction of a handsome police officer could rescue this.
Bourland can be a sharp and witty writer but I'm not convinced that her skills transfer to the novel medium: she could write a blistering series of columns on this topic that keep things short and brisk. This makes many of the same points as The Devil Wears Prada but without the endearing qualities that made that novel a success. I'd read Bourland again in a shot, but not as a novelist.
I started off sniggering at the skewering of a certain world: 'with the right combination of stress and a diet of alkaline-only green juices, a fatal heart-attack could've happened anytime', but as the snide humour piles up and the characters get more cartoon-like, my enjoyment began to wane. Not even the introduction of a handsome police officer could rescue this.
Bourland can be a sharp and witty writer but I'm not convinced that her skills transfer to the novel medium: she could write a blistering series of columns on this topic that keep things short and brisk. This makes many of the same points as The Devil Wears Prada but without the endearing qualities that made that novel a success. I'd read Bourland again in a shot, but not as a novelist.
January 8, 2018
This was a dark horse but definitely going to be a top read of the year. Short description: a top fashion magazine employee dies of what appears to be starvation, a dark but not surprising revelation to her colleagues, with whom we will spend the rest of the book in a rotating perspective. As time goes on, this death is shown to be much more sinister than medical.
First and foremost, this takes place in the fashion world (think Vogue), so if you're not here for long descriptions of designer clothes and jewelry, go ahead and move on. I was amazed at how real the setting was here. I haven't researched the author, but she is obviously from that world. This was not the result of someone hanging around a magazine office for a few days.
Within the world of clothing and wealth, we have a thriller. I had thriller fatigue after reading SO many of the 2017 buzzed-about releases. This was the cure. Although the tension and the mystery are always present in the story, they take a backseat to the workplace politics, personal lives, and of course physical appearances of the main characters.
I absolutely loved this, but it certainly isn't for everyone. It exists somewhere between the realms of chick lit and lit fic.
First and foremost, this takes place in the fashion world (think Vogue), so if you're not here for long descriptions of designer clothes and jewelry, go ahead and move on. I was amazed at how real the setting was here. I haven't researched the author, but she is obviously from that world. This was not the result of someone hanging around a magazine office for a few days.
Within the world of clothing and wealth, we have a thriller. I had thriller fatigue after reading SO many of the 2017 buzzed-about releases. This was the cure. Although the tension and the mystery are always present in the story, they take a backseat to the workplace politics, personal lives, and of course physical appearances of the main characters.
I absolutely loved this, but it certainly isn't for everyone. It exists somewhere between the realms of chick lit and lit fic.
July 3, 2017
Well-written novel, for sure. All of the information about fashion and couture astounded me, and it wasn't presented as name-dropping or as an information dump, which is much appreciated (and honestly not as easy to find in novels as one might think).
The mystery was a slow-burn one, but with such minimal suspense, development, or overall relevancy within the entire story, I hesitate to primarily classify this novel under the mystery genre; I feel much more comfortable first and foremost referring to it as contemporary fiction than as a mystery. I found myself skimming on a semi-frequent basis because much of the writing wasn't all too relevant to the mystery.
Hunky cop with very nice legs, which is always an A+ for me. Biracial woman as the main character (without her story being about The Struggle), love love love it.
Overall an enjoyable read, but if you're looking for an edge-of-your-seat, addictive page turner mystery, look elsewhere. If you're interested in reading a general fiction/mild mystery about women in the world of fashion magazines that isn't *nearly* as frivolously dramatic as "The Devil Wears Prada", park yourself in front of this novel and devour.
The mystery was a slow-burn one, but with such minimal suspense, development, or overall relevancy within the entire story, I hesitate to primarily classify this novel under the mystery genre; I feel much more comfortable first and foremost referring to it as contemporary fiction than as a mystery. I found myself skimming on a semi-frequent basis because much of the writing wasn't all too relevant to the mystery.
Hunky cop with very nice legs, which is always an A+ for me. Biracial woman as the main character (without her story being about The Struggle), love love love it.
Overall an enjoyable read, but if you're looking for an edge-of-your-seat, addictive page turner mystery, look elsewhere. If you're interested in reading a general fiction/mild mystery about women in the world of fashion magazines that isn't *nearly* as frivolously dramatic as "The Devil Wears Prada", park yourself in front of this novel and devour.
March 17, 2023
'Dammit, he thought, checking her pulse and trying to find a way to discreetly loosen the thick plastic casing she'd squeezed into, don't these women ever eat?'
gotta admit this was an entertaining read. i was lost at some points due to the detailed descriptions about magazines, fashion shows and stuff regarding this topic. the writing was immaculate for the most part.
the author showed both her strengths and weaknesses in this book and honestly i enjoyed seeing them. i am impressed. i had no expectations, the title being what caught my attention. but the content was delightful. it has drama, character study, action, a bit of romance, a bit of commentary on female bodies, women (not) eating, feminism.
a solid read.
the weak point: the police action packed scenes (they felt rushed and as if not written by the same person) and the mistery side of the book (they felt kinda cheap)
it's still worth giving it a read. i enjoyed it despite its shortcomings.
gotta admit this was an entertaining read. i was lost at some points due to the detailed descriptions about magazines, fashion shows and stuff regarding this topic. the writing was immaculate for the most part.
the author showed both her strengths and weaknesses in this book and honestly i enjoyed seeing them. i am impressed. i had no expectations, the title being what caught my attention. but the content was delightful. it has drama, character study, action, a bit of romance, a bit of commentary on female bodies, women (not) eating, feminism.
a solid read.
the weak point: the police action packed scenes (they felt rushed and as if not written by the same person) and the mistery side of the book (they felt kinda cheap)
it's still worth giving it a read. i enjoyed it despite its shortcomings.
May 9, 2017
Reading this book was a little like being in a car with a person who's just learning how to drive a stick. Stopping and starting, picking up speed, then coasting, then a jerky deceleration to a stop. I'd be speeding through it, enjoying its breeziness, then suddenly I'd feel bogged down and wish it would pick up already. Sometimes its deep passion for fashion was fun and creative, other times the whole story would seem to get bogged down in the details of what everyone was wearing. Ultimately I finished it but I wish it did more of what it did well and less of what it didn't.
November 29, 2021
There’s a mysterious death at glossy fashion magazine RAGE. The setting is pretty typical: NYC, high fashion, high pressure, catty coworkers, so on. There’s also an extreme darkness I didn’t expect, but was all-in! Part murder mystery, part chick lit, this is a deftly-written satire I’m glad I picked up!
October 26, 2025
a myriad of vague plot points that didn't really matter. ohhhh theyre soo painfully thin and beautiful. won't anybody care about the malnourished skeletons of new York??
March 14, 2018
My dear friend Sasha recommended this book to me - she had received it as a Netgalley release - and I eagerly swooped in to read it as well. It sounded intriguing - a woman found dead in a windowless closet of a famous fashion magazine, possible plots and the conniving elite in a world of high fashion. It seemed an irresistible quick read, and proved to be just that. Barbara Bourland, a Baltimore native, has crafted an eminently readable first novel with acerbic wit and entertaining twists and turns.
While the book is a mystery, it is also an entertaining stab at the fashion industry an their mores, entwined equally with a mirror held up to the difficult state of feminist mores. As honorable as it is to try to change the industry from the inside out, such a view may well be impossible. The true changes may come from creating something new, rather than trying to operate from within an inherently oppressive system.
Barbara Bourland is a promising author. She's crafted something deeply entertaining, and already seems to have more on her plate. I'm curious how her writing will improve over time and what other fun stories are up her sleeves.
Thanks, Sasha!
While the book is a mystery, it is also an entertaining stab at the fashion industry an their mores, entwined equally with a mirror held up to the difficult state of feminist mores. As honorable as it is to try to change the industry from the inside out, such a view may well be impossible. The true changes may come from creating something new, rather than trying to operate from within an inherently oppressive system.
Barbara Bourland is a promising author. She's crafted something deeply entertaining, and already seems to have more on her plate. I'm curious how her writing will improve over time and what other fun stories are up her sleeves.
Thanks, Sasha!
May 27, 2017
I really liked the premise of this book and was excited to read a murder mystery with added glamour of the fashion world. However I really struggled to engage with the author's writing style; the frequent overly long descriptions interfered with the story for me and left me frustrated. I'm sure these are intended to highlight the focus on aesthetics within the world of fashion magazines, but for me, sentences that are half a page long and don't tell me anything about the story just don't work. I wasn't able to finish the book, which is rare for me. I have read some great reviews from other readers however so while it didn't work for me, it's still worth a look for anyone who likes the sound of the storyline.
A free advance copy was provided to me by Netgalley in return for an honest review.
A free advance copy was provided to me by Netgalley in return for an honest review.
December 7, 2018
I can't believe how much I enjoyed this book, even staying up late to finish it which hasn't happened in a long time. So it's a little bit murder mystery, Sex & the City, quite a bit of Devil Wears Prada with some romance and quite a bit of social commentary thrown in. The inner workings of a monthly fashion magazine are covered along with a keen eye turned on advertising, beauty, fashion, class, education and law enforcement. I really wanted to know what would happen to these characters and the murder weapon was definitely unique. Bourland covers a lot of ground and I felt like it might come across a bit all over the place in parts but in the end it all circles back and wraps up nicely. It was a pleasure to read.
November 6, 2023
I didn’t dislike it at all but I think there is some room to grow with this one. Loose plot, finagled ending, some twists here and there. Would reread to analyse a bit more. Fun though!
October 4, 2018
You can tell it's Barbara Bourland's first book. For me it lacks proper editing, but the story is thrilling anyway. And I loved the sarcasm and irony - Bourland's attitude is definetely the one I can relate to :)
January 7, 2020
Bad, bad writing. Just really bad.
So many inconsistencies that I stopped trying to find something to like. First, there's the character Cat who is at first a slovenly, drug-addled, partying, late-for-work-by-hours, rich girl. Then, for no reason, we are told (not shown) that Cat is a hard-working woman who is mindful of losing her green card status to work in the U.S. if she is found to be on the wrong side of the law. But she's already got a warrant out for her arrest. She can't get through more than a couple of hours without cocaine, alcohol, or whatever recreational drug is handy. She's a mess. So is everyone else, BTW. I know this is supposed to be satirical, but that doesn't excuse the mono-dimensional, dislike-able characters throughout.
And I lived and worked in NYC and L.A. with models, dancers, actors, etc. Those who reach the top are deadly serious about their work. They don't spend every weeknight getting drunk and dilating their pupils with enough coke to kill a horse. They work. They hone themselves like weapons and claw their way to the top, or as far as they can get. The ones that behave like the characters in this book are soon culled from the herd. I know...this isn't meant to portray real life, but I just had to say.
Then there are the small details that nonetheless jump out at the reader. At a restaurant, Cat is meeting a short actor for a PR, photo-op dinner date. She towers over him. She sits down, which puts them on a face-to-face level and immediately kisses him to please the paparazzi. And then...he pulls out her chair and helps her into it like a gentleman. WTF?? Do I really need to explain the inconsistency of sitting before you're sitting...or sitting twice?
There were character names that irked me, too. Hillary Whitney, the dead girl at the beginning...that was the name of the rich debutante who died in the movie 'Beaches.' And the news/interviewer Anders Smith...are we REALLY not supposed to recognize Anderson Cooper? It was just another layer of unoriginal thinking that kept adding insult to injury.
The writing style is so drenched in effort and clumsiness that it felt about as stylish as a lead slug. All in all, I got the feeling I was reading a sloppy, juvenile, awkward, rough attempt at something akin to The Devil Wears Prada, but lacking in the charm or sophistication Devil has. The label- and name-dropping were awkwardly handled and impeded pace and flow. And it's not a murder mystery. More of a murder cock-up.
I'm disappointed. I thought I'd try this book because I did like Fake Like Me by the same writer. But this?....no....just...no...
So many inconsistencies that I stopped trying to find something to like. First, there's the character Cat who is at first a slovenly, drug-addled, partying, late-for-work-by-hours, rich girl. Then, for no reason, we are told (not shown) that Cat is a hard-working woman who is mindful of losing her green card status to work in the U.S. if she is found to be on the wrong side of the law. But she's already got a warrant out for her arrest. She can't get through more than a couple of hours without cocaine, alcohol, or whatever recreational drug is handy. She's a mess. So is everyone else, BTW. I know this is supposed to be satirical, but that doesn't excuse the mono-dimensional, dislike-able characters throughout.
And I lived and worked in NYC and L.A. with models, dancers, actors, etc. Those who reach the top are deadly serious about their work. They don't spend every weeknight getting drunk and dilating their pupils with enough coke to kill a horse. They work. They hone themselves like weapons and claw their way to the top, or as far as they can get. The ones that behave like the characters in this book are soon culled from the herd. I know...this isn't meant to portray real life, but I just had to say.
Then there are the small details that nonetheless jump out at the reader. At a restaurant, Cat is meeting a short actor for a PR, photo-op dinner date. She towers over him. She sits down, which puts them on a face-to-face level and immediately kisses him to please the paparazzi. And then...he pulls out her chair and helps her into it like a gentleman. WTF?? Do I really need to explain the inconsistency of sitting before you're sitting...or sitting twice?
There were character names that irked me, too. Hillary Whitney, the dead girl at the beginning...that was the name of the rich debutante who died in the movie 'Beaches.' And the news/interviewer Anders Smith...are we REALLY not supposed to recognize Anderson Cooper? It was just another layer of unoriginal thinking that kept adding insult to injury.
The writing style is so drenched in effort and clumsiness that it felt about as stylish as a lead slug. All in all, I got the feeling I was reading a sloppy, juvenile, awkward, rough attempt at something akin to The Devil Wears Prada, but lacking in the charm or sophistication Devil has. The label- and name-dropping were awkwardly handled and impeded pace and flow. And it's not a murder mystery. More of a murder cock-up.
I'm disappointed. I thought I'd try this book because I did like Fake Like Me by the same writer. But this?....no....just...no...
July 28, 2021
I like how it started and I was really invested in murder investigation. I was not expecting the romance but I did not hate it. I only wish there weren’t so many things going on. The whole feminism theme was really shoved into your face almost every chapter… always any RAGE staff member feeling like they must educate any non staff about how important fashion (therefore feminism) is…
The characters were kind of ok. Cat was ok until she became triggered when some man said women do a lot to look nice…
Detective Hutton was cool until you read about his casual sex friend and his disregard for Cat’s career and lack of work visa..
I think I liked Bess the most but they didn’t go into much detail about her. She was a side character until it was decided she was to be Cat’s super reliable best friend.
I also wasn’t a fan of all the drinking and coke use. Reading about Cat drinking and snorting coke alone was kind of gross and grimy.
I mainly read to find out how Hillary died. I was not disappointed with the reveal.
I really good mystery read but a little cluttered.
The characters were kind of ok. Cat was ok until she became triggered when some man said women do a lot to look nice…
Detective Hutton was cool until you read about his casual sex friend and his disregard for Cat’s career and lack of work visa..
I think I liked Bess the most but they didn’t go into much detail about her. She was a side character until it was decided she was to be Cat’s super reliable best friend.
I also wasn’t a fan of all the drinking and coke use. Reading about Cat drinking and snorting coke alone was kind of gross and grimy.
I mainly read to find out how Hillary died. I was not disappointed with the reveal.
I really good mystery read but a little cluttered.
April 6, 2018
"Later that night, on the phone to her parents in Los Angeles, Molly would casually refer to the magazine as simply "Book," thinking she sounded sophisticated. After she hung up, Molly's father would say, 'I think she gets dumber every year.' "
"Cat thought that fashion and beauty advertising preyed on the basest human insecurities, showing only legions of poreless, polished dolls serving as human shelves for handbags and perfume, their mouths set into dick-sucking Os and their legs splayed open, slack and lifeless."
" 'It's a giant pyramid scheme where we make the Coopers and Martins richer by using our half-million-dollar educations to distill meaningful human experiences into regrams.' "
"Cat thought that fashion and beauty advertising preyed on the basest human insecurities, showing only legions of poreless, polished dolls serving as human shelves for handbags and perfume, their mouths set into dick-sucking Os and their legs splayed open, slack and lifeless."
" 'It's a giant pyramid scheme where we make the Coopers and Martins richer by using our half-million-dollar educations to distill meaningful human experiences into regrams.' "
July 18, 2017
Loved this fun satire about the fashion industry, the women who run it, their foibles and fantasies. Working for the magazine, Rage, sounds glamorous and unique, but there are always petty jealousies and undercurrents of the dark side for those who clamor to be on top. So it's part murder mystery, part fashion industry intrigue, and part just plain fun to read!
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