This Year's Model

by Sam Baker

When Lou McCartney, fashion reporter on The Post, finds out that her estranged half-sister Scarlett has gone missing in Japan, she's left guilt-ridden and reeling. Lou and Scarlett have been estranged since Lou's father dumped her mother for a younger model, and Scarlett was catapulted to fame as a child model.

Ten years later, Scarlett's career has stalled. In a desperate bid for work, Scarlett decamps to Tokyo, the toughest assignment in the already tough world of international modelling. And then she vanishes.

Faced with Scarlett's disappearance, Lou turns to her best friend, Annie Anderson. A former investigative reporter Annie now works for the fashion bible, Handbag magazine. Giving Lou's knowledge of the fashion world and Annie's nose for trouble, it's only a matter of time before they begin chasing down what really happened to Scarlett. It's a dangerous hunt. One that forces Lou to face up to her past, and takes Annie from London to New York and Tokyo.

In the hard-nosed world of modelling, sometimes the best look is the one that lets you come out of it alive...

352 pages, Paperback

First published March 6, 2008

About the author

Sam Baker grew up in Hampshire and, after a degree in politics at Birmingham University, became a journalist, going on to edit some of the UK's biggest magazines. For six years she was Editor in Chief of Red magazine, where she set up the Red Hot Women Awards recognising achievement across politics, science, tech, the arts, media and charity, as well as championing support for Refuge, the charity for victims of domestic abuse.

In 2015 she co-founded and launched The Pool with Lauren Laverne, the online platform that makes inspiring and original content for busy women.

Sam is married to the novelist Jon Courtenay Grimwood and lives in Winchester. When she’s not working or writing she escapes by devouring crime novels or watching box sets.

Reviews

[Kitten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminds me of a slightly grittier Tasmina Perry. The whole "oh, no Westerner can truly understand Japan" aspect of the book was rather annoying, though.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story about Lou's fractured family, and her best friend Annie, a journalist. The story takes you to Japan and gives an interesting insight into the country (about which I know little about). You don't find out what happens to Scarlett until almost the end of the book, which certainly kept me engaged.

[Harriet · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not that great, I've read quite a lot of very good books recently and this one just didn't match up. Nothing wrong with the story or writing, just the characters didn't engage me and there was no humour to lift the narrative. Somehow how I found a story set in the world of fashion with undercover reporters and a missing girl, dull.

[Skye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty interesting! Not what I expected but the story trotted along fine. Did the author intentionally avoid giving details on what Rufus did because it would not seem convincing otherwise?

[Dancingsocks · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an ok book, kept my attention without demanding it and I enjoyed the story. To be fair it was a lot better than I thought it would be!