Fake Somebodies

An intoxicating thriller romance – a cross-continental cat-and-mouse game of deception and revenge.

“I could have been someone. Anyone. Instead, I’m just pretending to be somebody. But being a fake somebody is better than being a nobody. Right?”

By day, eighteen-year-old university dropout Tilly Ripley is an aspiring journalist. By night she’s a con artist, supplementing her meagre receptionist income through catfishing and committing identity theft with the card details of sugar daddies. When Tilly is approached by Richard West to locate his wayward daughter Clementine, and persuade her to come home, in exchange for £100k, it’s an offer Tilly can’t refuse.

But tracking down the elusive Clementine proves harder than Tilly imagined. Clem never stops moving and when Tilly does find her, she is nothing like the prey of Tilly’s usual schemes; she’s enigmatic, utterly alluring and exceptionally smart. Tilly soon realises she’s got more than she bargained for as she embarks on a cross-continent cat-and-mouse game. But who is chasing who?

And, as it becomes apparent that more than just fortune is on the line, could a romantic scam artist stand to get her own heart broken?

Reviews

Praise for Lauren Wilson:

‘An enthralling YA cat-and-mouse thriller with a toxic female friendship and a steely twist’ Guardian

‘Dark, seductive and ruthlessly compelling’ Laura Steven, author of Our Infinite Fates

‘A thoroughly insidious thriller, set in a glittering, decadent world that will lure you in just as surely as the cast’s characters fall to the influence of their intoxicating, charismatic leader’ Bea Fitzgerald, author of Girl, Goddess, Queen

‘With creeping dread building to a nerve-shredding finale, The Goldens is sprinkled with the glamorous, the glittering and the gothic’ H. F. Askwith, author of A Dark Inheritance

'Deliciously dark and incredibly cool … An unputdownable novel' The Bookseller

‘A deftly plotted tale of toxic friendships, wild revelry and the tipping point of social-media darling to cult leader’ Rachel Greenlaw, author of Compass and Blade

‘The Goldens is feverish, sultry and tense – trust me, it’s unlike anything you’ve ever read’ Lucy Rose, author of The Lamb

About the author

Lauren Wilson is the acclaimed author of The Goldens and Tell Your Friends. Originally from County Durham, she now lives in Newcastle upon Tyne. She has a BA (Hons) degree in Journalism, and an MA in Creative Writing, both from Northumbria University. She has previously been a freelance radio reporter, set up her own content writing and social media management business, and worked for Mslexia, a magazine committed to championing women’s writing.

@laurenwauthor