Counterfeit
-
-
4.3 • 4 Ratings
-
-
- $15.99
-
- $15.99
Publisher Description
HUSTLERS meets BIG LITTLE LIES in the heist of the summer…
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
‘Propulsive and captivating’ Vogue
‘Darkly comedic’ Daily Mail
Meet Ava: rule-abiding lawyer who has ticked all of life’s boxes. She’s married to a successful surgeon and has just taken an indefinite career break to raise her adorable toddler. A picture-perfect life.
Meet Winnie: Ava’s old college roommate. Once awkward, quiet and apparently academically challenged, she left Stanford in a shroud of scandal. But now, she is charismatic, wealthy and has returned to town dripping in designer accessories. An actual perfect life.
When the two women bump into one another at a local coffee shop, it seems like fate has intervened: Winnie’s new-found success is courtesy of a shady business and she needs a favour; Ava is realising she is not built for the stay-at-home life. But what starts as one favour turns into two, then three, and soon Ava is in far deeper than she ever imagined.
Now Ava has to make the ultimate decision: cut and run, or risk it all?
‘Entertaining, luxurious … innovative and subversive’ NEW YORK TIMES
’Riveting and energetic’ BALLI KAUR JASWAL
’Clever, sharp, and slyly funny’ KIRKUS REVIEWS
’Will keep you breathless to the last page’ CLAIRE MESSUD
’Sly, subversive … incisive’ BOOKLIST
_____
NetGalley readers LOVE Counterfeit
‘One of the best books I’ve read all year’ * * * * *
‘Gripping … ingenious’ * * * * *
‘Amusing, addictive story that kept me reading all night’ * * * * *
‘Mysterious, suspenseful and twisty … had me on the edge of my seat’ * * * * * *
‘Fresh, observant and somehow … an incredible story without a wasted word’ * * * * *
‘I absolutely loved this book … highly recommend’ * * * * *
‘Devoured this in a night or two … funny, sad and eye-opening’ * * * * *
‘This book refused to allow me to put it down!’ * * * * *
‘Amusing, addictive … kept me reading all night’ * * * * *
About the author
Kirstin Chen is the author of Soy Sauce for Beginners and Bury What We Cannot Take. Born and raised in Singapore, she currently lives in San Francisco.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Chen (Bury What We Cannot Take) spins a clever tale offering two sides of a story involving a complicated friendship and knockoff handbags. When Ava Wong's former Stanford roommate Winnie Fang reenters her hectic San Francisco life, 20 years after graduation, Ava is the frazzled mother of a tantrum-prone two-year-old, married to a prominent surgeon, and on hiatus from a tax law career she can't stand. Winnie, on the other hand, has gone from nerd to gorgeous—and she's clearly rich. Ava, whose marriage is on the rocks, is dazzled by her friend's physical and financial makeover, then finds out it's all courtesy of a luxury handbag counterfeit scheme. While Ava is on an impulsive trip visiting family in Hong Kong, her husband cancels her credit and debit cards—leading Ava to reluctantly work with Winnie, whose goods come from China. The novel's second half picks up with Winnie's point of view, in which Ava is characterized as scheming and manipulative, making canny moves such as leaving a cellphone at a friend's house to secure an alibi while trafficking contraband. Readers face a choice: whose perception is real—and whose is counterfeit? The story is further deepened by the author's sharp, convincing details of the fashion industry and its shadow market, which lends this tale of fakes the tang of authenticity. Readers will be left guessing at the truth until the last page.
