The Goldens
A Novel
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A delicious, intoxicating debut thriller about a young woman who is swept into a glamorous world of fascinating influencers, glittering parties—and possibly murder.
Chloe has always dreamed of becoming a bestselling writer. Then she meets Clara Holland, a prominent influencer, socialite, and model. Clara is enigmatic, dazzling, gorgeous. And at last, ordinary Chloe has something to write about.
Bonding instantly, Chloe moves into Clara’s grand family estate. They spend long afternoons together, writing Clara’s memoir, polishing social media posts, and planning sumptuous, decadent parties: fairy lights in the orangery, themed cocktails, sequined backdrops, roaring bonfires. But as Clara opens her home to more girls who want to live like her and inspire one another, the media calls them a cult.
As life becomes more claustrophobic, Chloe begins to hear unsettling rumors about Clara. When a girl goes missing after a spectacular New Year’s Eve party, the rumors take on a sinister new meaning. If she can’t escape Clara’s influence, everything Chloe holds dear may be in danger.
Dark, gut-wrenching, and simmering with danger and atmosphere, The Goldens is about to be your newest obsession.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Wilson's disquieting debut, 18-year-old Chloe Hughes gets off to a bumpy start at Dern University when her snobbish roommates bully her for her northern English accent. Her fortune changes when she returns a lost scarf to fellow student Clara Holland. Clara, the daughter of fashion moguls, is an influencer and model who throws lavish parties at her family's estate. As a thank-you for the scarf, Clara invites Chloe to one such party; from there, their friendship intensifies, and Clara soon asks Chloe to live with her. Together, they plan increasingly extravagant gatherings, to which Clara invites several of her adoring fans. When Vanessa, one of Chloe's former roommates, apologizes for bullying her, Chloe responds by inviting her to a New Year's Eve party. Then Vanessa disappears, and Clara begins inviting more girls to live on her estate, where she subjects them to cultlike rules ("No prioritizing outside friends or family over the group") that make Chloe increasingly uncomfortable. Wilson's prose is moody and elegant ("I missed lounging in the orangery, the warm dirt and citrus scent of it, the mildewed cushion soft beneath my back"), but she never offers a convincing reason why Chloe would continue her friendship with the increasingly erratic Clara. Still, fans of slow-burn thrillers will find plenty here to admire.
