Synopsis (from the publisher):
The headline read: “Hollywood Superstar Kelly Trozzo Found Dead.”
With no suspect in custody, authorities turn their attention to best-selling author Kaleb Reed, whose obsessive relationship with the star has been followed by social media and tabloids alike.
In his online confession, Reed claims that his relationship with Trozzo began with a tweet, an unexpected endorsement from the pop star herself. Almost overnight, Reed’s novel garners national attention, and the reclusive writer is thrust into the spotlight. But according to Reed, the endorsement came with a price.
In the days that follow, Reed is invited to Trozzo’s Los Angeles mansion, where he is solicited to write her memoir. Lured by her physical appeal and charisma, Reed delves further and further into Trozzo’s fantasy world, ensnared by a twisted story of betrayal and vengeance.
On the night of Trozzo’s death, Reed finally discovers his true role in this story, as well as the pop star’s alternative ending to his famous novel—one that leads to his arrest.
Set in Hollywood, She Died Famous is an innovative thriller that exposes the dark side of fame and obsession in today’s digital landscape. The story’s shocking twists and unreliable narrator will have every reader asking: Who killed Kelly Trozzo?
***This book is intended for mature audiences only.
Edition:
E-ARC via Net Galley
My Thoughts:
Told through a series of blog posts, memories, interviews and book snippets, all belonging to various players, She Died Famous tells a very coherent story in a really all-over the place way.
The overall story is told by the blog of Kaleb Reed, a narrator of highly questionable reliability. He is an author, yes, but he’s also a massive drug addict, a mentally unstable stalker, and a weird incel type. He wrote an entire incel love story about the woman he stalked, which is sort of the crux of the whole story.
This novel he wrote, called Pay Me, Alice is the book that leads the starlet Kelly Trozzo to seek him out and involve him in her bizarre life, and eventually her bizarre death. Kelly is just as whacked as the rest of them. Maybe even more so. There are no “good guys” here. Not really.
I want you to know…I didn’t return for my own glory. I returned to lead my fans. I came to give them power. I came to give them the headline they all deserve.
This book is definitely not for the faint of heart. It’s pretty massively fucked up. There are some mentions of self harm and suicidal ideations, shit loads of drug use, and incredibly conflicting accounts by a bunch of people who only see their own parts in Kelly’s story rather than the bigger picture, or even Kelly’s role in things. Basically, everyone only sees what they want to, and all anyone here wants to see is themselves.
I was also watching You on Netflix this last week, and honestly Kaleb reminds me so much of Joe on there that it was sort of messing with my brain. I felt like I needed to start checking behind shower curtains and shit just in case there was some creepy stalker hidden back there. And I don’t even have a curtained shower…
Overall, this was a solid mystery that played out in a fashion that I think began to be telegraphed fairly early on, but the stories each player was telling were still conflicting enough that it kept me doubtful that my assumption was correct, which I always appreciate. And added to that, there were still a lot of causal factors that I hadn’t guessed at all. So, good mystery writing, says me.
Rating:
The story was cohesive and well written. The characters were all just awful, but believably awful. It was entertaining but also surprisingly intense. Don’t read while also watching You. It’s too much creepy stalker action for one person to reasonably deal with.
She Died Famous By Kyle Rutkin Greater Path LLC Mystery, Thriller ISBN: 9780983683339 Published: July 30, 2019 E-book, Paperback 302 pages Book Website
