Play Shop: Let's Pretend Sets

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We follow the main character, Lily, a former child actor who has really done nothing of note for some time.

Within the first few chapters (and as detailed in the synopsis) we learn that Lily finds Adam’s lifeless body in a swimming pool, it’s not clear how this came to be. I was hugely impressed that Laura Vaughan managed to flesh her characters out, and conjure such a vivid picture of Adam’s fast-living circle and shady machinations, that it made for an unexpectedly complicated investigation, with numerous suspects and motives that blindsided me completely.The early scenes immerse you in an upper-crust world of celebrity, party drugs, and money, where gossip and reputation are everything, and it's a horrifying world at times, with a cast of unlikeable characters and lots of reminders of life's fickle nature.

The plot plays host to quite a few egocentric, secretive characters but they are all credible and well depicted. Just when you think it is ending, another story comes through that didn’t even have a real ending to it, felt it was just left hanging. Nothing is what it seems, but Vaughan develops it naturally, without the need for gimmicks and sharp twists. This is a thriller set in the celebrity world behind the red rope, where things can be safe and separate, but also be a pressure cooker of emotion and varied desires.When Adam is discovered dead in a swimming pool, Lily suspects foul play and becomes engrossed in the investigation of who supplied the pills that killed him and whether they are still hazardous. He asks Lily to be his faux romance, to be in his arm at all the best parties and to share the limelight with him. She is shown as having a lingering element of fame as a child actor, but that seems a long time ago as she is shown as having her nose fixed, watching her weight, guarding her image. Therefore towards the end of the book I didn't really care who was responsible for Adam's death as none of the characters would have been a surprise. Yet as soon as Lily signs on the dotted line, the truth of Adam's dark side rises to the surface and their perfect circumstances soon turn toxic.