ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – Clickbait by L.C. North
Clickbait by L.C. North is published by Bantam (Transworld) and available now in hardcover, eBook and audiobook. My thanks to Chloe Rose for the proof copy.
‘We’re not famous anymore. We’re notorious.’
For over a decade, the Lancasters were celebrity royalty, with millions tuning in every week to watch their reality show, Living with the Lancasters.
But then an old video emerges of one of their legendary parties. Suddenly, they’re in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons: witnesses swore they’d seen missing teenager Bradley Wilcox leaving the Lancaster family home on the night of the party, but the video tells a different story
Now true crime investigator and YouTuber Tom Isaac is on the case. He’s determined to find out what really happened to Bradley – he just needs to read between the Lancasters’ lies . . .
Because when the cameras are always rolling, it won’t be long until someone cracks.
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For fans of Murder in the Family and The Club, Clickbait is told through mixed media, from video transcripts to diary entries, capturing a unique and addictive commentary on ruthless ambition and the dark side of fame.
The Lancaster family are well known for their reality TV show. The matriarch is Lynn and it’s clear she has a lot of control over her three grown up children, Taylor, Locke and India. I have never seen Keeping Up With the Kardiashians but Living With the Lancasters is exactly what I think it would be like. The Lancasters present a united front whilst simultaneously stabbing each other in the back – not an easy balance to achieve! I found them all thoroughly unlikeable, which I’m certain was the whole point.
The story is initially about a missing teenage boy. Bradley Wilcox disappeared after leaving one of the Lancaster’s raucous parties two decades ago and an old and previously unseen home video is about to bring the disappearance back into the news, which is not good for the Lancaster family.
The whole story is told via a true crime investigator’s podcasts/YouTube videos, police interviews, celebrity news reports, clips from Living With the Lancasters and other similar kinds of mixed media and the author has done an excellent job of conveying what’s happening in this way. It also makes it really fast-paced read and one where I could cram in a bit more before having to lay my book down.
Clickbait is a twisty read about a family who live their lives in the spotlight, making them more than a little bit dysfunctional. It’s a modern and original look at a family chasing ever more fame, and the consequences of this on their whole lives.
L.C. North studied psychology at university before pursuing a career in Public Relations. Her book club thrillers – The Ugly Truth and Clickbait – combine her love of psychology and her fascination with the celebrities in the public eye. When she’s not writing, she co-hosts the crime thriller podcast, In Suspense. She lives on the Suffolk borders with her family.
L.C. North is the pen name of Lauren North. Readers can follow her on Twitter @Lauren_C_North and Facebook @LaurenNorthAuthor.
