Wednesday 24 May 2017

Books Read: I'll Eat When I'm Dead by Barbara Bourland

RAGE Fashion Book is the world's most dynamic, ambitious magazine.
Its editors ­- like Cat Ono - have the power to change minds and the market.
They're savvy, sisterly and polished to perfection. Even the one found dead in her office.

Everyone thinks Hillary starved to death - but Cat knows her friend's dieting wasn't a capital P problem. If beauty kills, it'd take more than that. Hot-headed and fiercely feminist, Cat's sure she can match the investigating skills of Detective Mark Hutton, solve the case, and achieve sartorial fulfillment.

But going undercover, Cat's in over her head, and soon becomes snared in a very stylish web of drugs, sex, lies and moisturizer that will change her look - and outlook - forever.

Cat's about to find out what it really means to be a fashion victim.

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

I wasn't really sure what to expect from Barbara Bourland's debut novel I'll Eat When I'm Dead which had been billed as 'The Devil Wears Prada meets American Psycho' but was intrigued enough that I'm glad I took a chance and read this hilarious tale following the exploits of Cat and the gang at RAGE magazine.  

The story begins with the news that the fashion editor at RAGE, Hillary Whitton, was found dead in a locked workshop and her death was attributed to heart failure due to starvation, not really surprising in an industry where image is everything, or so it seemed... But something has piqued the interest of Detective Mark Hutton who has decided to take a closer look into Hillary's death to see if there was more to it than first meets the eye.   

During the course of his investigation, Mark comes into contact with Hillary's friend and RAGE editor Catherine 'Cat' Ono who he recruits onside to help get to the truth behind what actually happened to Hillary, but this could be at personal cost to Cat who doesn't have green card status.   

Throughout the book we get an over-the-top view, or maybe that is what life is like, of the pressures and competitiveness of existing in the fashion business, the excesses needed to survive the full-on lifestyle and maintain the perfect image, but it was also great to see some ethical issues added into the mix too.  It wasn't all just about the glamour.  

I'm not really sure what category this book falls into as it's a bit of a hybrid, there's the crime/mystery element surrounding Hilary's death, some romance but most of all it's a hilarious, satirical look at life working in the fashion media business.  Not my usual type of read as I'm certainly no fashionista but sometimes it's good to mix things up a bit.  

I'd like to thank Alainna at Quercus for inviting me to be part of this blog tour and sending me a proof copy of the book to review. 

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