This is a fast-moving social commentary on three women from three differing areas of today's society colliding. There is Emily, former assistant to Miranda Priestley (and yes, Miranda does have a great cameo piece) who is now a stylist-turned-image-consultant troubleshooter. She is being pushed out of her job identity by a millenial and her use of social media where the number of followers you have determine your wordly status (think Kardashian). Emily is also going through somewhat of a crisis in her long distance marriage. Then there is Miriam, an old friend of Emily’s, a high-powered New York lawyer who traded it all in for life in the very upmarket suburbs and more time with her family, but can she deal with the suburban hierarchical lifestyle that depends solely on how much money you have and the compulsory daily uniform of LuLulemons which does not correlate well with any intake of carbohydrates?Joining them is Karolina, a former supermodel married to a would-be politician and hands-on step-mother to his son who is abruptly and quite horrifically sidelined by him in favour of a younger more politically-connected partner.
This is a very 2018 story that I read straight through as it grabs you immediately, then horrifies you with how the media can be manipulated - by a power-hungry man to destroy a woman, and then further manipulated by Emily to rehabilitate her image in the media (so many correlations that can be thought of here) whilst Miriam works on the legal angles and worries about her husband’s faithfullness. And then combine this with the strange lives that people live with too much money and not enough accountability both in suburbia and the city. The minutiae of suburban life is nothing new and nothing has really changed over the decades, apart from what was previously hidden from public view now being exposed by technology and the media. The story is nicely resolved at the end and is a very enjoyable read - Highly Recommended.
- Ann