The daughter of a famous YouTube family – who left her past long behind her – is forced to go home to save her sister. The debut thriller from two times Sunday Times bestselling fantasy novelist Andrea Stewart that will appeal to readers of Girl A, Sharp Objects and Luckiest Girl Alive.
PAPER DOLLS
by Andrea Stewart
on submission
(via Mushens Entertainment)
Ellie Campbell grew up online: the child of YouTubers, everything from her first period to first boyfriend was put up for the world to pick over, and her family to monetise. Until she grew up. She changed her name. She changed her hair. She barely speaks to her family anymore.
But when she spots some unnerving details in her parents’ videos, and gets the news that a close family friend has gone missing – she decides that she has to go back, to make sure that her younger sister Olivia is safe.
She arrives to a house full of secrets, including one that her parents have kept from the world: Olivia has run away. But Olivia would have come to Ellie if she’d run. Ellie knows it. So where is she? And could it be connected to the disappearance of their neighbour? When a body is found, Ellie is forced to confront the realities of her childhood – and the darkness that lies beneath the perfect façade.
Andrea Stewart is the daughter of immigrants, and was raised in a number of places across the United States. She now lives in sunny California. Her debut fantasy novel, Bone Shard Daughter, was published in the US and UK by Orbit, as well as in 7 other translation territories. Bone Shard War, and the first in her next trilogy, The Gods Below, were both Sunday Times bestsellers.
Dawn Decker is an American everywoman and the salt to her husband Wyatt’s sweet, media-friendly charm on their Tennessee-based home renovation reality TV show, The Perfect Home. While Dawn bristles at the trappings of their D-list celebrity status, Wyatt hungers for greater fame. The couple also faces infertility issues stemming from Wyatt’s low sperm count. He secretly orders experimental fertility drugs, and they conceive, but his personality takes a dark turn—he becomes moody, withdrawn, and even cruel.
In the glow of their children’s exciting first year of college at a small private school in Northern California, five families plan on a night of dinner and cocktails for the opening festivities of Parents Weekend. As the parents stay out way past their bedtimes, their kids―five residents of Campisi Hall―never show up at dinner.
Emily has been feeling like an outsider for months now. The Londoner can’t cope with everyday life any more, and has to give up her studies. Three months ago, her friend Liv fell onto the Tube tracks and died – Emily was standing right next to her, but can’t recall anything about the incident. The police thinks it was an accident, but Emily suspects there’s more to it. She must find a way to remember. But why is everyone she tries to talk to about it being so evasive? And what if she discovers a terrible truth about herself in the process? Little does Emily know that her life is already in serious danger…