The Most Famous Girl in the World

It’s not every protagonist who introduces herself to readers while in the middle of getting an intimate area waxed, but Rose Aslani isn’t every protagonist. She’s the quintessential new New York Gen Zer: being worked to death in media, living with a strange roommate who seems only vaguely familiar with being clothed, and fielding suggestions from her parents like, “Why don’t you email the New York Times and ask them for a job?” All the while, Rose is nursing an obsession with the titular Most Famous Girl in the World, Poppy Hastings. A couple of years ago, Poppy’s fake-socialite scam was exposed–by Rose–and she’s just gotten out of prison for those exploits, but it’s too little for her nemesis. Rose knows that Poppy’s scamming was the tip of a criminal iceberg, and she stalks the woman, who flaunts her zany, fibbing ways to every internet hack who’ll listen. The public can’t get enough of it, while Rose is accused at work of paranoia, dropped by a succession of therapists, and falling deeper into reliance on booze and pills. Then the journalist begins to receive texts that help her in her quest to take Poppy down, a quest on which she’s aided by dishy FBI agent Simon. The story takes on some serious themes, notably Rose’s lifelong feeling of alienation as the daughter of immigrants from Iran who love her (as will readers) but “[love] the idea of passing more.” Closing with several shocking twists, this is one for women who’ve had it and fans of the true-crime wave of podcasts and documentaries about scammers.