This book was really good in a lot of ways: interesting layout, story, and characters. However, the ending kind of fell flat. I feel like there should have been more to it.

I was HOOKED from the very beginning. Creepy and dysfunctional characters, a murder, and an interesting mystery. But somewhere along the line I was sadly lost. There is something missing for me. A connection to the characters. It was an OK read, but not the slam dunk I was hoping for.

The format of this book was unique, including newspaper headlines and clippings, blog posts, interviews and so forth. The way it was entwined within the book was perfect and added so much to the book experience.

Kelly a Hollywood star was murdered, and we are taken back to the days leading up to it when she befriends Kaleb, an author to write her memoir. She reeled him in by helping make his first book famous, so he is stuck. As he delves more and more into her twisted life, it leads to his arrest. How it came to that and what Kelly was really about will leave you shocked.

This dark and twisty novel is one to add to your bookshelf for the coming year.

This story is written in a super unique style- kind of like Daisy Jones & the Six- but oh man is this darker and more twisted- which I LOVE! The author has put this together as a combination of blogs, news headlines, and t.v. interviews. I wasn't sure that I would like it as first, but it really worked. I enjoyed this book mainly because it is so different from anything I've read before. Warning: This book does touch on heavy subjects like addiction, physical abuse, and suicide scenes so this should be understood before diving in if these things trigger you. I found the characters to be well developed and realistic while also disturbed. Kelly is a singer/actress (much like Lady Gaga's character in A Star is Born) and Kaleb is an addict and possibly insane author, Jez Kelly's assistant and Kelly's best friend Lizzy - who had very important roles in telling this story. I enjoyed getting to know them all.
I couldn't shake the feeling that I wanted more though. I’m not sure if I didn’t want it to end or if I wanted a different ending for Kaleb. This was definitely a dark and twisted story of obsession, addiction and the real-life demons that live deep within the characters. I can't give more away without spoiling, but if you wanna know who killed Kelly, you must read this book. I enjoyed it very much. Thank you, Net Galley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book. It has a great example of how multiple people can view the same set of events through very different lenses depending on the information they have and their biases. The author plays with fame, social media, and fan culture to create a captivating thriller. It kept me turning the pages. I enjoyed the different formats used to tell the story: interviews, blog posts, news stories, etc. I can see how there might be people who would not enjoy this book. But it was a hit for me.

She Died Famous – Kyle Rutkin

Synopsis: Superstar Kelly Trozzo and her agent are found murdered, and all the signs are pointing in one direction… Author Kaleb Reed. Trozzo sought Reed out after reading his book, and overnight made him an internet sensation and a best-selling author. The story is told through Reed’s blog, police interviews, magazine and newspaper articles. Reed is the main narrator, although Trozzo’s best friend Lizzy, and her obsessed assistant Jez, reveal their stance on certain situations, including Trozzo’s budding relationship with Reed. It dives deep into the dark side of fame, drugs, addiction, and obsession. Throughout the whole book, you’ll have the same question… who killed Trozzo?

Review: I absolutely loved this book! The format worked so well for the story being told, I’m a huge fan of celebrity gossip rags, so this was right up my alley. The book is so entertaining, it’s definitely one you won’t be able to put down! Rutkin did an amazing job capturing multiple sides of the story, while providing all the details a reader requires. Easily, one of my favourite thrillers of 2019! Can’t wait to read more by Rutkin!

When superstar, Kelly Trozzo, hires Kaleb Reed to write her memoir, he has no idea what to expect. What she asks of him, ends up being more then your typical biography. When Kelly is found dead, the police turn to Kaleb as a suspect. Kaleb and Kelly’s relationship was full of drugs, alcohol, and followed by the world. Kaleb has a violent past and they know it. In his blog, Kaleb recalls the moment he met Kelly to the moment she died. This is a story the world is going to want to read.
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What can I say other then I thought this story was beyond compelling. Right from the beginning I wanted to know what happened. I like that you get mini points of views from certain characters and they conflict each other. It puts your mind to work on who’s telling the truth. Kelly and Kaleb are two majorly flawed characters and do a great job at showing the true darkness one can feel. The dependency we can feel on drugs and alcohol. Kaleb has a sort of superhero complex in which he feels the need to protect those he loves, but at the same time, he can take these to extreme levels. I really enjoyed this story.

This book takes you on a wild Hollywood ride. It is different in the way the story is told, a mix of blog posts, interviews and news articles from different perspectives. I enjoyed the thriller aspect of finding out who killed the main focus of the book, famed singer/actress Kelly Trozzo. Kyle's writing really draws you in and makes you feel like your right there in the book. Drug use is very prevalent in this book, some in my book club found this troubling, I did not. At the beginning of the book I felt very strongly for Kelly, but towards the end my feelings were more for another focus in the book, Kaleb. Kaleb, is an author that Kelly loves and hires to write her book but also may or may not have fallen in love with. This book will not disappoint!

wow..wow..wow.. this book was super good!! It's dark, twisty and captivating. I was impressed with Kyles style of writing and need more!!I absolutely love it. It's a story about not only betrayal and vengeance but of obsession and what it comes with, darkness and the price for fame and fortune. It's also about dealing with your inner demons and dealing with wounds that never leave us. I would like to thank Netgalley for the digital copy of this book as an exchange for a review. I'm gonna have to recommend this book to my psychological thriller loving friends.

I absolutely loved She Died Famous.

It's dark, obsessive and oh so readable. It was the perfect combination of thriller, social commentary and just a great read. Well-written, this book will appeal to a wide audience of thriller lovers, fans of books about celebrity and lovers of true crime inspired fiction. I was worried the use of blog posts would feel gimmicky, but they were so well done and added to the story and relevancy in today's media obsessed world.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kyle Rutkin and Greater Path LLC for a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.

4 stars, but could’ve been a 5 star, if not so slow in certain areas and a bit confusing in others. Overall, I thought it was a solid thriller, with some disturbing themes, and fun twists. Well written for the most part, which made it easy to read and enjoy! Recommend to both my fellow thriller lovers and true crime lovers, as I do think both genre lovers will enjoy this read!
Will make sure I buzz it up!

She Died Famous is a great thriller that has drugs,suspense,stalking,and, murder. It had a few slow spots,but it has some twists and turns.

REVIEW TIME

This novel is completely captivating. It’s dark and obsessive story line kept me wanting more the whole way through.

The author does such a fantastic job of telling the story from diverse angles and giving just enough information to the readers in order for them to need to continue on to find out the truth of what happened to Kelly Trozzo. The story is told through interviews, blogs, and chapters from a novel Kaleb Reed wrote. Kaleb also is the number one suspect for the death of Kelly.

Kelly and Kaleb’s relationship was intoxicating. I found myself rooting for them even through the darkest parts of their story. I had to put the book down for a couple of day so that I could savor the ending. It did not disappoint. As I read the last few sentences of the book I gasped because it wasn’t the ending I expected.

Definitely not a bad read. Interesting format. Good storyline, but for some reason took me a bit to get through. Maybe wasn't the best book for me to choose but I know of others that would enjoy it more.

In the end it was just a little too convoluted for me. Could have been a bit more clear. I enjoyed it quite a bit anyway. Liked the format. Characters were interesting. Just a bit too out there at parts. That’s just my personal taste tho. Still a solid 4 star read.

Thank you NetGalley, Kyle Rutkin and Greater Path LLC for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

As soon as I started this novel, I was taken back to Daisy Jones with the similar writing and the many different people telling one story that we may never get the full truth of. I was shocked by how crazy this novel is and I was totally sucked in right from the beginning! I wanted nothing more than to finish this one in one sitting and find out what is actually going on. There are a lot of really screwed up scenes in this novel that definitely made me think about how much drugs destroy lives, especially those we see are plagued by the media. I was shocked by how dark the ending was, but it was definitely fitting! I loved all the different formats and I would definitely recommend giving this one a try if you like dark thrillers!

I'm not going to lie. I really, really wanted to enjoy this book. I LOVE a good murder mystery and thought this one would be right up my alley with the whodunnit and Hollywood aspects.

That being said, this book was very hard for me to get through. There was A LOT of drug use/addiction mentioned in the book, which is a little triggering for me, personally. The characters were written to be generally unlikeable, but I felt it was more than that that turned me off of the book. Kelly and Kaleb are extremely volatile and are absolutely in a toxic relationship.

The ending did surprise me, so at least there was that. If you love a whodunnit/murder mystery and don't mind horrible, unlikeable characters throughout mixed with substance abuse, this is the book for you. It's just not for me.

I do want to call out Kyle Rutkin, though. He is very clearly a skilled writer, and having to put the content of this book together absolutely requires great skill. The book and its content just weren't for me. He, along with Netgalley, provided me a free copy of the book for an honest review and I do appreciate the gesture.

This book and I definitely did not mesh well. We were a terrible match and I regret asking for the ARC. I had to DNF it at %55. I don't care about self-absorbed, shallow personalities that love to drink and snort coke and have major rage issues. It is not what I enjoy reading and I am sorry to give such a bad review.

4 Stars: 4/5 Star Review
Wow! What a tragedy and what a story! What a mystery! This story will leave you reeling! I couldn't get enough of this book. It is fascinating, to say the least. It will grab the reader and hold on fast. Grab your seat and a popcorn.....because she's about to be famous and you're about to be a witness to it.
I received a digital ARC of this book from netgalley and Greater Path LLC in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.

She Died Famous is a gritty suspense dark read. Kaleb’s world is turned upside down when famous superstar Kelly Trozzo raves about his book. He’s pulled back into a world of dark indulgence and there is no way out.

The cover is what caught my eye. Yes I look at covers! Then read the synopsis and it sounded like my kind of read. I wasn’t disappointed. It is dark. It is suspense filled. Broken people battling their demons. At times it seemed like the story was a bit disjointed but it came together eventually. Some of the characters were hard to like and that’s how it was supposed to be. Great job Mr. Rutkin! The story is not a fairy tale and the author wasn’t afraid to dive down the dark drug demon hole. This story isn’t for everyone but I enjoyed it. I give it 4 stars.