Caroline is holding a Cajun themed dinner party to celebrate her brother, Daniel's birthday. She's gathered together their closest friends, along with Selina, an online psychic. Only Daniel isn't there because he recently went missing on a trip to New Orleans. The only traces of him are a blood-stained shirt and his passport found floating in an alligator swamp. And Selina may be the last person who saw him alive. But the truth is a gnarly beast, and everyone has different versions of the past.

These are deliciously awful characters. Slater's writing is as sharp and on point as in DEATH OF A BOOKSELLER. She manages to depict people's flaws and absurdities while also making them feel layered and relatable. I found myself empathising with people who I'd normally feel low-level contempt for. The observational skills are spot on and often amusing but never cruel.
I came away feeling like I'd had a mini break in New Orleans. The descriptions are lurid and not what you might see in a glossy brochure.

Great depictions of grifters, frauds and liars. This is a propulsive and twisted storyline. I devoured this book in a day.

I was so excited to hear that Alice had written a new book - I loved her debut, Death of a Bookseller. When she announced her second book I checked NetGalley obsessively until it was finally available to request. I was so excited to be approved, and this one doesn’t disappoint! It centres around the disappearance of Daniel, an almost 30 year old who has an unhealthy relationship with his sister, a compulsive lying habit and the ability to manipulate everyone around him. His sister throws a dinner party for some of their friends, plus a psychic that Daniel had been spending time with before he disappeared in New Orleans. I don’t want to spoil the storyline but I loved the twists and turns, and I loved how awful all of the characters were. This was such a fun read, and I absolutely tore through it in an afternoon.