Stylist's contributing books editor Francesca Brown talks us through the must-read book of the year
There are some books that seem to take on a life of their own: David Nicholls’ One Day, Paula Hawkins’ The Girl On The Train, that little-known thriller Gone Girl…
They’re released to little fanfare but thanks to the quality of their writing and simple word-of-mouth by readers – they go on to be huge.
And Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll (which was released in July as a hardback) is one of them.
Author Jessica Knoll
After reading it in the space of two days (two days!), Stylist has been describing the seriously addictive story as “Gone Girl meets a very dark Devil Wears Prada meets We Need To Talk About Kevin.”
That might sound like a crazy description but this is not your average book.
Narrator Ani Fanelli is a self-made, viciously perceptive magazine writer with a dark past that gradually and shockingly becomes apparent over the course of the story. At times, it’s laugh-out-loud witty; at other times, it’s very moving.
We do not want to give any spoilers away because this is one of those books that the less you know about – the more enjoyable it is.
But, definitely, definitely read it.
The Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll is out now (£12.99, Pan Macmillan); trade paperback available in WH Smith