Book Review: Clickbait by L.C. North #Clickbait @Lauren_C_North @TransworldBooks @RandomTTours

Synopsis

‘We’re not famous anymore. We’re notorious.’

For over a decade, the Lancasters were celebrity royalty, with millions tuning in every week to watch their reality show, Living with the Lancasters.

But then an old video emerges of one of their legendary parties. Suddenly, they’re in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons: witnesses swore they’d seen missing teenager Bradley Wilcox leaving the Lancaster family home on the night of the party, but the video tells a different story

Now true crime investigator and YouTuber Tom Isaac is on the case. He’s determined to find out what really happened to Bradley – he just needs to read between the Lancasters’ lies . . .

Because when the cameras are always rolling, it won’t be long until someone cracks.

My Review

The Lancasters are the family everyone knows and their reality TV show Living With The Lancasters is watched by millions. But The Lancasters are about to be thrown into the spotlight for a different reason. It is common knowledge that after attending a party at the Lancasters home in 2003 teenager Bradley Wilcox disappeared. But a new video clip from that party casts doubt on Bradley’s last movements. Can true crime investigator Tom discover the truth?

Having loved reading The Ugly Truth I couldn’t wait to read this book as soon as it appeared on my radar. I consumed this book and read it within a few hours. Reading this book was akin to binge watching a true crime documentary because I just wanted to know what was going to happen next and if Tom would succeed in discovering the truth.

The storyline was intriguing, filled with mystery, grabbed my attention from the beginning and at times it left me speechless. The Lancaster family and their reality TV show did remind me of Keeping Up With The Kardashians where viewers follow every moment in the family’s life. As the reader learns the subject of Tom’s YouTube series is not only what happened to Bradley but also The Lancaster family and who they are. I have to say from the beginning I didn’t get a good vibe from the Lancasters and there seemed something sketchy about them. The more I read about them it was clear that under the glitz and glamour of being famous and being reality TV stars were some ugly and concerning secrets. I found myself looking at all members of the family with suspicion especially after the video at the party was released which suggested that three witnesses (two of which were from the Lancaster family) lied to the police about Bradley’s movements the night of the party. At times it felt like I was investigating alongside Tom and trying to piece together what happened to Bradley. I can understand why Bradley’s sister Cassie approached Tom to investigate the case because after her brother went missing her life fell apart and this was the only avenue she had to get the police’s attention and hope they would start to look into the case again or that Tom could give her the answers she’d been waiting 20 years for.

I loved the mixed media format of the book and it worked so well with the story. The story is told by Tom through his YouTube channel, interviews with witnesses, emails, news updates and social media posts. The more Tom delves into the past he realises that the story told to the police doesn’t make sense and he starts to doubt the accounts given and looks into what did happen and what he uncovers is a web of lies and deceit. As for the ending, I could never have guessed it. It was jaw dropping, haunting and I’m still thinking about it.

A compelling and explosive read.

Author Bio

L.C. North studied psychology at university before pursuing a career in Public Relations. Her book club thrillers – The Ugly Truth and Clickbait – combine her love of psychology and her fascination with the celebrities in the public eye. When she’s not writing, she co-hosts the crime thriller podcast, In Suspense. She lives on the Suffolk borders with her family.

L.C. North is the pen name of Lauren North. Readers can follow her on Twitter @Lauren_C_North and Facebook @LaurenNorthAuthor.