A mystery that takes place in Iceland sounded like an exciting premise to me. Unfortunately I did not find The Perfect Ones a satisfying read. The back-and-forth timelines were too chaotic. I wish the chapters had been organized differently and had instead been presented in a way that moved the story along better, but the experience was more frustrating than fun. A great thriller/mystery has an ending that packs a punch and this one fell flat to me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane for the advanced review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise of the book; the reality vs appearance of an.Influencer. Everyone wants to be them, but internet fame comes at a price. It is definitely relevant in today's social media driven society. What is also true is that I don't care for influencers, and I did not like any of the 3 characters who are influencers in this story. That does not mean I didn’t like the book! It means the author did a fantastic job in character development and creating an engaging story.. This is a very well written book.

We meet 3 Influencers, Holly, Celeste and Alabama, in their homes and personal lives. All are bound for Iceland to participate in an Influencer's trip at the request of a fabulous new marketing campaign. Alabama goes missing. With no leads, the Icelandic police start their investigation by focusing on the two influencers seemingly closest to Alabama on the trip. Celeste Reed, Alabama’s best friend of ten years, and Hollie Goodwin, fitness guru and Alabama's unwilling idol.

Celeste has been distracted by her five-year-old’s behavioural issues and her husband’s refusal to admit that there’s a problem. What Celeste doesn’t reveal is how she has been coping with these worries and how it involves Alabama.

Hollie has the fabulous husband, the body, and over one million Instagram followers. In reality, however, Hollie came to Iceland to escape the implosion of her life behind the screen. The only person who suspected something was amiss is Alabama.

As secrets are revealed and loyalties are tested, the question remains: do we control our online image, or does our online image control us?

Highly recommend for a fun read!

"Missing. Like they might later find her stuck between the cushions in the couch."

Social media influencer Alabama Wood is missing. She disappeared while on a sponsored retreat with other influencers to Iceland. This was an interesting whodunit with some serious sociopaths for characters.

This was suspenseful but there was so !such going on--three POVs and several timelines--that I struggled to keep it all together. Otherwise I did enjoy this book and the many surprise twists.

This thriller was a touch too predictable for me. And perhaps the whole self-centered influencer bit hit a little too close to home? Not that most bookstagrammers have much in common with these ladies, but whatever it was, I kind of hated all of them. Okay, synopsis:

A group of female influencers head to Iceland on a trip sponsored by one of their partner brands, PinkPurse. Most of them don't know each other well, but Celeste and Alabama have been friends since college. Alabama's obsession with another of the influencers, Hollie, starts to seem strange to Celeste, but she's a bit distracted with her own personal life to intervene. When Alabama suddenly disappears, Celeste is racked with guilt, and Hollie is harboring secrets about that night too.

There is a LOT going on in this book. Three POVs, multiple timelines, and a lot of names that are difficult to keep straight because the characters are basically all the same brand of superficial insta-girl. I think the story was pretty engaging, but I did figure out where it was heading more or less immediately. So, not a surprise. The end was also a bit flat for me? Regardless, it held my attention and I appreciated the short chapters. It's one of those "just one more chapter" books where you keep saying that until all of a sudden, you're finished.

Thank you to Nicole Hackett, Crooked Lane, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

THE PERFECT ONES is a gripping and suspenseful read with a thoroughly modern storyline and sensibility. The author does a fantastic job of skewering influencer lifestyle while treating the reader to a fast-paced romp in an exotic location. While some of the characters are not necessarily likable per se, I didn't expect them to be, so that aspect was not disappointing in the least. Also, the back and forth timeline works very well for this time of story.

This would make a terrific movie!

Give me a book about influencers and an exclusive trip to somewhere like Iceland and I know I’m in for some crazy! In this book you get 3 POVs, and multiple (close) timelines. There were multiple surprises in this book and I loved every minute. It was definitely a slow burn, but not enough for me to get bored! I don’t know why I’m fascinated (or disturbed?) by all the crazy, but I am 😂.
There are definitely some trigger warnings warranted and some major issues being dealt with. But I thought this was a fantastic debut by Nicole and I’m really looking forward to seeing more from her!

Thank you for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This starts out a little...wobbly? Like the author was headed in one direction and then did a complete 180 about 10%~ in. After the "change" I really enjoyed this. (I might have anyway but the difference in style was noticeable, so I wanted to mention it.) This makes for a fun spin on the "vapid influencer" trope and at first it seemed like just every single character was going to be ditzy and annoying. Then the characters got fleshed out and while they were still annoying (or maybe just intentionally unlikeable) it really worked for the story.
Alabama Wood is a baby influencer, meaning she has 20k followers while her friends and idols have upwards of a million. Alabama can't figure out how to break her plateau so when she is invited on an influencer trip to Iceland with some big-time influencers she jumps at the opportunity. And then Alabama goes missing under suspicious circumstances.
We get the back-and-forth time timeline, the alternating narrators, and the occasional interjection from Alabama. All of this comes together in a really fun way with this influencer trope meets suspense. Overall, a really dramatic and fun read.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC.

Modern twist on a common trope by making the main characters influences. This was a quick read that kept my attention throughout. I love the alternating timelines, as it keeps me guessing and wanting to learn more.

Thank you Netgalley & Crooked Lane for an eARC of the Perfect Ones by Nicole Hackett! I love when authors make a KILLER debut and I can’t wait to see what this one comes up with next.

This book explores the dark side of social media when a number of influencers go on a trip to Iceland and instagram celebrity Alabama Wood goes missing. Secrets are revealed and loyalties are tested as the story unfolds to find out what happened - and who was involved.

This book’s chapters has dual timelines (Before and after the trip), and multiple POVs between the various influencers that attended the Iceland trip. Throughout the novel you find out the secret details of the lives of these seemingly perfect celebs on the internet. Marriage problems, infidelity, secrets, parenting, so much more. This is an atmospheric thriller while at the same time providing that domestic suspense that I just absolutely eat up. Having a loved one on the Autism spectrum, I think the author does a really great job addressing the topic of seeing and understanding behavioral issues in one’s child and also noting the differences between girls and boys being diagnosed. I appreciate the way the topic is handled in this book and think it will enlighten others who aren’t don’t know much about the topic.

A great book to fly through on the beach on my honeymoon. Thank you Nicole!

Everyone wants to be them, but internet fame comes at a price…
Two days after arriving in Iceland for an influencer trip, Instagram celeb Alabama Wood goes missing. With no leads, the Icelandic police start their investigation by focusing on the two influencers seemingly closest to Alabama on the trip. Celeste Reed, Alabama’s best friend of ten years, and Hollie Goodwin, fitness guru and Alabama's unwilling idol.

Three strong women presenting to the world as such, but are they really so strong? Looks can be deceiving and these women are going to find out that there is more to each other than what they may presume, lives that some are very jealous of and wish for themselves, Initially drawn by friendship and fascination of each other, dire circumstances will evolve which will bring all three together closer than in ways they have never imagined. I guess it is like the old saying 'the grass isn't always greener on the other side'.

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would and found myself quickly wrapped up in the story. Out of each of the three characters Celeste seemed the most real to me, I found Hollie and Alabama a little harder to warm to then again this this is what keeps the pace of the book moving. I found this to be more drama than thriller but it did keep me guessing all the way through.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and published for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

What I liked:
Great imagery and descriptions of the settings.
Celeste- I felt she was the most relatable character in the book.
The dueling perspectives
The pace- it was a fast read

What I didn’t care for:
Another story about influencers where they end up being as vapid as society thinks they are. That especially goes for Hollie. I found it hard to like her or care about her story.
Alabama- her untreated mental disorder was more sad than anything.
The twist turned out to be lackluster. The ending just left me scratching my head.

I really wanted to like this book because the premise sounded very interesting. I don't know much about the influencer lifestyle but was intrigued by a story centered around this topic and having one of the influencers go missing on a trip.

Unfortunately, it wasn't my cup of tea and I gave up reading it after a third of the way through, so this review only covers the first third of the book.

The writing style wasn't my personal taste. I had trouble visualizing what was happening because there wasn't a lot of description and the sentences weren't very clear at times. One example is when one of the characters described her husband as wearing "work things," and didn't go into any detail about what those "work things" were. A suit and tie? Scrubs?
I also didn't like any of the characters so I had a difficult time getting immersed and emotionally invested in them and their world.

I'm still curious to know what happened, but not enough to read the rest of the book. It just wasn't the one for me.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
I really wanted to like this one but it just wasn’t what I expected. I think I expected more of a mystery. Instead it was full of unlikeable characters and back and forth time frames. This just was not for me. I had to force myself to finish it.

I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for a review. I would like to say that I appreciate and understand what the author was trying to achieve with this book. A commentary on the effects of social media and keeping up an image hidden under a mystery/thriller type story. It just fell a little flat for me. I felt like there was so much time focused on the back stories of the characters instead of the actual main storyline itself. It was a good short read though.

Influencer trip gone rogue. It was fast paced and kept me entertained with the twists & turns. Thank you netgalley & the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC.

An influencer trip to Iceland gets derailed when low-status influencer Alabama Wood goes missing late into the night. As the questions pile up, the story delves deeper into the psyches of three influencers: Alabama, Celeste, and Hollie.

Everytime you think you figured out what's going on (I admit, I assumed I had it figured out before 10% complete, and then many times after that) you find out you're super wrong.

I have to confess that I have minimal admiration for any of the three women who star in this story. You have infidelity, the willingness to kill, and extreme instability of the mind.

Driven by the inner workings of the mind, this story takes you into the deeper and darker decisions of three very different personalities.

First off, thank you so much to #Netgalley, the publisher and especially the author for this ARC!

I really love the newer premise of social media influencer thrillers that are coming out more and more… that being said, this has been my favorite book of that trope! This book was fast paced, I read it in one day because I couldn’t put it down! I highly recommend going in kind of blind, I’m finding I enjoy books more now when I have little idea of what happens ☺️

So a group of influencers get invited on a trip to Iceland and the trip turns horrifying when one of those influencers, Alabama, goes missing. The books starts out strong and grabs your attention with the details and insights of the three main influencers (Alabama, Hollie and Celeste). It was interesting to see how the characters behaved "online" and off. The book also keeps it interesting on the shifting of the timeline. I kept reading and trying to find out who each person really was and what secrets they were keeping. The books also adds some twists in the storyline that throws you off a little which keeps the book moving.

Ultimately I liked this book, but I feel like it fell a little flat in the Thriller department. The thriller/mystery part of the book took a back seat to the mental/sociological theme towards the middle to end of the book. The ending was a little uneventful really as the characters continue to move forward with their lives and occasionally see the others from the trip.

The only thing that really got to me with this book as it appeared to show how influencers are either deeply insecure about themselves or selfish. I was trying to move past that thought throughout the entire book so I could get into the book and really enjoy it. But that thought sat with me as I finished the entire book.
Over all it was a good quick read and it does keep you wanting to go to the next chapter to see what happened. I want to thank NetGalley for an ARC of this book in return for an honest feedback.

A meditation on our current society’s obsession with curated online lives versus real life. This book follows Hollie, Celeste and Alabama , all internet influencers as they attend an conference in Iceland where one of them ends up dead. Told in chapters, before the event, and immediately after and then months.

Spoilers, so quit reading folks…I saw the ending coming, so the last chapter was not at all a surprise. I felt it was kinda tacked on to make it a thriller.

An influencer trip to Alaska goes horribly awry when one of the group, Alabama Wood, goes missing. Who was she behind the perfect pose and expertly crafted online feeds? Did anyone really know her at all? And who of the group knew enough to save or condemn her from her fate?

I was initially entertained by this novel, with the insights to the influencer lifestyle that it provided access to. I find this a topic endlessly intriguing and longed to learn more about who these fictional influencers were, both online and off. This was achieved through the perspectives of three attending the vacation and through a shifting chronological layout. I found this took me a little while to adjust to but I found my footing and was invested in uncovering the truth, both about who they were and the mystery they were involved in.

This continued to remain of interesting but ultimately proved less thrilling than anticipated. It, instead, became a more sociologically-focused read, with its point of convergence remaining on mental health and emotional stability when validation was achieved through online engagement. This was of interest but the mystery that ran parallel to it became overtaken by this more reflective focus and the ending became one a little lack-lustre in its reveals because of this.