Fake Like Me

CAREY LOGAN

She was the genius wild child of the New York art scene, and my idol.

FAKE

I was a no-name painter from the Florida backwater, clawing my way into their world.

LIKE

When she died, she left a space that couldn't be filled. Except, maybe, by

ME

Everything that gets created destroys something else.

When a fire rips through her studio and burns the seven enormous paintings for her next exhibition, a young, no-name painter is left with an impossible task: recreate her art in just three months - or ruin her fledgling career. Thirty-four, single and homeless, she desperately secures a place at an exclusive upstate retreat.

Brimming with creative history and set on a sparkling black lake, Pine City and its founders - a notorious collective of successful artists - is what she's idolized all her life. She's dreamt of the parties, the celebrities, the privilege. What she finds is a ghost of its former self.

The recent suicide of founding member Carey Logan haunts everyone, lurking beneath the surface like a shipwreck. And one thought begins to shadow her every move - what really happened to her hero?

With a flair for sensational detail and acidic wit, Barbara Bourland delivers a darkly satirical thriller about art, money and identity with a twist so sharp it cuts.

'A ridiculously propulsive page turner. Barbara Bourland has written a "du Maurier-esque" literary thriller about sexual jealousy and artistic legacy, a gorgeously scathing critique of the New York art scene, and a warning about the deadly consequences of stifling female expression. Could. Not. Put. It. Down.' - Lisa Gabriele, author of The Winters

'In Bourland's decadent twist on the classic campus novel, a group of struggling artists succeed beyond their wildest dreams, but at what cost? Gloriously mordant, and just the right amount of rococo, you have to start your summer with this glittering new read.' - Courtney Maum, author of I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You

'I love Fake Like Me. It's the perfect smart-thriller paradox: you'll be driven to finish the twisting plot, but you will not want the narrator's insightful observations to end.'  - Maria Hummel, author of Still Lives

'Fake Like Me is satirical, brilliantly realised, and has a twist you simply won't see coming' - Louise O'Neill, bestselling author of Asking For It