Snake Oil

A Novel

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on Amazon Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.org
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Sep 17 2024 | Archive Date Nov 12 2024

Talking about this book? Use #SnakeOil #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

“A brisk and fun thriller… This is a novel with a lively, churning plot, about which nothing more can be said without revealing its deftly constructed twists. Blending soap-operatic thrills and boardroom intrigue, Snake Oil is consistently satisfying, a reminder that it might be intoxicating to watch bubbles grow, but it’s always more memorable when they burst.” — San Francisco Chronicle

A razor-sharp literary thriller about three women vying for power at a wellness startup, where the cost of ambition might be deadly

One woman’s elixir is another woman’s poison

Rhoda West is Silicon Valley’s favorite female CEO: the luminously charismatic founder of the fast-growing startup Radical, a wellness company whose core mission is the betterment of women’s lives. Rhoda’s Instagram page offers intimate glimpses of her personal life alongside promotions for the cult-status products developed in the Well, Radical’s secretive lab.

Dani Lang is a “quester,” as Rhoda calls her most avid followers. Dani found Radical at a low point in her life, and took an entry level job just to get in the door. When she volunteers to test a controversial new supplement, Dani wins an opportunity to rise in the company, even to work with Rhoda herself.

Cecelia Cole is a “quasher.” She grinds away at the Customer Worship queue, resenting the entitled customers, the woo-woo Radical jargon, and Rhoda’s smiling hypocrisy. Cecelia, who suffers from a miserable chronic illness, knows that the remedies Rhoda sells can’t cure real sickness.

Just as Rhoda announces another fundraising round that could turn Radical into a billion-dollar unicorn, an anonymous Twitter account begins spilling snarky gossip from inside the startup. Is Rhoda really the nurturing leader she presents to the world, or a fraud? Or is this just another case of a woman in business being punished for her strength and audacity?

Tensions rise and loyalties clash, then tragedy strikes during a company party. In the aftermath of what looks more and more like a crime, even the most faithful questers begin to wonder to what lengths Rhoda will go to protect her company.

Part page-turning suspense, part darkly comic skewering of startup culture, Snake Oil is a gripping exploration of ambition and authenticity, shining a revealing light on the wellness world.

“A brisk and fun thriller… This is a novel with a lively, churning plot, about which nothing more can be said without revealing its deftly constructed twists. Blending soap-operatic thrills and...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780062867957
PRICE $30.00 (USD)
PAGES 352

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (EPUB)
Send to Kindle (EPUB)
Download (EPUB)

Average rating from 67 members


Readers who liked this book also liked: