Killer Content

October 11, 2021
Roache’s (The Dating Game) first thriller is an uneven take on the dangers and fleeting nature of online fame. In Malibu, six teen TikTok stars live together in a massive mansion, landing sponsorship deals and protecting their collective and individual brands. But each of the Lit Lair’s inhabitants have something to hide, and it all threatens to spill out when a body is found in the pool: that of Lit Lair member Sydney Reynolds, the white 17-year-old whose parents own the mansion. When ominous videos are subsequently posted to the group’s TikTok page, the house’s surviving members attempt to keep their secrets off-screen while navigating rapidly changing public sentiment. Despite attempts to address layers of internet fame and offline realities—Jamaican Kat is the group’s sole Black member, Latinx-cued Cami grapples with disordered eating, and Gwen deals with sudden financial insecurity—a lack of strong characterization and distinct voices make this multi-perspective, nonlinear story difficult to follow, and its depiction of suicide and mental illness feels shallow. Fans of Ash Parsons’ You’re So Dead may nevertheless enjoy this look into influencer living. Ages 12–up. Agent: Nicole Resciniti, Seymour Agency.

October 15, 2021
Influencer teens fall under scrutiny when one of them turns up dead. Life in the Lit Lair, a house where six 17-year-old TikTok stars have been brought together, seems glamorous on the surface: hosting celebrities, gaining lucrative sponsorships, pleasing their millions of followers, and throwing wild parties. Cami, Gwen, Tucker, Kat, Beau, and Sydney seem to have the perfect lives--until the day they find Sydney dead in the pool of their Malibu mansion. Now, with the five of them suddenly suspects, secrets come to light. An affair, slights over corporate partnerships, personal jealousies, and missing money all look like motives to the investigating detectives. Meanwhile, taunting videos about the brutal murder begin appearing on the Lit Lair's TikTok account, one that only house members have access to. As events unfold, the killer escalates their taunting TikToks, turning up the heat and forcing the housemates to a breaking point. Mystery lovers will enjoy this thrilling narrative that shifts among the perspectives of each housemate as they navigate the tumultuous investigation. Some characters are sketched in more depth than others, but the author's rapidly unfolding narrative exposes the harsh realities of social media and its possible negative effects on young consumers. Most main characters read as White; Cami is signaled as Latinx, and Kat is cued as biracial (Black/White). A page-turning portrayal of social media gone wrong. (Mystery. 13-18)

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