Nothing Without Me

The gripping tale of a film director with a shadowy past, her missing lead actress, and the disturbing cost of fame—from “addictive” (People) suspense writer Helen Monks Takhar Fame is a deadly game. . . . April Eden is about to have the night of her life. After years struggling uphill as a female director, her debut movie The Vanished Woman is up for a major British film award, placing her firmly on Hollywood’s radar. Her leading lady, Essie Lay—a fragile but magnetic former TV host—is on the cusp of a stunning comeback after being canceled for a disturbing scandal. When Essie messages April saying she can’t face the ceremony, April heads to Essie’s palatial London mansion, Lotus Lodge, to convince her to enjoy their big night together. But upon arriving, April is faced with tragedy: Essie’s body is floating in her swimming pool, all signs pointing to suicide. Panicked, April activates Essie’s team—her put-upon sister/manager, Janine, and her wily agent, Jonathan—expecting them to do damage control while she heads to the awards ceremony; she’s devastated yet determined to do what she can to protect Essie’s legacy. But by the time April returns to Lotus Lodge to face the fallout, Essie’s body has vanished. Was Essie actually murdered? Is this an elaborate hoax or publicity stunt gone wrong? And why does April start receiving unsettling messages, trying to pin the blame on her? Taut, twisty, and deliciously page-turning, Nothing Without Me examines the high price of female fame, how far some will go to climb the slippery ladder of celebrity, and the unbearable pressure of being the woman everyone wants to be...M.F A dark, razor-sharp new thriller from the author of That Woman and Such a Good Mother. 'A whip-smart thriller about the price of fame' My Weekly 'Plunges readers into the cutthroat world of Hollywood, peeling back the veneer of celebrity and deftly exposing the dark side of fame and ruthless ambition' Lindsay Cameron 'A timely thriller' Woman's Own 'A pulse-pounding rollercoaster through the shadows of the silver screen' Jaclyn Goldis April Eden is about to have the night of her life. The Vanished Woman, the film she wrote and directed is up for a raft of major awards. Her leading lady, Essie Lay, is on the cusp of a stunning comeback after the disturbing scandal that ended her small-screen career a year before. When Essie messages April to say she can't face the ceremony, April presumes nerves and goes to her Hampstead mansion to persuade her to attend. Instead, April finds Essie dead in her swimming pool. In that moment, April makes an agonising decision, which will force her onto a course of action she couldn't have imagined. If she is to find out what happened – and protect her own freedom – April is going to find herself face to face with some of the most powerful people in her industry, unforeseen dangers, and discomfiting truths from Essie's and her own past. Nothing Without Me examines the high cost of fame, the unliveable pressures of being the woman everyone wants to be, and just how far we'll go for our truth to be heard.