El fraude perfecto (The Perfect Fraud): A Novel

Un thriller psicológico adictivo en el que los destinos de dos mujeres, ambas con oscuros secretos, se cruzan en un encuentro inesperado que sumerge sus vidas en el caos. Mientras tanto, el futuro de una niña enferma pende de un hilo. Ser madre es duro. También lo es ser hija. Cuando la conocemos, Claire está esquivando las llamadas de su madre, la famosa vidente y curandera Miss Madeline, a la que acuden clientes de todos los estados y hasta del extranjero. Claire trabaja en el negocio familiar y también se hace llamar vidente, pero en realidad no tiene «el don familiar», y se considera a sí misma un fraude. Mientras tanto, en la otra punta del país, la joven madre Rena tiene sus propios problemas familiares. Está divorciada y su hija de cuatro años, Stephanie, sufre problemas estomacales aparentemente incurables. No importa a cuántos especialistas la lleve, no importa cuántas publicaciones en su blog para mamás La lucha de Stephanie, la niña cada vez está más enferma. Cuando Claire y Rena se encuentran por casualidad en un avión, sus vidas cuidadosamente construidas comienzan a tambalearse. ¿Pueden estas dos mujeres tan diferentes ayudarse mutuamente? ¿Y pueden ayudar a Stephanie antes de que sea demasiado tarde? Esta es la historia de un fraude perfecto. |

In this propulsive debut thriller, two women with deep secrets are thrown together by an unexpected meeting that plunges both their lives into chaos. But it’s a sick little girl whose fate hangs in the balance.

Motherhood is tough. But, then, so is daughterhood. When we first meet Claire, she’s ducking calls from her mother, a world-class psychic, because she doesn’t want her parents to discover the truth. Claire works in the family business; she calls herself a psychic but she really doesn’t have “the gift”—and hasne’t for a long time. She’s a fraud.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Rena, a young mother, has family issues of her own. She’s divorced and her four-year-old daughter, Stephanie, suffers from mysterious seemingly incurable stomach problems. No matter how many specialists Rena drags her to, no matter how many mommy-blog posts she makes, the child only gets sicker.

When Claire and Rena meet by chance on an airplane, their carefully constructed lives begin to explode. Can these two very different women help each other? And, most important, can they help Stephanie—before it’s too late?

|

“Be sure to set aside a full few hours because once you begin, you won’t be able to stop. The Perfect Fraud is exactly what a good book should be—a dazzling plot, unforgettable characters, emotional depth—all presented in a fresh new voice that is sure to make Ellen LaCorte a household name.” - Aimee Molloy New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Mother

“A slow motion train wreck that won’t let you look away, The Perfect Fraud is a canny examination of the lies we tell to others, but more importantly, the lies we tell ourselves.” - Rufi Thorpe author of The Girls From Corona Del Mar

“The Perfect Fraud is equal parts dark, creepy thriller and compelling character study with a little bit of magic and a little bit of heartbreak thrown in for good measure. Mothers and daughters, hindsight and clairvoyance, sickness and health twist and trade places in a delicious slow simmer and in ways we never see coming, and gluten-free eating finally gets the sendup it so richly deserves.” - Laurie Frankel author of This Is How It Always Is

“The Perfect Fraud makes for the perfect vehicle of pop culture’s current obsession with scammers. This mystifying thriller follows the relationship between a young woman named Claire, whose mother is a psychic while she pretends to be, and a woman she meets by chance with a helplessly ill daughter. It’s a page turner with the right dose of lies and mystery.” - Thrillist Summer Books Roundup

“Mysticism and medicine intersect with dramatic results in LaCorte’s accomplished page-turning debut . . . Those who like a dash of the supernatural in their thrillers will be well satisfied.” - Publishers Weekly

“This is a dark, dark thriller, and the villain is absolute. But alternating voices allow for a more nuanced building of tension …. LaCorte delves deeply into horrible things that humans do—and, as in life, not all evil is punished—but still offers hope and healing in the end.” - Kirkus Reviews

“LaCorte’s debut novel combines a darkly twisted plot with excellent character building, and the eerily realistic setting nicely supports the haunting narrative. This is psychological suspense with a gut-clenching finale, perfect for readers of Gillian Flynn and Brandon Massey.” - Booklist

"What is a beach read exactly? For me, it’s a perfect page-turner that adds to the bliss of summer. This one hits all the marks with two women, one a reluctant fourth-generation commitment-phobic faux psychic, the other a brash single mother with a very mysteriously sick child. The tension rises as the women’s lives collide in the red rocks of Sedona." - Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of Summer

“LaCorte’s debut is the kind of thriller that ratchets up the suspense so slowly you don’t realize until somewhere in the middle how skillfully she’s plotted the novel...a compelling and well executed thriller.” - Crime Reads