Rumoured

The Mancaruso sisters debut with an entertaining thriller set in the mercurial world of pop music and stan culture. Singer-songwriter Harlow Hayes is an international megastar with legions of devoted fans who call themselves “Hazies” and follow her every (carefully scripted) move on social media. When the headline “Pop Star Harlow Hayes Arrested on Suspicion of Murder” proliferates across newsfeeds, the Hazies go berserk. Naomi Barnes, an entertainment reporter for the West Coast branch of C*Leb News, is assigned to look into the story, and sets off for her old stomping ground of New York City to investigate. Harlow’s supposed victims are Colton Scott, her former boyfriend and one of America’s most beloved actors, and Jade Dutton, a non-celeb who died three years earlier in what was labeled a drug overdose. The Mancarusos cleverly dole out clues via fake tabloid stories, Naomi’s interviews and notes, Harlow’s song lyrics, and social media conversations that help readers locate the truth of Harlow’s character somewhere in the middle of the overheated praise and vicious takedowns lobbed her way. The shrewd structure occasionally gets in the way of readers’ emotional investment, and a few unlikely coincidences grate. Still, this is an auspicious first effort. (Oct.)