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The Ugly Truth

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The Ugly Truth

By: L.C. North
Narrated by: Roy McMillan, Lucas Button, Sally Oliver, Ayesha Antoine, Vicky Hall, Steve John Shepherd, Nikki Patel, Rebecca Yeo, L.C. North, Claire-Louise Cordwell
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Melanie Lange has disappeared.

Her father, Sir Peter Lange, says she is a danger to herself and has been admitted to a private mental health clinic.

Her ex-husband, Finn, and best friend, Nell, say she has been kidnapped.

The media will say whichever gets them the most views.

But whose side are you on?
#SaveMelanie
#HelpPeter

The Ugly Truth is a shocking and addictive thriller about celebrity culture, coercive control and the truth behind the headlines.

'Totally fresh and very clever. It made me reassess my own views and prejudices about people in the public eye' Emily Edwards, author of THE HERD

'#FreeBritney meets The Appeal in this addictively unique thriller. Get ready to be utterly hooked' Jack Jordan, author of DO NO HARM

© North Writing Services Ltd 2023 (P) Penguin Audio 2023

 Crime Fiction Crime Thrillers International Mystery & Crime Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Crime Fiction Thriller

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Critic reviews

The Ugly Truth is fresh, compelling and searing in its exploration of the toxicity of social media and the reality of modern celebrity. Not to be missed!
A whipsmart and ingenious thriller for our times. Compellingly narrated in snippets of mixed media, The Ugly Truth homes in on our toxic addiction to celebrity. It is a tour de force!
#FreeBritney meets The Appeal in this addictively unique thriller. Get ready to be utterly hooked. North is one of my all-time favourite writers.
Original, timely, thought-provoking and an absolutely brilliant read.
Totally fresh and very clever. A very enjoyable piece of fiction that made me reassess my own views and prejudices about people in the public eye.
The Ugly Truth is a beautifully crafted, and sharply observed novel. It makes for an incredibly powerful and heart-breaking read. I inhaled it.
A brilliantly constructed and compelling glimpse into the darkest reaches of celebrity, and a forensic study of how the solar flare of fame can blind everyone to the truth. Highly recommended.
One of the cleverest and most thought-provoking books I've read in a long time, with an absolute sucker-punch of an ending that really unsettled me.
Fresh, surprising and very astute on what it's like to live in the public eye.
Riveting, thought-provoking and heart-breaking in equal measure. So inventive and original, and the characterisation was incredible.
All stars
Most relevant
Not a bad story but if you are a fan of social media (and I am not) then you are going to hate it. Why on earth do some stupid people live the trivia of their lives in a public arena and only a fool wants to be a celebrity. No one wins in this novel and it is far too long for sustained interest - but I made it through the first half and skipped closer to the end. No real surprises and not an easy listen. Just left me feeling sorry for those who will have to face a future without real friends and a host of enemies waiting in the wings of the internet. Beware!!!!

Social media is deadly

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Absolutely love L.C North's mixed media writing style. And this story is such an important one read. It's written beautifully, the emotion that's comes out of this story is unbelievable. It's an easy 5 starts from me.

Love the writing.

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Liked the structure of this book and the variety of narrators to depict the different characters.

A gripping listen.

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when I first started I wasn't sure on the way it was written. it was an unusual way of writing, through multiple media outlets but once I had listened to half hour I was hooked and I just wanted to know what happened.
the ending was unexpected and I enjoyed listening to it. I invested my time into all the characters and i liked each chapter was read by a specific person so it was easier to understand which character it was about

shows how dangerous social media can be

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This was such an amazing listen - a fabulous story which unravels through the viewpoints of different characters - will you be #TeamMelanie or #TeamPeter? Delving into the dark side of celebrities & social media, this is highly recommended.

Fantastic book!

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