Deadly Beautiful: A Novel (Annie Anderson) [Kindle Edition]

Sam Baker (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Baker, the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan (U.K.), once again explores the fashion world's dark side in her absorbing second crime novel (after Fashion Victim). When supermodel Scarlett Ulrich disappears in Toyko, where diminished fame has led her to work as a bar hostess, Scarlett's half-sister, Luella Lou McCartney, turns for help to her friend Annie Anderson, fashion features editor for Handbag magazine who's on assignment in New York City. Lou and Scarlett share a father in industrialist Rufus Ulrich, a modelizer (e.g., a sad bastard who only shags models). Complicating matters are Annie's troubled love life, her editor's demands and her fear that Scarlett may have been murdered by the Roppongi Ripper, who's killed several Western blondes. Annie's search for Scarlett in Tokyo uncovers some surprises, testing her allegiance to her fashion features over hard news and her friendship with Lou. Along the way, Baker illuminates the plight of old teen models working in a fickle, youth-obsessed industry. (Aug.) ""
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."

From Booklist

Annie Anderson, an investigative reporter who opted for soft news and a position with Hand Bag Magazine, is trying to survive the rigors of Fashion Week in New York when her best friend asks her to look into the disappearance of a supermodel in Japan. The model in question, Scarlett Ulrich, is the friend’s sister, so Annie really can’t say no. As she navigates the cutthroat world of the international fashion industry and the nuances of Japanese culture, Annie discovers a serial killer preying on young American models. Was Scarlett one of the victims? The tabloids are going wild with the story as Annie searches for Scarlett and, simultaneously, attempts to come to terms with elements from her own past. This is a well-crafted thriller that provides a knowing glimpse into the fashion world with its brief careers and expendable personnel. The author is the editor in chief of Cosmopolitan in the UK, so she knows this world very well. --Barbara Bibel

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 294 KB
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (August 19, 2008)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001EUGCRU
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #766,554 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool Mystery!, September 17, 2008

By 

BookManBookWoman TV REVIEWS "Saralee Terry Woods" (Nashville, Tn United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadly Beautiful: A Novel (Hardcover)

"Imagine the judges at the television show, Project Runway, turning investigators in a murder. That is what happens in this really cool story of Annie Anderson, a journalist who must investigate the strange disappearance of a supermodel. Anderson, who wears only the latest in fashion, travels worldwide in a fun beach read to discover who done it."

4.0 out of 5 stars deep look at the fashion industry's obsession with youth, August 20, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deadly Beautiful: A Novel (Hardcover)

When her career collapsed after leaving behind her teen years, former supermodel Scarlett Ulrich landed in Tokyo working at a bar. However, when Scarlett, the face that launched a million album covers, vanishes; her half-sister, Luella "Lou" McCartney becomes concerned. Knowing she needs help, Lou asks her reporter friend Annie Anderson to investigate.

Anne explains she is now a fashion features editor for Handbag magazine and is no longer doing investigative journalism as she used to (see FASHION VICTIM); besides she is in New York City while Scarlett was in Tokyo. However, Anne makes a few long distance inquiries and learns of Japan's Roppongi Ripper, who has murdered several Western young blonde females; she fears Scarlett is on the dead list. She heads to Tokyo to learn what happened to Scarlett.

The investigation is superb as Anne tries to find Scarlett, but it is the look at the fashion industry's obsession with the young that makes the tale worth reading. The father of the half-sisters symbolizes the youth fixation as Rufus is a "modelizer" who only wants to screw the latest superstar who is younger than his daughters. Readers will enjoy Sam Baker's fine exposé in which twenty is old, twenty five is the walking dead, and thirty is an ancient history corpse.

Harriet Klausner

3.0 out of 5 stars More of a mystery than a thriller, but a nice read, August 19, 2008

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadly Beautiful: A Novel (Hardcover)

Although billed as a "thriller," Deadly Beautiful is almost not quite a mystery.

Rather than a search for a missing supermodel who is possibly the victim of a serial killer, Baker writes a story about Tokyo, and the sad, shallow, self-absorbed world of the fashion industry. She includes a relationship retrospective and the struggle of one young woman to figure out a few things about life before she turns thirty.

The writer's style is sometimes a pleasant read, and there are glimmers and hints of a storyteller about to break out, but the book is in need of some editing. The real story--the mystery part of the story--begins on page 223-of a 275-page book. While there is a decided difference between the pacing of UK authors who write mysteries, and American authors who do the same, the craft of writing fiction is not necessarily one even a top editor of a fashion magazine (Baker's profession) can develop without effort.

Although Deadly Beautiful has good bones, don't go into it expecting much in terms of a thriller.

Sam Baker is an author to keep an eye out for however, because she's sure to develop her storytelling abilities.

Armchair Interviews agrees.