Perfectly Famous by Emily Liebert

Ward DeFleur has it all—she lives in a beautiful estate in picture-perfect Connecticut, along with her teenage daughter, Stevie, where nothing can go wrong. Until one night, when Stevie is brutally murdered and Ward’s entire world is shattered.

Bree is a recently-divorced, former-journalist-cum-housewife, who decides to start writing for the town newspaper. What begins as Bree’s effort to tell Ward’s tragic narrative turns into a fixation with finding her favorite author. Unfortunately, Ward doesn’t want to be found. Even worse, Stevie’s killer is still on the loose…

USA Today bestselling author Emily Liebert spent some time with The Big Thrill discussing her latest thriller, PERFECTLY FAMOUS:

What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

That everyone has their own set of problems or a void in their life that they’re looking to fill, and that, through passion, perseverance, and building strong relationships, people can overcome anything. Naturally, I also hope that readers will be surprised and excited by the twists and turns!

Emily Liebert

What attracts you to this book’s genre?

It keeps me on my toes. I can’t rely solely on crafting great characters or even just an interesting story. The plot needs to move quickly. When it comes to thrillers, readers want the pages to turn themselves!

No spoilers, but what can you tell us about your book that we won’t find in the jacket copy or the PR material?

This is my seventh book and was, by far, the easiest to write! I did a 30-plus page outline before I started, which really helped flesh out the characters and exactly how the plot was going to unfold. That said, I changed the ending when I wrote the last line of the book, so I hope it’s as shocking for readers as it was for me!

What authors or books have influenced your career as a writer, and why?

There are so many, but to name a few: Judy Blume’s Summer Sisters had a huge impact on me when I first started writing. Same with Jennifer Weiner, Emily Giffin, and Jane Green. More recently, Jessica Knoll, Sarah Pekkanen & Greer Hendricks, Sara Shepard, Wendy Walker, and Liv Constantine are all extremely inspiring. All of these women are influential because of their ability to create characters who feel like old friends (or old enemies!) and to develop stories that stay with you. They’re also hard-working and talented, the perfect combination.

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USA Today bestselling author Emily Liebert was born and raised in New York City. She attended Horace Mann School and Smith College, where she graduated with a B.A. in English language & literature.

Emily is the author of six novels: You Knew Me When (2013), When We Fall (2014), Those Secrets We Keep (2015), and Some Women (2016), all with Penguin Random House, and Pretty Revenge (2019) and PERFECTLY FAMOUS (2020) with Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books.

To learn more about the author and her work, please visit her website.