From the PR: “Alyssa wants to be seen. Less wants to be someone. She takes two buses to class, posts pictures of her lunch, and pretends it’s all effortless. He hides his privilege beneath thrifted clothes and a sketchbook full of impossible designs. Together, they are inseparable – two outsiders constructing a version of themselves the world might finally applaud.

Then Alyssa stumbles upon the hidden world of phrogging – living unnoticed inside other people’s homes. She and Less slip through Los Angeles’ glossy veneer: influencers, producers, pop stars, all so busy performing their perfect lives they don’t notice the shadows in their attics, the scratching in their walls.

An act of rebellion. A harmless thrill. A social experiment.

Until they choose the wrong house.

Until the influencer they idolise catches them in the act.

Until the cameras, already rolling, capture everything.

What begins as a reckless adventure becomes a nightmare of lies, power … and murder”

Sometimes a book comes along at just the right moment… with Monday’s welcome announcement of a social media ban for Under 16s, the recent ‘Inside the Manosphere’ joining an already strong field of explorations on the ugly side of these platforms, the timing for Will Carver’s Bad Influence couldn’t be better, really.

Despite having had the pleasure of reading several of his novels already, I’m still never sure what to expect from a Will Carver novel – well, there’s a guarantee of meticulous plotting, razor-sharp and biting observations, and more than a smattering of dark humour – and Bad Influence is again full of surprises.

If it wasn’t already clear from the off, Bad Influence is not a love-letter to influencers. It is, instead, a deliciously withering take-down and exploration of the darker side of influencers ( that I still find myself wondering what a fucking bizarre world we live in that that’s even a term goes to show how much this book is on point for me) and the lengths to which people will go to in order to grab their 5 seconds – forget 15 minutes in these days of dwindled attention spans- of fame, regardless of the costs.

“There are pockets of Spain where reality contestants go to die”

In a way, what’s perhaps more disturbing, is that none of the lengths to which either the influencers go – be it Paige or Rosie’s posing of ‘just so’ scenes for posts to Ariel’s special yoghurt ingredient – or the actions of the reality TV producers feel that far-fetched anymore. For those that take delight in watching Influencers In The Wild’s posts, none of this is that unbelievable. But this isn’t a non-fiction book and in setting Bad Influence in LA – where we’re almost programmed to expect the most vacuous and desperate of behaviour lurking around every corner – makes for an ideal way for Carver to lure is in to the actually unexpected, to hide it in plain sight. We’re so busy siding with Less and Alyssa in judging those wannabes so “desperate to live out loud in front of the nation” that we leave ourselves unguarded to the fact that Carver is subtly, expertly, weaving in a delicious twist. Or five.

We should know by now, on the strength of his body of work, that Carver has a masterful way of setting an already disquieting scene and managing to surprise and shock just a little bit more… only for you to discover he’s still winding up for the big throw down. Master of the paradigm shift and absolute King of the shocking climax.

It also introduced me to the concept of Phrogging – sneaking in and secretly living in someone else’s home or property without their knowledge or consent – and meant that I’m now making doubly sure that my doors are locked when I leave and keeping a very sharp ear out for any noises from the attic. Thanks for that, Will.

Bad Influence is an immensely enjoyable read. Meticulously plotted, deeply amusing and addictive, Will Carver has delivered another belter or a novel.

My thanks to Orenda Books for my copy of Bad Influence and to Anne Cater for inviting me to review as part of the blog tour, it’s been way too long.