Snake Oil

A brisk and fun thriller This is a novel with a lively, churning plot, about which nothing more can be said without revealing its deftly constructed twists. Blending soap-operatic thrills and boardroom intrigue, Snake Oil is consistently satisfying, a reminder that it might be intoxicating to watch bubbles grow, but its always more memorable when they burst. San Francisco ChronicleA razor-sharp corporate thriller about three women vying for power at a Silicon Valley wellness startup, where the cost of ambition might be deadlyOne womans elixir is another womans poisonRhoda West is Silicon Valleys favorite female CEO: the luminously charismatic founder of the fast-growing startup Radical, a wellness company whose core mission is the betterment of womens lives. Rhodas Instagram page offers intimate glimpses of her personal life alongside promotions for the cult-status products developed in the Well, Radicals secretive lab.Dani Lang is a quester, as Rhoda calls her most avid followers. Dani found Radical at a low point in her life, and took an entry level job just to get in the door. When she volunteers to test a controversial new supplement, Dani wins an opportunity to rise in the company, even to work with Rhoda herself.Cecelia Cole is a quasher. She grinds away at the Customer Worship queue, resenting the entitled customers, the woo-woo Radical jargon, and Rhodas smiling hypocrisy. Cecelia, who suffers from a miserable chronic illness, knows that the remedies Rhoda sells cant cure real sickness.Just as Rhoda announces another fundraising round that could turn Radical into a billion-dollar unicorn, an anonymous Twitter account begins spilling snarky gossip from inside the startup. Is Rhoda really the nurturing leader she presents to the world, or a fraud? Or is this just another case of a woman in business being punished for her strength and audacity?Tensions rise and loyalties clash, then tragedy strikes during a company party. In the aftermath of what looks more and more like a suspicious death, even the most faithful questers begin to wonder to what lengths Rhoda will go to protect her company.Part page-turning suspense, part darkly comic skewering of startup culture, Snake Oil is a gripping exploration of ambition and authenticity, shining a revealing light on the wellness world.