by Lucy Hawking
First published 2003
Lucy Hawking's "Jaded" opens as former model Carly Vaughn returns to the glittering New York social scene, weighed down by past mistakes and a growing disillusionment with her vapid, backstabbing friends. When a tempestuous night out ends in tragedy, Carly's precarious grip on her life and relationships begins to slip. As she faces the fallout, she must confront the dark truths about herself and the people she once called friends. With the city as a vivid backdrop, "Jaded" is a sharp, compulsively readable story about the corrosive power of envy, the fragility of status, and the profound isolation that can come from chasing the glittering surface of fame.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: dark-academia, unreliable-narrator
Setting: London (England)
248 pages · Paperback · Headline Review
Content warnings: anxiety, depression, toxic-relationship