Scott Johnson was researching this story for the last several years. Snippets of it were reported in the press. Readers who might have followed these reports would be eager to learn the full story.. A talented fraudster pretending to be a Hollywood bigwig was convincing people with aspirations to make it in Hollywood that she had promising assignments for them. The assignments would require overseas travel to exotic locations. What she didn’t tell them is that they will be left stranded there with huge bills to pay. The author talked to many victims who lost thousands of dollars and had their hopes crashed as he follows the investigation done by K2 Integrity company that finally led to the arrest of the scammer. She turned out to be a he, a 40-year old man born in Thailand. He was arrested in England and is now fighting extradition to the US. Incredibly, even arrested, he is not subdued. His accomplices are still at large. The author has an unusual insight into the roots of evil in these criminals as he looks back at his own family’s past. This book would be a treat for the true crime fans.

This was a fascinating extension and deep dive of the THR story, with satisfying answers. The sheer legwork was amazing. With empathy, I'm not 100% sure the weaving in of the personal story quite worked, and there were some details elided about the victims that seemed pertinent (like the victim who was family friends with the Murdochs...)

Raced through this bizarre and fascinating story. I was already pretty familiar with the Con Queen and I still learned more and thoroughly enjoyed this book!

This title was recommended...as an Inventing Anna read alike. Nope! I can't even believe I read the whole thing. It was just a time suck. And I still don't know why the Con Queen conned. Very unsatisfying read.