Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an advance egalley in exchange for my honest review.

I really had to sit on providing feedback for this one. I enjoyed it, but it succeeded a little too well in confusing and manipulating me.

Both of the main characters, Clara and Jess, are fleshed out and unique. You can feel the historical comfort that lies between them which is riddled with a newer unease. I was really excited to read a fraught, emotional story which has been compared to Succession, and simultaneously take in an exploration of deepfakes and the impact of artificial intelligence on women.

But then the problem was that the “red herring” wasn’t a red herring, and it took an approach which, let’s say, shredded my suspension of disbelief.

I thought I was reading something grounded in reality, only for the technology mentioned to be non-existent light years away.

I thought I was reading a “woman goes down rabbit hole and doesn’t come back up” kind of story, which did an excellent job of showing me, the reader, how easy it is to dismiss a woman’s concerns as cuckoo bananas when she’s 100% correct about what’s happening. It did a great job of turning the mirror on yourself. But it wasn’t a rabbit hole story. There are descents into madness, but they aren’t where you hope or expect them to be.

And that’s because you expect the cuckoo bananas red herring to be a cuckoo bananas red herring. I got lost wondering “is this actually happening?”

Maybe that was the point though.

3.5 stars? For making me think.

"Vantage Point" by Sara Sligar presents an intriguing premise with a strong focus on personal growth and self-discovery. The narrative is engaging, featuring relatable characters navigating their complexities and relationships. However, the pacing can be uneven, leading to moments where the story feels drawn out or lacking in tension. Overall, while it offers some insightful themes and enjoyable, charming moments.

I was hooked on this one until I wasn't. About the dramatic downfall of one town's wealthiest families, the twists just felt a little too convenient for me. I absolutely LOVED Sligar's debut, TAKE ME APART.

Vantage Point begins like any good book, with a wealthy family. Cara and Teddy are adult siblings who inherited a boatload of money after their parents died in a truly tragic way. Clara dealt with it by being the family screw up and Teddy became the protector. Life seemed to carry on with Teddy managing the family affairs and dragging Clara with him until Teddy decided to run for Senate. Clara expected some family scrutiny, maybe even mention of the family curse (curse you say...just wait until you read the book). What Clara didn't expect was videos of her in compromising positions to leak on the internet. Embarrassing...yet. Detrimental to Teddy's career....TBD. Creepier is that Clara isn't sure that they are real. But if they are deepfakes who would make them? Why? And does this have to do with the family curse?

Vantage Point is like nothing I've ever read in the best possible way. Think classic mystery....a rich family on a small island, stand-up brother who appears to have it all together and a sister who manages to always make the wrong choice. Then you throw in a family curse.....what more could you ask for? I'll tell you. You could ask for modern-day AI warfare in the scariest way possible. Throw all of this together and you have a truly exciting novel.

What I love about Vantage Point is it is everything you want and everything you didn't know you needed. I was left grasping for what was true and what was fake in the story. How do I know who is telling the truth? Is there a curse? Is AI the devil? Who knows. You will have to read this unique book to find out.

I really enjoyed this book. I am sure that as new technology continues to evolve, we can look forward to reading more books with themes like this one. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this. The premise behind the mystery I would never have imagined. It’s all woven together perfectly with fantastic character development at the same time. Definitely recommend!

I finished Vantage Point several days ago and cannot stop thinking about it. This forthcoming novel from Sara Sligar offers a suspense-filled story centered around tech. I was incredibly impressed by how Sligar uses deepfakes and holograms to create an unreliable narrative. We often think we can outsmart advancements in digital tech, but Vantage Point left me doubting characters, perspectives, and events.

The first third of the novel is somewhat difficult to read because it deals with a lot of heavy subject matter, including sexual violence and eating disorders. While these themes reappear later in the novel, the focus shifts, and the pace of the novel rapidly progresses, making it difficult to put down.

I quite enjoyed the way the author utilizes multiple perspectives throughout the novel. We are forced to favor interpretations of events based on our connections to the characters, and the amount of trust (or lack thereof) they generate for us as readers. There is a lot of good commentary to be found in Vantage Point on how we traditionally view women’s voices and memories as less credit-worthy.

In summary, I would recommend this book to lovers of suspense and digital ethics, with the caveat that some topics will be sensitive and difficult to read. A huge thank you to FSG and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Vantage Point will be published on January 14, 2025.

3.5 rounded up

This was an interesting book and not what I expected at all. The comparison to Succession, I did not see though. The character development was great and you really do feel sorry for Clara and Jess. Overall an interesting read but trigger warring for eating disorders and sexual assault.

A wealthy family curse. This book takes on many social topics including cyberbullying, body shaming. It also covers a range of technical issues such as AI and deep fake video. The family curse (steer clear of the month of April). Perceived reality is also touched on in the story. A slow burn thriller.

4 Stars

Wow, this book was one of those books that I didn't expect to love so much!
Sara Sligar is in full form with this one! Wrapping each character up in deception and lies, the way a spider spins her web around an unsuspecting victim!

I still can't stop thinking about it and I finished it a couple days ago!

But don't just take my word for it. Read it yourself and get the same experience I did!

Vantage Point by @sarasligar
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

(AD/PR product)
A huge thank you to @netgalley and @mcdbooks for sending me an eARC of this brilliant book!
Set on the impressive Wieland Estate on an island off Maine, the story follows the Wieland siblings Clara and Teddy along with Teddy’s wife Jess during their family’s historically cursed month of April.
Leaked videos, a jeopardied mayoral campaign, deepfakes and holograms add to the strain of this infamous month for the three as we follow the fast paced story through all three of their perspectives.
The Wieland Curse is weaved throughout the stories using Wikipedia pages detailing other untimely Wieland deaths in Aprils past adding to the drama of the storyline.
This unique story touches on so many different topics such as manipulation, eating disorders, body shaming, grief, friendship and the misuse of technology all intertwined with themes of wealth, power and social influence. A really enjoyable read that kept me hooked until the end!
Make sure to grab a copy when it hits shelves in January 📚

Super intriguing book in a genre I don’t usually explore, but definitely worth a try if you're into Succession and family drama vibes, highly recommend giving it a shot!

This book gripped me from the beginning. It involves members of an extremely wealthy family that has been “cursed” over the years. One of the members runs for political office and compromising videos begin to be released to the public. Are they real or deepfakes?

In a world where AI is becoming widespread, I thought this was such a clever and terrifying thriller.

Read if you like:
✨books about family curses
✨dual POVs
✨unreliable narration

Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Will post review on publication day.

Clara and Teddy grew up wealthy, but their family has long been cursed with strange deaths, usually during the month of April. They lost their parents to an odd tragedy. The trauma seems to have made a greater impact on Clara’s mental health than Teddy’s. Clara has battled a life-threatening eating disorder for years, but her mental stability has often been questioned for other reasons.

Growing up, Clara and Jess were best friends and are still friends since Jess became Teddy’s wife. All three of them have returned to the small island of Maine where their remote family mansion resides. Teddy is running for Senate, and that’s when videos start to come out. The first is a sex tape of Clara. She has no memory of the man or the sex. When the second video is leaked, Jess and Clara begin to wonder if it’s a deepfake. More things start going wrong.

Initially, I didn’t mind any of these characters, but I began to dislike them all more and more as the novel went on.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES JANUARY 14, 2024.

A taut thriller reminiscent of the most recent "Invisible Man" movie and of "The Woman in the Window," that touches on the disbelief many women face and the dangers of how misuse of tech can spread untruths that go unchecked well after they've already caused a fire.

Told in two main character voices, it unspools with a mix of clear hints to what's going on in the present and world building about a family's historical curse, which makes it super readable even as it perhaps goes into a little too much detail about a character's eating disorder (TW for those who might need it). And it has a killer closing paragraph to boot!

So thankful to Netgalley for the ARC because I loved Sara Sligar's first book, Take Me Apart. She's a very smart writer working in a genre that I love. She's not afraid to slow down the plot to focus on character development, and her premises are incredibly original. Big fan!

The Wieland name has a lot of power and influence in their small Maine island - they have influence and money....and unfortunately a curse. The month of April is unsafe for the Wieland blood and name as famously so many family tragedies have occurred for them in that month. During a freak accident that she feels is her fault, teenage Clara Wieland witnessed the untimely death of both her parents while on a walk on their property. 14 years later she is back home on the island except now her best friend, Jess, has married her brother, Teddy, and is living in her family home and she is helping him run their family business while he is running for Senate. She is managing to get her life back together after the trauma of losing her parents and recovering from an eating disorder. Things are finally starting to look up for her until one April day someone posts a sex tape of her online- one she doesn't even remember filming! When a second embarrassing family video is released, the relationship between Clara, Jess and Teddy is forever altered. Trust is broken and Jess and Teddy are afraid that Clara is relapsing and losing her grip when she feels the family curse is coming for her.

This book had so much going on! I can't believe how much occurred in the final third! I felt like it was all over the place, but I enjoyed going on the ride. One of my favorite parts were the little Wikipedia articles explaining the different Wieland members who succumbed to the curse. Many different themes were explored in this book- mental health, eating disorders, revenge porn, politics, classism, technology, and AI. Definitely worth the read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the advanced eBook in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Sara Sligar’s Vantage Point is a masterful blend of Gothic suspense and contemporary thriller, set against the backdrop of a wealthy family’s unraveling. This novel, with its intricate plot and richly developed characters, is a testament to Sligar’s skill in crafting stories that are both thought-provoking and deeply unsettling.

The story revolves around the Wieland family, an old-money dynasty with a history marred by tragedy and scandal. Clara Wieland and her brother, Teddy, return to their family mansion, Vantage Point, on a secluded island in Maine. Teddy, now married to Clara’s best friend, Jess, is running for the Senate, a move that brings the family’s past back into the spotlight. The plot thickens when intimate videos of Clara surface online, videos she has no memory of making.

Sligar excels in creating multi-dimensional characters. Clara is a compelling protagonist, her struggle with mental health and the weight of her family’s legacy making her journey both relatable and poignant. Teddy’s political ambitions and Jess’s loyalty add layers of complexity to the narrative. The supporting characters, including the enigmatic residents of the island and the ever-present media, enrich the story with their own secrets and motivations.

The author’s writing style is both lyrical and suspenseful. Sligar’s prose captures the eerie atmosphere of the island and the grandeur of the family mansion, enhancing the Gothic elements of the story. Her ability to build tension is evident throughout, with each chapter revealing new twists that keep readers engaged.

Vantage Point explores the blurred lines between public and private personas, the impact of digital manipulation, and the haunting legacy of family secrets. Sligar delves into the psychological effects of trauma and the lengths people will go to protect their reputations. The novel also raises important questions about the nature of truth in the digital age, where reality can be easily distorted.

Overall, Vantage Point is a sophisticated and gripping novel that will appeal to fans of Gothic suspense and psychological thrillers. Sara Sligar delivers a story that is chilling and thought-provoking.

Overall I really liked this book a lot. Deep complex and overall satisfying. Many issues were explored, class, social media, revenge porn, political campaigning, bulimia, mental health, trusting your self, family curses and family relationships as well as deep life long friendships. It was a little slow at times but overall, I loved reading these two women's stories 4.5

“My blood is in this place, and it’s in my blood. An oath between us, holding me in thrall.”

In a story where the setting becomes a character of its own, Sara Sligar’s “ Vantage Point” blurs the lines between science fiction and crime. It has all the traits of a classic “whodunit” - dirty old money, a family curse, blatant motive - while giving the familiar genre an interesting twist by integrating the limitless potential of artificial intelligence. The story follows an antithetical brother sister duo: Clara- painted as the unstable younger sister, and Teddy, revered as the intelligent and sensible older brother. Their parents? Dead- unquestionably due to the “Wieland curse” that has hovered over the family and claimed lives across generations. The curse is an ever present threat as Teddy launches a political campaign and Clara navigates an online scandal. The story builds exponentially, but all that momentum comes to an abrupt crash when true motives are revealed.

Like Clara and Vantage Point, Sligar’s novel held me captive. While some of the elements seemed far-fetched, and others too predictable, the writing kept me hooked and lost in the imaginary worlds-both physical and virtual- that she created.

Thank you to NetGalley and FSG for the eARC. Would recommend this to any crime/mystery lover with interest in science fiction!