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Cover Story: A Novel
Netflix's "Inventing Anna" and Hulu's "The Dropout" meets Catch Me If You Can, a captivating novel about an ambitious young woman who gets trapped in a charismatic con artist's scam.
A Most Anticipated by Entertainment Weekly, Marie Claire, Parade, New York Post, Shondalanda, E!, Fortune, PopSugar, and more!
"It's exciting, it's surprising, it's satisfying, it's darkly funny, and it will keep you guessing."-Linda Holmes for Today.com
After a rough year at NYU, aspiring writer Lora Ricci is thrilled to land a summer internship atELLE magazine where she meets Cat Wolff, contributing editor and enigmatic daughter of a clean-energy mogul. Cat takes Lora under her wing, soliciting her help with side projects and encouraging her writing.
As a friendship emerges between the two women, Lora opens up to Cat about her financial struggles and lost scholarship. Cat's solution: Drop out of NYU and become her ghostwriter. Lora agrees and, when the internship ends, she moves into Cat's suite at the opulent Plaza Hotel. Writing during the day and accompanying Cat to extravagant parties at night, Lora's life quickly shifts from looming nightmare to dream-come-true. But as Lora is drawn into Cat's glamorous lifestyle, Cat's perfect exterior cracks, exposing an illicit, shady world.
A whip-smart and delightfully inventive writer, Susan Rigetti brilliantly pieces together a perceptive, humorous caper full of sharp observations about scam culture. Composed of diary entries, emails, FBI correspondence, and more, Cover Story is a fresh, fun, and wholly original novel that takes readers deep into the codependency and deceit found in a relationship built on power imbalance and lies.
A Most Anticipated by Entertainment Weekly, Marie Claire, Parade, New York Post, Shondalanda, E!, Fortune, PopSugar, and more!
"It's exciting, it's surprising, it's satisfying, it's darkly funny, and it will keep you guessing."-Linda Holmes for Today.com
After a rough year at NYU, aspiring writer Lora Ricci is thrilled to land a summer internship atELLE magazine where she meets Cat Wolff, contributing editor and enigmatic daughter of a clean-energy mogul. Cat takes Lora under her wing, soliciting her help with side projects and encouraging her writing.
As a friendship emerges between the two women, Lora opens up to Cat about her financial struggles and lost scholarship. Cat's solution: Drop out of NYU and become her ghostwriter. Lora agrees and, when the internship ends, she moves into Cat's suite at the opulent Plaza Hotel. Writing during the day and accompanying Cat to extravagant parties at night, Lora's life quickly shifts from looming nightmare to dream-come-true. But as Lora is drawn into Cat's glamorous lifestyle, Cat's perfect exterior cracks, exposing an illicit, shady world.
A whip-smart and delightfully inventive writer, Susan Rigetti brilliantly pieces together a perceptive, humorous caper full of sharp observations about scam culture. Composed of diary entries, emails, FBI correspondence, and more, Cover Story is a fresh, fun, and wholly original novel that takes readers deep into the codependency and deceit found in a relationship built on power imbalance and lies.
Editorial Reviews
"It's Catch Me if You Can meets Sweetbitter, from the woman who blew the whistle on Uber's software engineering team - what's not to love? - Entertainment Weekly
"[A] page-turner that's hilarious in its dedication to vamping on viral news stories about real-life strivers and cons from Delvey to Instagram personality Caroline Calloway … a delicious read." - Time magazine
"Taking inspiration from the Anna Delveys of the world, ‘Cover Story' is a delicious read about a young intern who gets caught up in a breathtakingly opulent-if claustrophobic-scheme (or four)." - Marie Claire
"[A] ridiculously fun romp." - E! Online
"Rigetti's fiction debut has a roller-coaster plot that gives off huge Anna Delvey vibes and an ending that will leave you with your jaw on the floor…. If you're a fan of tales about scams, grifters, and mysterious schemes, Cover Story needs to be on your TBR list." - Popsugar
"Cover Story is a good read … man oh man, it's got suites at the Plaza, the FBI closing in, Russian hackers, designer clothes and a plot that stays ahead of the reader. Rigetti has written a need-to-read story."
- San Francisco Chronicle
"A clever epistolary novel with an elegant con woman at its center-in other words, perfect escapism for this moment." - Seattle Times
"[C]inematic…Rigetti's propulsive narrative, which includes Instagram posts, text messages, and FBI case files, keeps the pages turning, and there's a juicy twist." - Publishers Weekly
"Inspired by the stories of Anna Sorokin, Caroline Calloway, and others, Cover Story is a captivating novel that readers won't be able to put down." - Shondaland
"Journalist Rigetti's debut kicks off beach-read season with a bang…. Drawing heavy inspiration from the true story of Anna Delvey, who conned New York's elite for several years in the mid-2010s, this book will be a must-read for the legions who followed Delvey's story with bated breath.… It's The Devil Wear's Prada meets
"[A] page-turner that's hilarious in its dedication to vamping on viral news stories about real-life strivers and cons from Delvey to Instagram personality Caroline Calloway … a delicious read." - Time magazine
"Taking inspiration from the Anna Delveys of the world, ‘Cover Story' is a delicious read about a young intern who gets caught up in a breathtakingly opulent-if claustrophobic-scheme (or four)." - Marie Claire
"[A] ridiculously fun romp." - E! Online
"Rigetti's fiction debut has a roller-coaster plot that gives off huge Anna Delvey vibes and an ending that will leave you with your jaw on the floor…. If you're a fan of tales about scams, grifters, and mysterious schemes, Cover Story needs to be on your TBR list." - Popsugar
"Cover Story is a good read … man oh man, it's got suites at the Plaza, the FBI closing in, Russian hackers, designer clothes and a plot that stays ahead of the reader. Rigetti has written a need-to-read story."
- San Francisco Chronicle
"A clever epistolary novel with an elegant con woman at its center-in other words, perfect escapism for this moment." - Seattle Times
"[C]inematic…Rigetti's propulsive narrative, which includes Instagram posts, text messages, and FBI case files, keeps the pages turning, and there's a juicy twist." - Publishers Weekly
"Inspired by the stories of Anna Sorokin, Caroline Calloway, and others, Cover Story is a captivating novel that readers won't be able to put down." - Shondaland
"Journalist Rigetti's debut kicks off beach-read season with a bang…. Drawing heavy inspiration from the true story of Anna Delvey, who conned New York's elite for several years in the mid-2010s, this book will be a must-read for the legions who followed Delvey's story with bated breath.… It's The Devil Wear's Prada meets
Readers Top Reviews
IsabelJulia RInth
I read this book in a few hours! Grabs your attention and I couldn't stop reading....the ending wasn't what I expected, predicted at all!!
Brynne DIsabelJul
I absolutely LOVED this book! It was a fun and easy read. I finished it in a day because I couldn’t put it down. The character development kept me turning the page. I won’t give away the ending, but I’m still shook. 10/10 recommend.
Gabrielle Grosbet
“She was absolutely gorgeous, without a doubt, but there was something about her that was beautiful in a way that I’d never noticed about anyone else.” I was, dare I say, surprised by all the glowing five star reviews for this read as, though this was well-written and passionately got to the heart of several undoings, I unfortunately found the narrator, Lora, to be completely insufferable. I know she is meant to be portrayed as naive, young, and yearning deeply to find her sense of place in the looming, competitive world of publishing and writing, but it felt overdone and completely unbelievable. She falls so fast and easily that I couldn’t believe she had such an unblinkingly low concept of her self-worth, even given her desperate situation. She ignores all warnings people give her about Cat because she has become so entirely blindsided by her, but my main question is why and how, when she has access to change at least some of her circumstances and a loving family who, at the end of the day, wants the best for her. “We have to find ways around the system. We have to break the rules, and we absolutely cannot feel bad about breaking them, not even for a moment. It’s the only way we can make it. It’s the only way we’ll ever have a shot. It’s the only way we can survive.” I’m not blaming her but merely interrogating and indicating her relative agency over her own decisions, pointing to her self-will, especially when she is given outs before she gets in too far, too deep. Why does she continuously put all her faith into Cat when there are red flags aplenty and visible, obvious secrecy surrounding her? Why does she agree to be a ghostwriter, in the first place, when she’s aware she’ll be given absolutely no credit for all of her hard work? Cat tells her what she’ll be doing and how she’ll be doing it loud and clear and she STILL goes along with it…WHY? Her pining for Cat and relentless belief in her jarred me and made me question the forces of seduction/manipulation at work, and how much those came into play, since Cat, at certain intervals, is largely open about her terms with Lora, yet Lora continues to play into her game at every turn. “ “Well don’t get too close to her.” she warned. “She’ll chew you up and spit you out and pretend you never meant anything to her. And then you’ll spend every day of the rest of your life wondering what you did wrong, wondering why she treats you like you no longer exist.” ” This narrative becomes a cautionary tale to those that trust too easily, too fast, without asking the hard questions or stopping to hear the music, and in that regard it checked all the boxes and kept me turning the pages rapid-fire, ensconced in its multi-genre approach. “And I’ve noticed that there’s this trick she has of making the people around her feel like they’re her closest friends.” The endi...
PenelopeGabrielle
Fast read - I liked the characters but was shocked how naive Lora was- but it all makes sense in the end. Similar to the Anna Delvey story but well written with a nice twist at the end. I recommend this book!
Timothy H.Penelop
It was no surprise to me that Susan has written a wonderful novel because everything I've read of hers has been well thought out and well written. COVER STORY has a little bit of everything in it. It should keep anyone engaged until the end. I hope one of these actress/producer buys the book and makes it into a movie or series.
