Sharply observed and full of dark humor, Kate Cavanaugh's debut psychological thriller offers a fresh take on the classic closed-circle mystery with 10 influencers trapped together on an island without Internet. The novel begins with Michelle Monroe, a previously successful influencer whose career is sputtering. Once-plentiful brand deals have vanished, fans have left her, and even her trolls have lost interest. As eviction from her fancy apartment looms, Michelle receives an invitation for an exclusive brand-deal trip to promote an energy drink at an isolated villa in the middle of the ocean, and she jumps at the second chance for social media relevance. But the luxury "vacation event" soon turns deadly as the influencers, all of whom harbor jealousies and grudges against one another, start dying one by one in increasingly bizarre and horrible ways.
Although there is more than a dash of the absurd in the way that the self-obsessed influencers react to the deaths of their frenemies (mostly by plotting ways to use leverage death for clicks), Cavanaugh creates real tension in the novel by puncturing the familiar comfort of an Agatha Christie-style mystery with biting social satire. Without the reassuring dopamine hits of likes and subscribes, the influencers must face the emptiness of their lives and confront the price of pursuing fame and social relevance.
Despite its thematic weight, Thanks for Watching is tremendous fun. Cavanaugh's brisk pacing and unexpected twists propel the novel, while her spot-on skewering of influencer culture makes this a provocative, entertaining read. -- Debra Ginsberg, author and freelance editor