Author/Uploaded by Jordan Harper
Table of Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Epigraph PART ONE: THIS BRUTAL PHANTASMAGORIA Chapter One: Mae Chapter Two: Chris Chapter Three: Mae Chapter Four: Chris Chapter Five: Mae Chapter Six: Chris Chapter Seven: Mae Chapter Eight: Chris Chapter Nine: Mae Chapter Ten: Mae Ch...
Table of Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Epigraph PART ONE: THIS BRUTAL PHANTASMAGORIA Chapter One: Mae Chapter Two: Chris Chapter Three: Mae Chapter Four: Chris Chapter Five: Mae Chapter Six: Chris Chapter Seven: Mae Chapter Eight: Chris Chapter Nine: Mae Chapter Ten: Mae Chapter Eleven: Mae Chapter Twelve: Chris Chapter Thirteen: Mae PART TWO: HEAVIER THAN A DEATH IN THE FAMILY Chapter Fourteen: Mae Chapter Fifteen: Chris Chapter Sixteen: Mae Chapter Seventeen: Mae Chapter Eighteen: Chris Chapter Nineteen: Mae Chapter Twenty: Chris Chapter Twenty-One: Mae Chapter Twenty-Two: Chris Chapter Twenty-Three: Mae Chapter Twenty-Four: Chris PART THREE: HOLLYWOOD SICKOS Chapter Twenty-Five: Mae Chapter Twenty-Six: Chris Chapter Twenty-Seven: Mae Chapter Twenty-Eight: Chris Chapter Twenty-Nine: Mae Chapter Thirty: Chris Chapter Thirty-One: Mae Chapter Thirty-Two: Chris Chapter Thirty-Three: Mae Chapter Thirty-Four: Chris PART FOUR: WONDERLAND Chapter Thirty-Five: Mae Chapter Thirty-Six: Chris Chapter Thirty-Seven: Mae Chapter Thirty-Eight: Mae Chapter Thirty-Nine: Chris Chapter Forty: Mae Chapter Forty-One: Chris Chapter Forty-Two: Mae Chapter Forty-Three: Chris Chapter Forty-Four: Mae Chapter Forty-Five: Chris Chapter Forty-Six: Mae Chapter Forty-Seven: Mae Chapter Forty-Eight: Chris Chapter Forty-Nine: Chris PART FIVE: THE PRINCIPLE OF EXPLOSION Chapter Fifty: Mae Chapter Fifty-One: Chris Chapter Fifty-Two: Mae Chapter Fifty-Three: Chris Chapter Fifty-Four: Mae Chapter Fifty-Five: Chris Chapter Fifty-Six: Mae Chapter Fifty-Seven: Chris Chapter Fifty-Eight: Mae Chapter Fifty-Nine: Chris Chapter Sixty: Chris Chapter Sixty-One: Mae Chapter Sixty-Two: Chris PART SIX: THE DEAD FLAG BLUES Chapter Sixty-Three: Mae Chapter Sixty-Four: Mae Chapter Sixty-Five: Mae Chapter Sixty-Six: Chris Chapter Sixty-Seven: Mae Chapter Sixty-Eight: Mae Discover More Acknowledgments About the Author Also by Jordan Harper Navigation Table of Contents The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Copyright © 2023 by Jordan Harper Cover design by Kirin Diemont Cover art by Getty images Cover © 2023 Hachette Book Group, Inc. Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights. Mulholland Books / Little, Brown and Company Hachette Book Group 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104mulhollandbooks.comtwitter.com/mulhollandbooksfacebook.com/mulhollandbooks First edition: January 2023 Mulholland Books is an imprint of Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The Mulholland Books name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher. The Hachette Speakers Bureau provides a wide range of authors for speaking events. To find out more, go to hachettespeakersbureau.com or call (866) 376-6591. ISBN 9780316458238 E3-20221222-NF-DA-ORI E3-20221201-NF-DA-ORI For Megan I have lived in the monster and I know its entrails. —José Martí Explore book giveaways, sneak peeks, deals, and more. Tap here to learn more. PART ONE THIS BRUTAL PHANTASMAGORIA Chapter One Mae The Chateau Marmont Los Angeles burns. Some sicko is torching homeless camps. Tonight they hit a tent city in Los Feliz near the 5. The fire spread to Griffith Park. The smoke makes the sunset unbelievable. The particles in the air slash the light, shift it red. They make the sky a neon wound. Mae waits outside the secret entrance to the Chateau Marmont. She watches Saturday-night tourists wander Sunset Boulevard, their eyes bloodshot from the smoke. They cough and trade looks. They never thought the Sunset Strip would smell like a campfire. Mae moves around the sidewalk like a boxer before the fight. Her face is sharp and bookish, framed in a Lulu bob. She wears a vintage floral jumpsuit. She’s got eyes like a wolf on the hunt—she hides them behind chunky oversized glasses. Nobody ever sees her coming. She shifts her weight from foot to foot—these heels weren’t made for legwork. She put them on for a first date she canceled twenty minutes ago when she got the text from Dan. No big loss—the date was with a stand-up comedian she met on Bumble. Comedians on a date tend to treat a woman like a test audience, or like their shrink, or they think you’re a chucklefucker and they don’t even have to try. Dan’s text had read hannah chateau asap followed by the number for Hannah Heard’s new assistant. Dan’s text was cryptic per usual. The rules say keep as much as possible UNSAID. The Chateau Marmont: the hippest no-tell hotel in the world. This shabby-chic Gothic castle slouching against the base of the Hollywood Hills. The way to the hotel proper is up a small winding road to Mae’s left. This secret entrance on Sunset leads straight to the grotto where the private cottages are. The unmarked door built into the white-brick wall is made of green cloth—someone could slash it easily and go marauding among the rich and famous. But no one ever does. Chateau jobs tend to be messy. They tend to be drama. They tend to be a fucking blast. Hannah Heard increases the odds of all three exponentially. The green-cloth door swings open. The girl on the other side is early twenties. She’s got blue hair and an Alaska Thunderfuck T-shirt worn as a dress—her vibe is manic pixie e-girl. Her eyes are wide like a rabbit in a trap. Mae pegs her as having a milk-brief life in the Industry.