Snake Oil

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A razor-sharp literary thriller about three women vying for power at a wellness startup, where the cost of ambition might be deadly

One womans elixir is another womans poison

Rhoda West is Silicon Valleys favorite female CEO: the luminously charismatic founder of the fast-growing startup Radical, a wellness company whose core mission is the betterment of womens lives. Rhodas Instagram page offers intimate glimpses of her personal life alongside promotions for the cult-status products developed in the Well, Radicals secretive lab.

Dani Lang is a quester, as Rhoda calls her most avid followers. Dani found Radical at a low point in her life, and took an entry level job just to get in the door. When she volunteers to test a controversial new supplement, Dani wins an opportunity to rise in the company, even to work with Rhoda herself.

Cecelia Cole is a quasher. She grinds away at the Customer Worship queue, resenting the entitled customers, the woo-woo Radical jargon, and Rhodas smiling hypocrisy. Cecelia, who suffers from a miserable chronic illness, knows that the remedies Rhoda sells cant cure real sickness.

Just as Rhoda announces another fundraising round that could turn Radical into a billion-dollar unicorn, an anonymous Twitter account begins spilling snarky gossip from inside the startup. Is Rhoda really the nurturing leader she presents to the world, or a fraud Or is this just another case of a woman in business being punished for her strength and audacity

Tensions rise and loyalties clash, then tragedy strikes during a company party. In the aftermath of what looks more and more like a crime, even the most faithful questers begin to wonder to what lengths Rhoda will go to protect her company.

Part page-turning suspense, part darkly comic skewering of startup culture, Snake Oil is a gripping exploration of ambition and authenticity, shining a revealing light on the wellness world.

Reviews

"A sharp, fun, and wickedly smart examination of female ambition and the constant pursuit of perfection, in a world where perfection is just another illusion to be sold. -- Kathy Wang, author of Family Trust and Impostor Syndrome

"Snake Oil sheds its light and shining skin to reveal deep and resonant truths about modern life. Dimberg's prose glows with the power of a thousand serums. I underlined the hell out of this perfectly timely yet surprisingly timeless gem." -- Avery Carpenter Forrey, author of Social Engagement

"A lush, attentive portrait of a culture where botanicals are revolutionary, nourishment is a superpower, and wellness is one click away, Snake Oil purrs with abundance and delivers the uneasy thrill of buying and selling ourselves on every page." -- Barbara Bourland, author of The Force of Such Beauty

"Menace grows slowly here as Dimberg immerses readers in the complex interplay of affirmation and vicious retribution in cultish movements. A great recommendation for readers seeking a follow-up to Liane Moriarty's Nine Perfect Strangers." -- Booklist

Author Bio

Kelsey Rae Dimberg is the author of Girl in the Rearview Mirror. She received an MFA from the University of San Francisco. Before writing novels, she wrote copy for startups like Google and Groupon. She lives in Chicago.