The Influencers, AnnaMarie McLemore
The Influencers, AnnaMarie McLemore
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The Influencers

Author: Anna-Marie McLemore

Narrator: Brittany Pressley

Unabridged: 10 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/15/2025


Synopsis

A social media influencer's empire is burned to the ground—literally. The top suspects? The five daughters who made her famous.

“A witty and razor-sharp whodunit that will leave you both satisfied and challenged . . . A gorgeous, gloriously scathing story.”—Ashley Herring Blake, author of Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date

What do you really know about the people you’ve made famous?

“Mother May I” Iverson has spent the past twenty-five years building a massively successful influencer empire with endearing videos featuring her five mixed-race daughters. But the girls are all grown up now, and the ramifications of having their entire childhoods commodified start to spill over into public view, especially in light of the pivotal question: Who killed May’s newlywed husband and then torched her mansion to cover it up?

April is a businesswoman feuding with her mother over intellectual property; twins June and July are influencers themselves, threatening to overtake May’s spotlight; January is a theater tech who steers clear of her mother and the limelight; and the youngest . . . well, March has somehow completely disappeared. As the days pass post-murder, everyone has an opinion—the sisters, May, a mysterious “friend of the family,” and the collective voice of the online audience watching the family’s every move—with suspicion flying every direction.

A campy and escapist exploration of race, gender, sexuality, and class, The Influencers is an evisceration of influencer culture and how alienating traditional expectations can be, ripe for the current moment when the first generation of children made famous by their parents are, now, all grown up—and looking for retribution.

About Anna-Marie McLemore

Anna-Marie McLemore was born in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and taught by their family to hear la llorona in the Santa Ana winds. They are the author of The Weight of Feathers, a 2016 William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist; 2017 Stonewall Honor Book When the Moon Was Ours, which was longlisted for the National Book Award in Young People's Literature; Wild Beauty, a Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Booklist best book of 2017; Blanca & Roja, a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice; Dark and Deepest Red, a Winter 2020 Indie Next List title; and The Mirror Season, which was longlisted for the National Book Award in Young People's Literature.


Reviews

Goodreads review by emma on July 27, 2025

what could be more horrifying. this is a book about how mommy influencers are evil (an opinion i shared going in) in a way that will turn their daughters into traumatized girlbosses (sure). as i waited for a couple hundred pages to get into this, i realized the problem: everything about it was over th......more

Goodreads review by Linzie (suspenseisthrillingme) on May 27, 2025

A family drama/mystery with a strong social commentary, The Influencers had me intrigued from the very first page. After all, the structure of the multiple POVs was original to be sure. With collective perspectives from the family’s followers as well as individual POVs from January, April, May, June......more

Goodreads review by Jillian on September 06, 2025

May Iverson was one of the OG mommy bloggers, and her now-grown daughters were among the first to grow up in the spotlight. Each has coped—or failed to—in their own way. April has hustled to build her own success, publicizing her successful textiles line while keeping her personal life private. June......more

Goodreads review by Amy on April 12, 2025

I will always read a book about an influencer, there is something endlessly interesting to me about the world’s obsession with social media influencers. The murder mystery wasn’t the most interesting part to me, it was the dynamics between the family. I can’t imagine growing up with the whole world......more

Goodreads review by Angie on November 16, 2024

May Iverson is an influencer with 4 daughters who are a part of her empire. She is very successful and rich until her home is burned and her new husband murdered. The top suspects are the family themselves. They are Kardashian-esque in their branding and personal empires, there are increasingly more......more


Quotes

“A murder mystery crossed with a cautionary tale about family, authenticity, and social media . . . Funny, heartbreaking, wonderfully written.” —Jane Pek, author of The Verifiers

“Juicy, twisty, and full of ruthless details . . . Be careful who you unfollow—they just might kill you.” —Maggie Thrash, author of Rainbow Black

The Kardashians meets Knives Out—a murder mystery with slices of a Virgin Suicides Greek chorus . . . I whipped through it!” —Frances Cha, author of If I Had Your Face

“A witty and razor-sharp whodunit that will leave you both satisfied and challenged . . . A gorgeous, gloriously scathing story.” —Ashley Herring Blake, author of Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date

“As sharp as it is delicious, The Influencers is a page-turning delight as well as an incisive critique of the culture of unmitigated self-display. No one is spared—including the readers—but everyone is granted their full, complex humanity.” —Jessie Gaynor, author of The Glow

“Brilliantly dissects the pressures of influencer culture, privacy, and power while exploring the complex dynamics of sisterhood . . . McLemore’s voice and wit shine through, making this a must-read for anyone who loves a smart, subversive take on contemporary life. Gripping, cunningly plotted, and thought-provoking, The Influencers balances escapist fun with deep social commentary.” —Christina McDowell, author of The Cave Dwellers

“An intriguing and thrilling murder mystery . . . Questions abound, but the only certainty is that The Influencers will keep readers guessing through twist after twist. . . . McLemore builds a world that draws from reality in engaging and even playful ways as they explore family, social, and even parasocial relationships. The Influencers is a stunning novel that is sure to please McLemore's fans and bring new readers to their YA novels.”—Shelf Awareness

“A stellar adult debut . . . McLemore writes a gimlet-eyed take on social media’s infiltration of society, with a murder mystery as the novel’s fulcrum. . . . A compelling read, rather like watching a train wreck. Recommend to fans of the Kardashians and novels like Kevin Wilson’s The Family Fang.—Library Journal

“McLemore uses a clever, collective point of view: various social audiences narrate a significant part of the book. Each Iverson gets a chance to speak as well, providing a view of this complex story from all angles.”—Booklist