Book blurb for fun: Hate Story

Image: Hate Story cover, designed by Brett Bakker. The grim reaper rises up between silhouettes of a man and a woman, speech bubbles floating like ghosts. Subtext reads: Online shaming is a myth … or is it?

Above the title, a blurb from Giles Blunt, bestselling author of the John Cardinal mysteries: “From Twitterized mobthink to Facebook fact-bashing to knuckle-dragging attacks on science, our current reality—online or off—presents formidable problems for the satirist. Cottrill takes up that challenge and runs with it, skewering journalists, online vigilantes, and cyberbullies with undisguised glee.”

A little while ago, Jeff Cottrill wrote a guest post for the blog about the inspiration for his first novel, Hate Story, published by Dragonfly Publishing and launched this past weekend. Here’s my blurb:

Social media, cancel culture and mob mentality feature prominently in Jeff Cottrill’s compelling and entertaining debut novel Hate Story—a fascinating and timely tale that combines investigative journalism adventure with biting satire. The storytelling is by turns razor-sharp funny, heartbreakingly poignant and thought-provoking as we follow protagonist Jackie Roberts on her quest to learn what the late Paul Shoreditch did to become so universally reviled. We’re reminded that society both creates and condemns its monsters—real or imagined—and that toxic masculinity isn’t solely the purview of men. And don’t believe everything you hear, and only half of what you see.

Hate Story is available from a variety of major online booksellers.