Bodies to Die For

By: Lori Brand

Narrated by: Jennifer Aquino, Chelsea Stephens, Joe Hempel

Perfect for fans of You Shouldn’t Have Come Here and None of This Is True, Bodies to Die For is a brilliant psychological thriller that will have listeners wondering whether the perfect body really is worth dying for ...

Popular fitness influencer Gemma has transformed herself from a Before into an After, complete with washboard abs, thriving business, and gorgeous husband. But social media can be deceiving. Offline, the cutthroat world of bikini bodybuilding may just eat her alive. That’s if she’s not first devoured by the secret nemesis that lurks beneath her polished surface, waiting to destroy her.

Software engineer Ashley is fat and frustrated. Frustrated with failed diets. With a world that wants her to shrink. With biased doctors, online trolls, and even her own mother. Until Ashley falls in with a mysterious and radical sect of Fat Activists who are fighting back … by any means necessary. She’s never felt so alive, so full of purpose. She’ll do whatever it takes to ride this high, destroy Diet Culture, and win the approval of her charismatic leader.

Gemma and Ashley are on a collision course headed for the Olympia, the bodybuilding competition where futures are made. And lost. But when Gemma’s toughest rival turns up dead, and more fitness girls fall like dominoes, it’s beginning to look like the body image war has gone too far.

With breakneck pace and keen insights, Bodies to Die For takes a hard look at social media, the $70 billion diet industry, and the war on women’s bodies—the wars we wage with each other, and with ourselves.

©2024 Lori Johnson-Brand (P)2024 Blackstone Publishing

Wow

This was amazing. Everything about it! The message was loud and clear as long as your listening!

Solid Satire

Body positivity is a hot topic these days, particularly with the advent of image-altering technology. Anyone can use photoshop, filters, or AI to present their bodies as they want them to be viewed, regardless of whether or not it reflects reality.

Lori Brand deftly presents both sides of the body positivity discourse without being preachy, and explores the toxic extreme resulting on both sides. Brand fleshes out (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun) two sympathetic protagonists that are relatable even in the face of some seriously over-the-top fit vs. fat chaos.

My main criticism is the narration. I wish we could rate the narrators separately, because while the voice actor that voices Ashley is excellent, the voice actor for Gemma is absolutely abysmal. She inflects as if she’s never heard two real humans interact. Gemma’s sections are read as if the narrator is reading furniture assembly instructions off a teleprompter, rather than a suspense novel where people are being murdered.

SO GOOD

Unique, modern, well-written, and VERY entertaining. A must read for anyone looking for a good book. 👍🏾

Super fun fast paced summer read!

Lori Brand’s debut thriller is a total win! The story takes us into the worlds of Gemma, a fit-fluencer, and Ashley, a tech-savvy gal who isn’t as into fitness. The way Lori juggles all the different characters is super smooth, making it easy to keep track of who’s who.

The book is a total page-turner with its fast pace and unexpected twists. I was constantly guessing and second-guessing who was behind everything. If you’re into thrillers that keep you hooked and make you think, this one’s definitely worth a read!

The subject matter of fitness, body image, and unhinged behavior

I really enjoyed this and found the unhinged characters to be a great cautionary warning. Very good multiple pov thriller with twists that are not predictable.