Simone Glass Books in Order

The Simone Glass novels drop you into the frenzied world of Hollywood tabloids, where gossip is a business and reputation can change with one headline. Simone is a recent Columbia journalism school graduate who heads to Los Angeles dreaming of serious reporting and instead lands at a notorious scandal sheet.

In Trashed, she joins the staff of The Asteroid and discovers that celebrity journalism has its own rough set of rules. She learns to dig through trash bags in designer alleys, chase limousines, bluff her way into parties and keep her real name to herself, all while trying not to lose the ideals that sent her into journalism in the first place.

When a rising soap star dies in what looks like suicide and another woman with ties to the same circles turns up murdered, Simone realizes the stories in her notebook may be part of something much darker. Her hunt for the truth pulls her into back lots, trailers and exclusive events, where powerful people are willing to do almost anything to keep their secrets off the front page.

Heartless shifts the focus to Zoe Greene, a New York celebrity reporter who leaves Manhattan to move in with charismatic actor Warren Clark in the seemingly tranquil Mexican town of San Esteban. The place has a bohemian charm, but it also has a grisly recent history involving a murdered student and a longevity cult whose rituals revolve around blood and eternal youth.

As Zoe’s romantic escape curdles into something far more sinister, she begins to suspect that the town’s smiling expats and wellness devotees may be hiding a predatory agenda. Her friend and fellow journalist back home grows increasingly alarmed as her calls take on a frightened edge and stories of a group called Sangre Para La Vida start to surface.

Together, Trashed and Heartless explore the dark side of fame and the people who feed on it, from paparazzi and publicists to cult leaders who promise a perfect body or a second chance. The tone is fast and sharp, laced with black humor, romantic tension and the uneasy knowledge that the line between observer and participant in this world can vanish in an instant.

Readers who enjoy mysteries set against film sets, red carpets and sun-drenched noir locales will find plenty to savor here, whether they start with Simone’s Hollywood baptism in Trashed or dive straight into the more gothic chills of Heartless.