This was an absolutely addictive read for me, I love the format of this with the story being told through transcripts, emails, interviews etc and they did a fantastic job of telling this compulsive story of a high profile family and their connection to a teenage boy who went missing twenty years ago. The characters are brilliant with podcaster Tom pulling a lot of this together and the members of the Lancaster family who are from a different planet in many ways! The missing person case was really well told and it was interesting to hear the different angles and see how it transpired never mind another character then dying and leaving you wondering just what’s with the Lancaster family. The conclusion was really creepy but brilliant and it really makes you think back on the events in the book with a whole new perspective. I genuinely loved this book, for me it was one of the best I’ve read in a while probably because I just love books in this format but also it’s just brilliantly constructed.

TV reality show Living With The Lancasters has been running for seventeen years. During a tribute section, they show a twenty-year-old home video which reignites interest in a missing person case, a missing person who was last seen alive at their home. If you are going to read this book then cancel any plans you may have because you won't want to put it down, Clickbait by L. C. North is the equivalent of those TV series you binge-watch. The author uses a variety of different media, as she did with her previous novel The Ugly Truth, to get the reader's attention and then keep you gripped. This is one of those books where you'll keep saying to yourself, "Just one more page" and before you know it you've finished the book. Clickbait focuses on the rise, and fall, of a "real life" family, the Lancaster's. Mum, Lynn, and her adult children Taylor, Locke and India. For the past seventeen years, they've been the stars of their own reality TV series, very much in the same vein as The Osbournes, Keeping Up With The Kardashians and even Made In Chelsea. The family has always been used to living in the public eye as Ed, the father, was a premiership footballer. Shortly after his unexpected death Lynn Lancaster got the idea for the reality TV series. It is during a tribute episode to their father that the children show an old family video from before the days of the TV series. Eagle-eyed viewers spot someone in the background of one of the shots, Bradley Wilcox, a teen who went missing after attending a party at the Lancaster's home. The family has always maintained that Bradley left the party in a taxi with a group of footballers, but the new video clearly shows this to be a lie. Investigative journalist Tom Isaac takes up the missing person case, he's got a vested interest as he knows the family and this gives him access that other journalists don't have. In keeping with the reality TV theme, Tom posts all his findings via his YouTube channel, asking his followers what they think. By chipping away at the story and interviews with the family the facade of Living With The Lancasters drops and we see a family, particularly Lynn, who will lie, manipulate and fabricate to get what they want, at any cost. There are twists galore and you know not to believe what anyone is saying, not a single person can be trusted. Even with all this in mind the conclusion is still a shock and left me feeling indignant.

The Lancaster family are the stars of their own reality show. When a video emerges showing that they may have known more about a teenager who went missing twenty years ago, true crime investigator Tom sets out to uncover the truth. Clickbait is an incredibly clever story full of twists you won't see coming. The concept of the plot really appealed to me because I desperately wanted to find out what had happened to Bradley the missing teenager. It felt like there were so many secrets just waiting to be revealed. I loved the format of this book. It is told through interviews and episodes of Tom's YouTube show, which was very different and unique. It made it feel like I was a viewer of the episodes along for the journey. LC North has really pinpointed the obsession we can have with reality TV with characters that came across as completely believable. It made for a shocking read following the revelations that came out along the way. You will absolutely fly through this without being able to put it down! Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

The Lancaster family are well known for their reality TV show. The matriarch is Lynn and it's clear she has a lot of control over her three grown up children, Taylor, Locke and India. I have never seen Keeping Up With the Kardiashians but Living With the Lancasters is exactly what I think it would be like. The Lancasters present a united front whilst simultaneously stabbing each other in the back - not an easy balance to achieve! I found them all thoroughly unlikeable, which I'm certain was the whole point. The story is initially about a missing teenage boy. Bradley Wilcox disappeared after leaving one of the Lancaster's raucous parties two decades ago and an old and previously unseen home video is about to bring the disappearance back into the news, which is not good for the Lancaster family. The whole story is told via a true crime investigator's podcasts/YouTube videos, police interviews, celebrity news reports, clips from Living With the Lancasters and other similar kinds of mixed media and the author has done an excellent job of conveying what's happening in this way. It also makes it really fast-paced read and one where I could cram in a bit more before having to lay my book down. Clickbait is a twisty read about a family who live their lives in the spotlight, making them more than a little bit dysfunctional. It's a modern and original look at a family chasing ever more fame, and the consequences of this on their whole lives.

I read this as part of an online book club. Bradley Wilcox went missing at a party hosted by The Lancaster’s who were celebrity royalty for years due to their show Living With The Lancasters. Bradley’s sister Cassie has never given up looking for Bradley and is convinced that the Lancasters know more than they are saying. Tom, a YouTuber and true crime investigator is now on the case and determined to find out what really happened. The book is very modern in its writing as it is written is mostly “social media” style. The investigation is written from Tom’s perspective with the added voices of Cassie and the remaining Lancasters, Lynn (the mother) and siblings Taylor, Locke and India. I found the story ok and although it seemed to jump from one direction to the other it was easy to follow. The ending was ok, no great surprise in today’s world but not the worst.