Blog tour: Bad Influence by Will Carver

This post is part of a blog tour organised by Random Things Blog Tours. I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

‘Alyssa wants to be seen. Less wants to be someone.

‘She takes two buses to class, posts pictures of her lunch, and pretends it’s all effortless. He hides his privilege beneath thrifted clothes and a sketchbook full of impossible designs.

‘Together, they are inseparable – two outsiders constructing a version of themselves the world might finally applaud.

‘Then Alyssa stumbles upon the hidden world of phrogging – living unnoticed inside other people’s homes. She and Less slip through Los Angeles’ glossy veneer: influencers, producers, pop stars, all so busy performing their perfect lives they don’t notice the shadows in their attics, the scratching in their walls.

‘An act of rebellion. A harmless thrill. A social experiment.

‘Until they choose the wrong house.

‘Until the influencer they idolise catches them in the act.

‘Until the cameras, already rolling, capture everything.

‘What begins as a reckless adventure becomes a nightmare of lies, power… and murder…’

In Bad Influence, by Will Carver, college students Less (Alessandro) – who dreams of being a milliner to the stars – and Alyssa – who just wants to be famous for something – discover “phrogging”, or spending time in other people’s homes without their knowledge. Together, they stay overnight in an activist influencer’s attic, sneak into a legendary music producer’s party, and hang out in a rock star’s house in the Hills.

When they target highly-strung fitness influencer Paige, though, it all goes very wrong, very quickly. Contrary to what she told her followers, Paige is at home for the weekend, and she over-reacts when she finds Alyssa and Less in her living room. What’s more, a pair of unscrupulous reality TV producers who recently rigged up Paige’s home for a show are already watching her without her knowledge, and absolutely lapping up the drama.

Every time I think Will Carver can’t possibly top his previous novel (in this case, Kill Them With Kindness) for unsubtlety, darkness, and stark observations, he proves me wrong. Bad Influence had me hooked with its sharp twists and turns, as well as the sometimes shockingly bad behaviour of its characters.

I don’t want to give anything away, but Alyssa and Less’ audacious actions as they turn into “phroggers” had me constantly on the edge of my seat, there are a couple of huge “wait, what?!” turning points, and there’s also some unreliable/highly evasive narration in the mix.

None of the characters are all-out loveable, but some are more forgiveable than others. Alyssa and Less may be fame-hungry and irresponsible, but I found I couldn’t be too harsh on them, because they’re young and likely to grow out of it/look back and cringe. Along with the influencers we spend time with (including Paige), they’re prone to navel-gazing and neatly making sense of their lives and selves using pop psychology, which can make them come across as irritatingly self-absorbed. Again, though, I couldn’t strongly judge them for it, as social media has kind of done that to me as well.

In contrast, Edie and Tammy, the TV producers who’ve set up cameras in Paige’s house and had her sign a contract that essentially gives them laissez-faire to ruin her life for the purposes of entertainment, are old enough to know better. The way they watch and comment on what they’re seeing shows they lost their human decency – if they ever had any in the first place – long ago.

There’s an argument to be made that this pair are clinging on to forms of media – linear TV, and “reality” shows where desperate wannabes are manipulated and edited into looking bad and being hated by viewers, with little-to-no aftercare – that are on the way out. You could say that, by filming, editing, and uploading their own videos, influencers have seized the means of production, and if they’re obsessed with projecting exactly the right image, it’s because they’ve seen what can happen when the public are persuaded to turn on a reality TV star, and they’re keen to avoid that.

Like Carver’s other novels, while set in the world-famous location of LA, Bad Influence feels curiously untethered from any real space or time. The celebrities, producers, and influencers are, by necessity, made-up (though Andy Warhol is a point of convergence between our world and what I’ve come to think of as the “Carver-verse”!), and there are fleeting references to characters and events from Carver’s other novels, which always pleases me. As the events of Kill Them With Kindness aren’t mentioned, and Alyssa and Less refer to themselves as Millennials (so won’t have been born later than 1996), I did situate it in around 2015 in my head, though.

Bad Influence is a fast-paced thriller packed with compelling characters and jaw-dropping moments.