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I have so much respect for Louise O'Neill's fearlessness. Not only is she effortlessly moving between genres over the span of her career but she also isn't afraid to take on the most probing of topics. And her wry observations are almost always on point.

In this, her third adult novel, Louise tackles the subjects of wellness and influencer culture, abuse of power, sexuality, consent and the Me Too movement, trial by social media and cancel culture. Idol's damaged but successful protagonist, Samantha Miller, has made her fortune telling young girls how to live better on the internet. She has amassed three million followers and a platform to say whatever she believes to be true, until her childhood best friend Lisa gets in touch to challenge a piece Sam wrote about a sexual experience they shared as teenagers. While Sam recalls an intimate moment of sexual awakening she can now utilise to promote her newfound chastity, Lisa remembers it as something she didn't consent to. As her public profile disintegrates, with reporters contacting old friends and flames for dirt, Sam travels back to her hometown to confront Lisa and attempt to keep her life on the rails.

Idol - like all of Louise's books - is a timely and incisive take on important socio-cultural issues. As always, her commentary is searing and her writing scalpel-sharp. Essentially this is a story about the subjectivity of memory and the curation and manipulation of the past to spin a suitable narrative. This is also a book about friendship and envy, and although this book is set in New York and Connecticut, the story throbs with the bitterness of Irish begrudgery.

A gripping, piercing and murky read and one that, no doubt, will amass its own large following on publication. And Louise deserves the readership. 3.5 stars.