Snake Oil

In Dimberg’s mediocre latest (after Girl in the Rearview Mirror), a conflict involving a wellness guru and her employees turns deadly. Rhoda West, founder of the popular wellness brand Radical, hopes to turn her array of retreats, supplements, and fitness apps into a billion-dollar company. Among her employees are “radigals” Dani Lang, who has loved Radical’s products since she discovered them three years earlier; and Cecelia Cole, whose anonymous Twitter account skewers Rhoda as a capitalist charlatan. When Cecelia publishes an anonymous article accusing Rhoda of verbal abuse and outing her plan to fire Dani because she’s pregnant, it jeopardizes much-needed funding and creates a riff between Cecelia and Dani. Rhoda retaliates by hiring a lawyer to harass Cecelia, and moves forward with a party for potential investors. Though Dimberg offers a nuanced view of her characters’ obsessions with wellness, money, and reputation, the plot goes off the rails after a woman attending the fundraiser falls to her death, and the ending strains credulity. Readers will be hard pressed to go the distance. Agent: Dan Conaway, Writers House. (Sept.)