Description
A razor-sharp literary thriller about three women vying for power at a wellness startup where the cost of ambition might be deadly
One woman’s elixir is another woman’s poison
Rhoda West is Silicon Valley’s favorite female CEO: the luminously charismatic founder of the fast-growing startup Radical a wellness company whose core mission is the betterment of women’s lives. Rhoda’s Instagram page offers intimate glimpses of her personal life alongside promotions for the cult-status products developed in the Well Radical’s secretive lab.
Dani Lang is a “quester” as Rhoda calls her most avid followers. Dani found Radical at a low point in her life and took an entry level job just to get in the door. When she volunteers to test a controversial new supplement Dani wins an opportunity to rise in the company even to work with Rhoda herself.
Cecelia Cole is a “quasher.” She grinds away at the Customer Worship queue resenting the entitled customers the woo-woo Radical jargon and Rhoda’s smiling hypocrisy. Cecelia who suffers from a miserable chronic illness knows that the remedies Rhoda sells can’t cure real sickness.
Just as Rhoda announces another fundraising round that could turn Radical into a billion-dollar unicorn an anonymous Twitter account begins spilling snarky gossip from inside the startup. Is Rhoda really the nurturing leader she presents to the world or a fraud? Or is this just another case of a woman in business being punished for her strength and audacity?
Tensions rise and loyalties clash then tragedy strikes during a company party. In the aftermath of what looks more and more like a crime even the most faithful questers begin to wonder to what lengths Rhoda will go to protect her company.
Part page-turning suspense part darkly comic skewering of startup culture Snake Oil is a gripping exploration of ambition and authenticity shining a revealing light on the wellness world.
