Someone Had To Do It
by Amber Brown Graydon2022Query Letter
We were so excited to read on your agency's website that you are looking for thrillers. Since you are also passionate about bringing more diverse and #ownvoices to all genres, we think our project would be a great fit for your list. Complete at 80,000 words, PRETTY MONSTERS is JAWBREAKER meets CRAZY RICH ASIANS and a dash of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, and will appeal to readers who can't get enough of the "rich assholes," "murder for inheritance" and "mean girls" tropes.
Brandi, an ambitious college student, is interning at Simon Hanson, her dream fashion label, and vying for the summer position that will take her to Milan for unparalleled hands-on fashion experience with none other than the brand's billionaire CEO. When Taylor Hanson, a diabolical model slash cokehead and heiress to Simon's gargantuan fortune, extends an invite for Brandi to attend her father's annual charity ball, Brandi is enamored by the beauty of this exclusive world and thinks this is the night that will launch her career into the high fashion stratosphere. But the night takes an unexpected turn when she gets caught overhearing Taylor and her two best friends discussing their plan to murder her father.
Horrified, but used to getting any and everything she wants with a stack of benjis, Taylor attempts to buy Brandi's silence with hush money and fails. But soon she realizes Brandi overhearing her plans is the best thing that could have happened. Now she has the perfect fall girl. Taylor and her friends mastermind a revised plan. The objective is the same: murder Simon, then split her inheritance evenly between the three of them. The difference? The ruse now depends on framing Brandi as her father's desperate murderous mistress. Brandi never sees this coming, but must figure out a way to survive in this world filled with deceptively pretty monsters.
This is an #ownvoices project for a Black female protagonist. We both have Communications/Journalism degrees from Rider University where we sat on the editorial board of and contributed to the literary journal On Fire! and have been writing for over seven years. We are passionate about telling stories that go beyond the middle-class concerns endemic to the large swath of books published in this genre.
Thank you for your time and consideration. We'd love to send you the full manuscript at your request.
About
Age Range
Adult
Genre
Thriller
Word Count
80,000
Book Link
https://www.amazon.com/Someone-Had-Amber-Danielle-Brown/dp/1525899961
Agent
Jessica Faust
Query Stats
Year Queried
2021
Number of Queries Sent
12
Number of Full Requests Received
10
Number of Offers of Representation
2
Number of Months Spent Querying This Novel
Less than a week.
Years Spent Writing Before Getting an Offer
8
Number of Manuscripts Queried Before This One
More than 3
Publication Status of The Book Queried
Published (Big 5)
Years Spent Writing Before This Book was Published
8