My Friend Anna: The true story of the fake heiress of New York City
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- Create Date：2022-02-14 06:51:33
- Update Date：2025-09-14
- Status：finish
- Author：Rachel DeLoache Williams
- ISBN：1787478300
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Summary
Vanity Fair photo editor Rachel DeLoache Williams’s new friend Anna Delvey， a self-proclaimed German heiress， was worldly and ambitious。 She was also generous。 When Anna proposed an all-expenses-paid trip to Marrakech， Rachel jumped at the chance。 But when Anna’s credit cards mysteriously stopped working， the dream vacation quickly took a dark turn。 Anna asked Rachel to begin fronting costs—first for flights， then meals and shopping， and， finally， for their $7，500-per-night private villa。 Before Rachel knew it， more than $62，000 had been charged to her credit cards。 Anna swore she would reimburse Rachel the moment they returned to New York。
Back in Manhattan， the repayment never materialized， and a shocking pattern of deception emerged。 Rachel learned that Anna had left a trail of deceit—and unpaid bills—wherever she’d been。 Mortified， Rachel contacted the district attorney， and in a stunning turn of events， found herself helping to bring down one of the city’s most notorious con artists。
Back in Manhattan， the repayment never materialized， and a shocking pattern of deception emerged。 Rachel learned that Anna had left a trail of deceit—and unpaid bills—wherever she’d been。 Mortified， Rachel contacted the district attorney， and in a stunning turn of events， found herself helping to bring down one of the city’s most notorious con artists。
Reviews
Annarella
，
As a fan of gossip， and story of high society this was the right book for me。I had a lot of fun in reading this story even if I think I should feel some empathy toward the people involved I shamelessly enjoyed what was happening and the how the scam worked。On a more serious side it's a story of how apparences can deceive and Anna was the perfect example of a facade that hid something more dangerous。It's an interesting and gripping read。Recommended。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for t As a fan of gossip， and story of high society this was the right book for me。I had a lot of fun in reading this story even if I think I should feel some empathy toward the people involved I shamelessly enjoyed what was happening and the how the scam worked。On a more serious side it's a story of how apparences can deceive and Anna was the perfect example of a facade that hid something more dangerous。It's an interesting and gripping read。Recommended。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine 。。。more
Dennis Holland
，
I nearly finished this addictive and unbelievably hard to put down book in just one sitting so that must mean it’s really great， right？ Or it could it could just be another of it’s cons。 ;）
Landice （Manic Femme）
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2。5 stars， rounded up。My Friend Anna has been on my radar for awhile， because I was fascinated by this case when it was happening and I devoured all the related media coverage。 I almost never read non-fiction， but I can occasionally get through a memoir。 I think I actually tried reading this as an ebook at one point last year but didn't get very far。 I finally decided to try it as an audiobook tonight after binging the Netflix series Inventing Anna， primarily because I know that parts of the ser 2。5 stars， rounded up。My Friend Anna has been on my radar for awhile， because I was fascinated by this case when it was happening and I devoured all the related media coverage。 I almost never read non-fiction， but I can occasionally get through a memoir。 I think I actually tried reading this as an ebook at one point last year but didn't get very far。 I finally decided to try it as an audiobook tonight after binging the Netflix series Inventing Anna， primarily because I know that parts of the series were true， while others were dramatized/made up， and I couldn't remember which aspects were which。It was。。 fine？ I guess？ I mainly decided to listen to this because I had a big project to work on and I didn't have time to get sucked into a research rabbit hole refamiliarizing myself with the particulars of the Anna Delvey scandal/trial。 Had My Friend Anna been fiction， I would have DNFed， but as someone mainly looking for more information about a story/event they were already familiar with， it was alright。 My main gripe with this book was how long the author spent driving home the text/email exchanges she had with Anna as she tried to recoup her money after the Morocco trip。 Scribd doesn't allow you to speed up audiobooks beyond 2x speed （I listen a bit faster sometimes on other audiobook platforms） so I had no way to speed through this section without potentially missing important details in between the tedious transcripts。 I checked the ebook and while there was other content on the pages， there are THIRTY SIX PAGES in rapid succession that detail these exchanges。 THIRTY SIX！ I get that she was really trying to hammer home how persistent she was and how Anna talked in circles and put her off and made excuses， but I'm genuinely shocked her editor allowed that section to drone on for so long。Otherwise， the audiobook was entertaining enough to listen to while multitasking and it fulfilled its purpose for me。 TL;DR: I can't remember the last time I felt so utterly ambivalent about a book， lmao。 。。。more
Michelle
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I was excited to read this because the premise sounded intriguing， but the author is a bit too wordy and it started out slow。 The last few chapters picked up momentum， but then the end was just kind of meh。 I hate to be critical since this was the author’s real life， but it just wasn’t as hooking as it promised to be。 I kept going though cause I had to find out how Anna got caught。 Hopefully the Netflix series will be more interesting
Nancy Hummel
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Kept asking myself "Who could be this clueless for this long？" Kept asking myself "Who could be this clueless for this long？" 。。。more
Colette
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I first read about Anna Delvey in 2018 via Rachel’s article in Vanity Fair。 I remember thinking ‘Wow， this is insane！ The strength it must take to be vulnerable enough to write this’。 I’ve thought about it on and off ever since， then seen that Shonda Rhimes was adapting the story for Netflix， and then came across Rachel’s full length book on her relationship with Anna and everything that did and has since transpired and I knew I had to read it。 The book starts where the Vanity Fair article began I first read about Anna Delvey in 2018 via Rachel’s article in Vanity Fair。 I remember thinking ‘Wow， this is insane！ The strength it must take to be vulnerable enough to write this’。 I’ve thought about it on and off ever since， then seen that Shonda Rhimes was adapting the story for Netflix， and then came across Rachel’s full length book on her relationship with Anna and everything that did and has since transpired and I knew I had to read it。 The book starts where the Vanity Fair article began， in Marrakech， so this bit of the story was familiar to me but no less shocking。 You can tell that Rachel worked in and around publishing， in her case for Vanity Fair， from the way the she writes and tells the story of her experience。 It is engaging and weaves through time， how she met Anna， how their friendship developed， what led them to Marrakech， everything that transpired after。 What I appreciated in Rachel’s recounting is that this isn’t just a story about Anna Delvey， but it is also a story about Rachel and one that many people who have suffered at the hands of a con-artist will understand。 It is about the emotional and physical toll that this takes on a person; how the law and judicial system aren’t set up in a way that is easy to navigate when it comes to crimes like these; that you are dealing with this situation for months if not years after you friendship has ended， fighting with banks to amend the charges to your credit cards and constantly having to relive your ordeal。 It is a traumatic and drawn out process and I think that this is something that comes across so well in the writing and recounting of this story。As mentioned above， Shonda Rhimes and Netflix adapted the Anna Delvey story into a TV show which is released today， Friday 11 February。 I had assumed， wrongly， that this was based on Rachel’s story， when in face it is based on a New York article called How Anna Delvey Tricked New York's Party People" by Jessica Pressler。 Netflix also optioned Anna’s life rights。 This is something that is also brought up in the book - someone’s real life is optioned and turned into a pop-culture moment， helping to make money for a large corporation， whilst Rachel was still dealing with the emotional trauma and debt associated with everything that had happened。 It made me think that as people we can be so quick to tune into the next True Crime podcast or TV show， eating it up without really thinking about the people that were involved and the lifelong impact it has had on them。 Instead we just enjoy the entertainment of their lives with no real regard， and maybe that’s something we should all consider our role in。 Am I going to be watching the Netflix show？ Yes。 But I am also going to be thinking about Rachel， and Anna’s other victims， whilst doing so。If you want to read about not just the crime but everything that happens afterwards and the fight victims have to go through for justice in causes such as this， I’d highly recommend Rachel’s book。 。。。more
Captain
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3。5 starsI picked this up as a 'blind date' from my library for Valentine's Day。 The premise is interesting enough but it has such a slow start the quick pace later on still felt like it was dragging in some places。The writing was pretty good overall， especially in the second half when the author starts getting more into her emotions and shares observations made in the moment and in hindsight， which for me were the most interesting parts of the book。 The first half though is pretty much a biogra 3。5 starsI picked this up as a 'blind date' from my library for Valentine's Day。 The premise is interesting enough but it has such a slow start the quick pace later on still felt like it was dragging in some places。The writing was pretty good overall， especially in the second half when the author starts getting more into her emotions and shares observations made in the moment and in hindsight， which for me were the most interesting parts of the book。 The first half though is pretty much a biography of the authors early life， some parts not even seeming to have connection to what happened later on in the book。Overall， not bad， not spectacular， just average。 。。。more
Lucky
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for the ARC。This was such an interesting read。 I had heard elements of the story surrounding Anna Delvey over the last few years。Rachel’s book goes into great detail， dating back to when she and Anna first met， and all that ensued。 I found Anna’s behaviour galling pretty quickly。 She seemed selfish， disrespectful and like she never took anyone else’s needs or feelings into account。 How things escalated is staggering。 Initially it took me a while to get into Thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for the ARC。This was such an interesting read。 I had heard elements of the story surrounding Anna Delvey over the last few years。Rachel’s book goes into great detail， dating back to when she and Anna first met， and all that ensued。 I found Anna’s behaviour galling pretty quickly。 She seemed selfish， disrespectful and like she never took anyone else’s needs or feelings into account。 How things escalated is staggering。 Initially it took me a while to get into it， and from the halfway point I found I was engrossed。 Rachel is a great writer， and her experiences and distress are so palpable throughout。 It’s maddening to think how often deceit happens。 I found myself in disbelief at what unfolded， and how Anna manipulated so many in such a calculated way is difficult to comprehend。 。。。more
Allison Chando
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It was an intriguing story and kept my attention to the end， especially being autobiographical。 That being said， the writer kept portraying herself as the victim， which was very annoying to me。 In typical millennial fashion she refused to take much responsibility for her own actions， blaming everything on the obvious psychopath。 I’m curious to watch the Netflix show and see how it compares。
J。E。 Rowney
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This was a riveting read。 The build up of Anna and Rachel’s friendship through to its inevitable， irrevocable breakdown is expertly documented。 I was so drawn into the recollection; I felt distraught for Rachel and the way that she was let down and manipulated by someone who she thought of as a friend。 What an awful sequence of events， but what a fascinating story。
Rosalee Paroli
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this story is nuts
Rokia
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Thanks to insomnia， I read through this quickly because I wanted to see how this perspective would mesh with the upcoming Netflix series since I initially learned about this story through the suggested trailers on Netflix。 Although amusing， which is why I rounded up to three stars， the narration was not great and narration makes or breaks a good book。 With that said， I appreciated learning more information about her before watching and I look forward to seeing how Netflix adapts this story and w Thanks to insomnia， I read through this quickly because I wanted to see how this perspective would mesh with the upcoming Netflix series since I initially learned about this story through the suggested trailers on Netflix。 Although amusing， which is why I rounded up to three stars， the narration was not great and narration makes or breaks a good book。 With that said， I appreciated learning more information about her before watching and I look forward to seeing how Netflix adapts this story and what perspectives the series takes。 。。。more
Erin
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Read this before the Netflix show drops tomorrow。 If it went well documented， it really would seem ridiculously unbelievable。
Kyra
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Interesting story; writing felt stale and repetitious at times。
Miranda
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I saw this on @bookbub and bought it - I cannot believe that this person got away with all she did ！！ And I find it concerning that she was given 4-12 years for swindling and stealing over 400，000 dollars and yet served less than a year it seems…。and then made off with book deals and tv show / movie offers - I cannot imagine the frustration her victims must feel because it seems she was rewarded but also not shocked as this as it is America …we need to stop making horrible people famous we need I saw this on @bookbub and bought it - I cannot believe that this person got away with all she did ！！ And I find it concerning that she was given 4-12 years for swindling and stealing over 400，000 dollars and yet served less than a year it seems…。and then made off with book deals and tv show / movie offers - I cannot imagine the frustration her victims must feel because it seems she was rewarded but also not shocked as this as it is America …we need to stop making horrible people famous we need to stop encouraging deceit / fraud / theft …。 Do better - that is why I bought this book and not one by Anna or benefiting her and I encourage you to do the same @rdwilliams I hope you find peace and healing I cannot imagine the stress and strain you went through with everything - thank you @gallerybooks for supporting the victims and not giving into the financial aspect to support and reward a predator / perpetrator I also find it interesting that people have called Anna a genius - in my humble opinion a genius wouldn’t have gotten caught and/or they would have found a better long lasting less risky way to obtain their goal … and just because she seems to have fame and money now that to me does not indicate genius as we know in America we tend to make the horrible and ignorant famous quicker than the deserving and giving or the genius （scientist doctors etc） …。 I will say she was a master of manipulation and creative just as most sociopaths are - call it what it is 。。。more
Natalie
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So excited to watch the Netflix series， but oh， my goodness， this "victim" was so annoying！ I found myself on "Team Anna" for much for the book！ Rachel comes across as whiny and self-absorbed。 She drowns us in the minutiae of her "takedown" of Anna。 The first half of the book is great， but that's probably because it's all about Anna。 The second half of the book is painful。 I had to skim the last 50 or so pages， because I simply couldn't take any more of Rachel's pompous ramblings。 I know this is So excited to watch the Netflix series， but oh， my goodness， this "victim" was so annoying！ I found myself on "Team Anna" for much for the book！ Rachel comes across as whiny and self-absorbed。 She drowns us in the minutiae of her "takedown" of Anna。 The first half of the book is great， but that's probably because it's all about Anna。 The second half of the book is painful。 I had to skim the last 50 or so pages， because I simply couldn't take any more of Rachel's pompous ramblings。 I know this is harsh， but read the book， and you will understand。 。。。more
Michelle
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Wow…just wow。 Anna and Rachel are a perfect pair。 It is really hard to feel any sympathy for Rachel。 She comes across as over privileged and entitled。 But my God， this was an entertaining story。
Savannah Baron
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Listened to this one on audiobook， as narrated by the author， and thoroughly enjoyed it。Stories like this fascinate me， and it was incredible to hear the details told by someone directly involved。
Tara
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This book is a life is stranger than fiction memoir。 Rachel is a young photo editor at Vanity Fair when she is befriended by Anna Delvey。 She is seemingly a socialite， and they have fun living the New York life together。 When they take a group trip to Morrocco with the understanding that Anna is paying for everyone's extravagant time， things start to come apart and Rachel begins to see that she is being conned。 This story is very interesting and thankful a shorter book。 The writing style is not This book is a life is stranger than fiction memoir。 Rachel is a young photo editor at Vanity Fair when she is befriended by Anna Delvey。 She is seemingly a socialite， and they have fun living the New York life together。 When they take a group trip to Morrocco with the understanding that Anna is paying for everyone's extravagant time， things start to come apart and Rachel begins to see that she is being conned。 This story is very interesting and thankful a shorter book。 The writing style is not great， and it reads like a listing of the facts and is very repetitive。 The author makes a binder for the prosecution of all of the facts that she can put together and this book is basically that binder。 I would love to have read a more fictionalized version of this true story with some better writing。 However， I'm glad I read this and interested to see the film adaptation that comes out soon on Netflix。 I'm also interested to research if Anna benefited in jail financially from all this media attention。 That is the topic I would love to have seen the book end on。 。。。more
Nicholas
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For an accounting of another person's life -- even one who deliberately tried to hide her true identity -- this memoir is remarkably self-obsessed。 Also， about 1/3 of it is transcribed text messages。 For an accounting of another person's life -- even one who deliberately tried to hide her true identity -- this memoir is remarkably self-obsessed。 Also， about 1/3 of it is transcribed text messages。 。。。more
Hannah
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this really should have just stayed a longform article。 there's not enough to fill a book and the author comes off as out of touch， annoying， and repetitive， overdescribing irrelevant details and just endlessly reading texts that go in circles。 the central con is interesting， but the story just gets dragged out so long and pointlessly。 i understand how stressful this was mentally but what did she actually suffer？ Williams took what， 3 or 4 vacations while owing money， let alone worrying about ho this really should have just stayed a longform article。 there's not enough to fill a book and the author comes off as out of touch， annoying， and repetitive， overdescribing irrelevant details and just endlessly reading texts that go in circles。 the central con is interesting， but the story just gets dragged out so long and pointlessly。 i understand how stressful this was mentally but what did she actually suffer？ Williams took what， 3 or 4 vacations while owing money， let alone worrying about housing， food， etc？ she barely seems fazed even when she's laid off！！ she seems shocked and affronted by people making jokes about the case， but who does she think the audience is for this book？ just overall a waste of time。 。。。more
Alaina
，
It's always interesting to read a true story， especially when it will be formulated into a television series。 This book was a good read， written by the woman conned herself。 Definitely worth picking up if you like real-life scenarios and true stories。 It's always interesting to read a true story， especially when it will be formulated into a television series。 This book was a good read， written by the woman conned herself。 Definitely worth picking up if you like real-life scenarios and true stories。 。。。more
Kate
，
incredible — the whole time the story is unfolding I can’t believe that Anna could get away with this， run this con for so long， and YET there are people like this everywherethis reads like a thriller。 I was on the edge of my seat the entire time
Lazy Cornish Cat
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PlotA true story based on Rachel's friendship with Anna who turns out to be not quite what she seemed。。。。。Ending – Thumbs up or mehMEHBook surmised in 5 words or lesson paper， not the bestA keep you up all night read？Nope。My thoughtsThank you to NetGalley （the author and publishers） for this ARC in exchange for my honest review。 The opening chapter of this book was enticing and sets the book up nicely to be an enthralling read but for me， it just didn't quite deliver。 I enjoyed it and it passed PlotA true story based on Rachel's friendship with Anna who turns out to be not quite what she seemed。。。。。Ending – Thumbs up or mehMEHBook surmised in 5 words or lesson paper， not the bestA keep you up all night read？Nope。My thoughtsThank you to NetGalley （the author and publishers） for this ARC in exchange for my honest review。 The opening chapter of this book was enticing and sets the book up nicely to be an enthralling read but for me， it just didn't quite deliver。 I enjoyed it and it passed the time but it didn't wow me。 I think the book was lacking but it's hard to say exactly why - I think the book could have benefited from pictures of some of the events/places/nights out talked about。 The book felt very one sided which fair enough， it was Rachel's tale to tell but comments and thoughts from friends （who had been there） would I think have added to the story and given the book an extra dimension。It's unfair to say this book was boring because it wasn't but it was a slow burner of a read and I think its one of those books where the TV adaption will be better。 。。。more
Erin Franklin
，
Turns out having an interesting life experience doesn't actually make someone a good writer。 God this was dull and repetitive and self-absorbed and repetitive。 As someone who can empathise with a discarded hat and feels acute anxiety about money， Williams had to work really hard to get me to dislike her this much。 Congrat。 Turns out having an interesting life experience doesn't actually make someone a good writer。 God this was dull and repetitive and self-absorbed and repetitive。 As someone who can empathise with a discarded hat and feels acute anxiety about money， Williams had to work really hard to get me to dislike her this much。 Congrat。 。。。more
Mandy
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Lastig om dit boek een cijfer te geven。 De basis van het verhaal is fascinerend， hoe het ontrafelt ook， maar het boek komt pas na zeker een derde， halverwege op gang。
Jillian Vicinanza
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The absolutely crazy story about Anna Sorokin， who faked her way through the world convincing everyone she was a rich German heiress。 There’s actually a Netflix show coming out in a couple of weeks about this， which I had no idea about until googling Anna。 This is not a cute catch me if you can girl， though—this is an absolute narcissist who had no regard for the people and places she completely bulldozed along the way。 This kind of book is best enjoyed on audio， since you can hear the author te The absolutely crazy story about Anna Sorokin， who faked her way through the world convincing everyone she was a rich German heiress。 There’s actually a Netflix show coming out in a couple of weeks about this， which I had no idea about until googling Anna。 This is not a cute catch me if you can girl， though—this is an absolute narcissist who had no regard for the people and places she completely bulldozed along the way。 This kind of book is best enjoyed on audio， since you can hear the author tell her own story of what happens when you unknowingly become friends with a long-con-artist。 。。。more
Jennifer Rosa
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I finished this book a day or so ago n found it very interesting。 It is a page turner。
Lynsey
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This storyline is entertaining。 No doubt about it。 I can see why HBO and Netflix have optioned it。 However， this book was simply not good。 The writing was subpar and the tone was all wrong。 A good editor would have helped， but was truly missing from the author was any personal examination of her own privilege and entitlement that got her into this situation in the first place。 I can imagine the movie scene where the Moroccan hotel managers are pressuring her to hand over a credit card and her re This storyline is entertaining。 No doubt about it。 I can see why HBO and Netflix have optioned it。 However， this book was simply not good。 The writing was subpar and the tone was all wrong。 A good editor would have helped， but was truly missing from the author was any personal examination of her own privilege and entitlement that got her into this situation in the first place。 I can imagine the movie scene where the Moroccan hotel managers are pressuring her to hand over a credit card and her reluctant compliance。 It will be deliciously cringey and also relatable to many of us WASPy women who often overextend ourselves in order to resolve an uncomfortable situation。 However， the remaining 60% of the book simply describes her angst and bafflement that no one was simply going to fix it for her。 The author/narrator was hard to like， and showed minimal growth over the course of the book。 I could go on， but I don’t think I need to。 。。。more
Jill
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