My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-02-18 10:51:32
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Rachel DeLoache Williams
- ISBN：198211410X
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Summary
ONE OF TIME’S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
Sex and the City meets Bad Blood and Catch Me If You Can in the astonishing true story of Anna Delvey， a young con artist posing as an heiress in New York City—as told by the former Vanity Fair photo editor and friend of Delvey’s， who was scammed out of more than $62，000 and is featured as a character in the Netflix series Inventing Anna。
Rachel DeLoache Williams’s new friend Anna Delvey， a self-proclaimed German heiress， was worldly and ambitious。 She was also generous—picking up the tab for lavish dinners at Le Coucou， infrared sauna sessions at HigherDOSE， drinks at the 11 Howard Library bar， and regular workout sessions with a celebrity personal trainer。
When Anna proposed an all-expenses-paid trip to Marrakech at the five-star La Mamounia hotel， 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。
With breathless pacing and in-depth reporting from the person who experienced it firsthand， My Friend Anna is an unforgettable true story of “glamour， greed， lust for power” （The New York Times）， and female friendship。
Sex and the City meets Bad Blood and Catch Me If You Can in the astonishing true story of Anna Delvey， a young con artist posing as an heiress in New York City—as told by the former Vanity Fair photo editor and friend of Delvey’s， who was scammed out of more than $62，000 and is featured as a character in the Netflix series Inventing Anna。
Rachel DeLoache Williams’s new friend Anna Delvey， a self-proclaimed German heiress， was worldly and ambitious。 She was also generous—picking up the tab for lavish dinners at Le Coucou， infrared sauna sessions at HigherDOSE， drinks at the 11 Howard Library bar， and regular workout sessions with a celebrity personal trainer。
When Anna proposed an all-expenses-paid trip to Marrakech at the five-star La Mamounia hotel， 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。
With breathless pacing and in-depth reporting from the person who experienced it firsthand， My Friend Anna is an unforgettable true story of “glamour， greed， lust for power” （The New York Times）， and female friendship。
Reviews
Caitlin
，
Interesting true story but super stressful to read
Ania Miceli
，
I came away from this book less sympathetic for all involved than I thought I would be， however I did find the unreliable narrator strangely compelling。 I’m also not sure why the editor of this book was not more ruthless in organising what details should be included in this book and which could easily be excluded， but the story could have been told in much less words than this book presents。 Missable。
Daniel Pertuz
，
I liked it。 I esepcially liked the conclusions about how people look at the fashion and see Anna as a hero instead of the criminal con artist she is。 I related to anna's financial woes （though I didn't get how someone owing that amount of money can then take a weekend trip to san francisco or keep spending as much money eating out and drinking） and at the end you really feel for her。 Now I kinda wanna see the other side of the coin about anna and how she percieves her malicious ways。basically a I liked it。 I esepcially liked the conclusions about how people look at the fashion and see Anna as a hero instead of the criminal con artist she is。 I related to anna's financial woes （though I didn't get how someone owing that amount of money can then take a weekend trip to san francisco or keep spending as much money eating out and drinking） and at the end you really feel for her。 Now I kinda wanna see the other side of the coin about anna and how she percieves her malicious ways。basically a quick， entertaining read。 。。。more
Tamara Hala
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Entertaining， fast read。 I did the audiobook of this which was kind of annoying because there are a lot of text transcriptions。
Nicole
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Yeah yeah yeah we get it。 Anna is evil and you were just the sweet， innocent， southern down home values girl giving her the benefit of the doubt。 I’m sure your sainthood is coming any day now。 In all honesty， it sounds like you conned her as much as she conned you。 Between dinners out， celebrity personal trainer sessions， and spa treatments she likely spent $70k on you。 What a waste of time reading this drivel。 Not to mention the baby valley girl voice narrating…。 This whole book reeks of desper Yeah yeah yeah we get it。 Anna is evil and you were just the sweet， innocent， southern down home values girl giving her the benefit of the doubt。 I’m sure your sainthood is coming any day now。 In all honesty， it sounds like you conned her as much as she conned you。 Between dinners out， celebrity personal trainer sessions， and spa treatments she likely spent $70k on you。 What a waste of time reading this drivel。 Not to mention the baby valley girl voice narrating…。 This whole book reeks of desperation。 An equally culpable woman trying to paint herself as a victim to gain notoriety and make a buck。 Who’s the real scammer here？ 。。。more
Rosheen
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I completely agree with reviewer “Katie”s review from 2019。 Juicy。 You also might roll your eyes。 But also be horrified about the whole thing。 Very good chaser to concluding your weekend binge of inventing Anna。
Jess
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6/7。 First of all， ALL the kudos in the world to Rachel Williams for writing this。 Especially given how she describes herself as a private person， I can't imagine what it must have taken to share her story so publicly， knowing she would likely get a lot of hate for it。 The writing style reminded me a lot of From The Corner of the Oval （my gold standard for memoirs） and the pacing was top-notch。 It was a "fun" read in the sense that it felt gossipy and scandalous， but it was also HORRIFYING and h 6/7。 First of all， ALL the kudos in the world to Rachel Williams for writing this。 Especially given how she describes herself as a private person， I can't imagine what it must have taken to share her story so publicly， knowing she would likely get a lot of hate for it。 The writing style reminded me a lot of From The Corner of the Oval （my gold standard for memoirs） and the pacing was top-notch。 It was a "fun" read in the sense that it felt gossipy and scandalous， but it was also HORRIFYING and had me checking my own bank account every chapter。 My biggest complaint is that I would have liked to know more about how she managed to NOT get fired from Vanity Fair， but I have to assume some sort of NDA is at play here。 Also the hotel/meal/outfit descriptions were a liiiittle much for my liking but I get that it fits for the sexy-New-York vibes。I absolutely ate this UP after rereading the Jessica Pressler story and watching Inventing Anna （yes， I felt guilty once I read the afterword）， but I think it could have stood just as strongly if I had picked it up with zero knowledge of Anna Delvey。 。。。more
Ashley Buchweitz
，
This is what happens when a photo editor turns writer just to try and scam readers out of the money she claims was scammed from her， when in reality she wasn't scammed out of 60K she was fooled。 She got played， but she ignored a million red flags and even a jury saw what it was， she got caught up。 Anna scammed a lot of people I just thing this author is at the bottom of that list。 Also the book was a blah read。 This is what happens when a photo editor turns writer just to try and scam readers out of the money she claims was scammed from her， when in reality she wasn't scammed out of 60K she was fooled。 She got played， but she ignored a million red flags and even a jury saw what it was， she got caught up。 Anna scammed a lot of people I just thing this author is at the bottom of that list。 Also the book was a blah read。 。。。more
Christina Van Horn Guzman
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Restitution I read thus book out respect for Ms。 Williams。 Fascinating true story。 As for Anna， it makes us beg the question why our bar is so low to make people celebrity。
Catherine
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A little dry and date centric， but if you are intrigued at all with the Anna Delvey saga this book paints a good timeline of events。
Gigisxm
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It’s fascinating how white privilege and classism work。 You talk enough of the jargon and financial institutions will follow without backup。 I don’t remember why I bought this book。 It was probably at a 2 for 1 audible sale。 It’s been sitting there for a couple of years and I only now got to it because I saw it pop up on my Netflix。 Per this book Netflix optioned the scammer’s story， so this should be interesting。This book tells the tale of one of the many people Anna scammed into loaning her fu It’s fascinating how white privilege and classism work。 You talk enough of the jargon and financial institutions will follow without backup。 I don’t remember why I bought this book。 It was probably at a 2 for 1 audible sale。 It’s been sitting there for a couple of years and I only now got to it because I saw it pop up on my Netflix。 Per this book Netflix optioned the scammer’s story， so this should be interesting。This book tells the tale of one of the many people Anna scammed into loaning her funds or paying for her extravagant life style while she had not one cent to her name。 I don’t know that I would have finished it if it weren’t an audiobook。 It’s weighed down with too many details and reputation but it was the author’s lived experienceI’m keen to hear the tale from the scammer’s perspective。 She seems delusional and quite separated from reality。 Off to Netflix。5/32⭐️⭐️💫 。。。more
Nadene
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It was repetitive and sometimes really whiny。 I feel bad for her， but the book doesn’t really shed much light on anything apart from how she was feeling throughout her friendship with Anna。
Michaela Bear
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Great read。 Parts of the book read like fiction even though it was a memoir。 I couldn’t put it down。 You could definitely tell it was the author’s first book， which is why I gave 4 stars， but the story is so captivating。 I felt so much sympathy for all the people in the book。 Definitely a must read before watching on Netflix。
Elizabeth
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This was absolutely NUTS。 really engaging and easy to read - also interesting connection to Knoxville
Maggie
，
This was quite the ride！ I don’t want to be too hard on her for the writing， but the four stars are definitely for the story。 A worthy beach-read。
Corina
，
Totally unbelievable but true story！ It’s been on my list for awhile but with the release of a Netflix series， I had to read it before I watched it！
Pisalisa
，
Really entertaining read。 I can see how it's easy to blame the victim in con jobs - and， the author did engage in and enjoy a lot of frivolous / expensive perks to being friends with Anna。 However， she was young， working in the fashion industry and living in NYC so I can understand how she would fall easily into that life。 You can feel the author's anguish， and she does a great job of describing not only her financial devastation， but the sadness she went through over losing someone she consider Really entertaining read。 I can see how it's easy to blame the victim in con jobs - and， the author did engage in and enjoy a lot of frivolous / expensive perks to being friends with Anna。 However， she was young， working in the fashion industry and living in NYC so I can understand how she would fall easily into that life。 You can feel the author's anguish， and she does a great job of describing not only her financial devastation， but the sadness she went through over losing someone she considered a friend。 This experience was probably a great learning lesson for her though to see what really matters in a true friend （hint: it's not expensive meals， luxury goods and jet-setting around the world）。 Also， now that the LOOSELY based story is on Netflix， I enjoyed reading the story first from an insider。 。。。more
Anne
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My fascination with the story since the VF article from 2018 is part of my five-star review。 Nevertheless， the author writes beautifully and spins this tale masterfully。
augustslippedaway
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scamming is ok sometimes
Shelly
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More like 2。5 stars， rounded up for the interesting story。 I'd like to read the story from an unbiased point of view。 The author， rightfully so， comes off very defensive and sanctimonious。 I understand， but it gets old。 Additionally there are pages upon pages of text transcripts where real narrative should be。 More like 2。5 stars， rounded up for the interesting story。 I'd like to read the story from an unbiased point of view。 The author， rightfully so， comes off very defensive and sanctimonious。 I understand， but it gets old。 Additionally there are pages upon pages of text transcripts where real narrative should be。 。。。more
Namiko
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Due to instant fascination with Anna Delvy's complex character， it took me 24 hours to finish this entire book！ I decided to first check out the book， before fully emersing myself with the knock-off Netflix version。 I am honestly left with strings of emotions。 THE FACT THAT THIS IS REAL LIFE。。。scares the living day-lights out of me。 To what extend can we really trust people？Anna is definitely a real-life con artist and one of the biggest scammers in history。 The way she pulled it off。。。SPEECHLES Due to instant fascination with Anna Delvy's complex character， it took me 24 hours to finish this entire book！ I decided to first check out the book， before fully emersing myself with the knock-off Netflix version。 I am honestly left with strings of emotions。 THE FACT THAT THIS IS REAL LIFE。。。scares the living day-lights out of me。 To what extend can we really trust people？Anna is definitely a real-life con artist and one of the biggest scammers in history。 The way she pulled it off。。。SPEECHLESS！ MAD RESPECT！ However this also shows how society values wealth， people like Rachel only want to be associated with "THE NEXT BIG THING"。 Anna was likeable， relatable but also strategic and knew exactly what to say to win the hearts of people。 I went the extra mile to dig up on Anna Delvy's recent interviews in jail。。。。and man is she a character that is hard to describe。 A fake German-Russian Heiress hustling in Manhattan in the 21st Century， where money leads！ No wonder she was able to scam even banks with three counts of grand larceny。 I AM SHOOK！ 。。。more
Leigh Anne Brown
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Wow， I plowed through this in one day。 I cannot wait to watch the Netflix docuseries。 I don't know why I don't remember this happening。 Very interesting book for sure。 Wow， I plowed through this in one day。 I cannot wait to watch the Netflix docuseries。 I don't know why I don't remember this happening。 Very interesting book for sure。 。。。more
pamela
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I wouldn't pay a $30，000 bill for someone I know let alone dont know。 And to keep doing it ！ I wouldn't pay a $30，000 bill for someone I know let alone dont know。 And to keep doing it ！ 。。。more
Sophie
，
Whilst I loved reading more about the con artists and found this book a fun， easy， beachside read。 I can't help but feel like I was left liking Anna more than Rachel！Yes， I felt bad for her， the stress of not knowing how to pay off the luxury holiday you just took must be tough。。。 cry me a river。Ultimately Rachel somehow manages to keep her job at Vanity Fair。。。 despite her reckless judgement at putting down her company credit card on a private holiday。。。 and it seems that she was more than happ Whilst I loved reading more about the con artists and found this book a fun， easy， beachside read。 I can't help but feel like I was left liking Anna more than Rachel！Yes， I felt bad for her， the stress of not knowing how to pay off the luxury holiday you just took must be tough。。。 cry me a river。Ultimately Rachel somehow manages to keep her job at Vanity Fair。。。 despite her reckless judgement at putting down her company credit card on a private holiday。。。 and it seems that she was more than happy to overlook Anna and her quite frankly， terrible personality， while she was being given free $300usd training sessions， saunas， dinners and clothes。。。but the second she had to pay the bill。。。 It's no wonder that the court didn't find her case compelling enough to find Anna guilty of defrauding her。 She also couldn't sell her story quick enough so it's not really like the few months of "stress" where she never considers moving home， a repayment plan， accepting the help of personal loans from friends and family， a second job， subletting her apartment or anything at all to pay back the money she was dumb enough to allow to be spent were wasted。 The best is she was let off the hook for the charges。。。 even though she was paid more than enough to cover them herself。。。 because that happens to "normal" people •eye roll•In essence， Rachel is very much like Anna， a vapid， shallow， social climber who is happy to take all of the nice fancy and free stuff and then gets the hump that she might have to pay for something。。。 the only difference between Rachel and Anna is that Rachel didn't go as far as to commit cheque fraud。Would I recommend reading this book。。。 absolutely it's a great trashy beach read。。。 would I recommend it to know more about the whole Anna the Scammer situation。。。 of course。 。。。more
M
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An excellent book from the victim’s point of view。 This book carefully describes the behaviour of a narcissist and psychopath which Anna is。 Thank you for the author for writing this although it must have been a painful journey。
Tim
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Fast-paced， interesting story。
asrai
，
a fun read i guess
Annarella
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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 could it just be scamming me like the con artist at the center of this entertaining true crime story？
Landice （Manic Femme）
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