She Treads Softly: Keanu Reeves Is Not In Love With You

Saturday, February 10, 2024

Keanu Reeves Is Not In Love With You

Keanu Reeves Is Not In Love With You by Becky Holmes
1/25/24; 224 pages
Unbound

Keanu Reeves Is Not In Love With You: The Murky World of Online Romance Fraud by Becky Holmes is in turn both hilarious and serious as it covers romance scams online. In this book Holmes focuses on those who target women in the UK. It is highly recommended. This is a great choice, especially for those in the UK, for the humor in the trolling Holmes does to the scammers, the basic information she provides about the fraudsters, and the stories of some of their victims.

Holmes has had fun trolling scammers and the first part of the book highlights some of her encounters and her responses to these men who are trying to lead her into a relationship which will result in them needing money from her/their victim for some reason. She has had an online presence where she shares many of her memorable encounters. Her trolling is irreverent and cheeky as she replies to the imposters with a made-up profile or to those claiming to be a well known figure, like Keanu Reeves or Liam Neeson.

Then she shares some more serious, heartbreaking stories of women who have been scammed and taken for all they have by these con artists. There is a pattern and a scripted approach taken by the scammers, many who are from Nigeria, although Ghana and Malaysia are also strongly represented, and they have been trained in cybercrime and romance fraud to entice victims into trusting them. This is a profitable billion dollar business.

Additionally, Holmes delves into the psychology of fraud and shares information from experts. The final section is how victims can get help and support. Support is available, but real help over fraud is not very forthcoming in the UK. Real help is education, teaching people about a reverse image search and how to spot fake accounts. (The title of the book is based on Keanu Reeves being the most popular celebrity name used by scammers.) Thanks to Unbound for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.