Three Lives of Cate Kay

REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK | NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Named a Best Book of 2025 by Time, NPR, Goodreads, and others.

“[A] propulsive puzzle of a novel.” —The New York Times Book Review

“This story swept me away with its big dreams, love, and unexpected twists.” —Reese Witherspoon

In this electric, voice-driven debut novel, an elusive bestselling author decides to finally confess her true identity after years of hiding from her past.

Cate Kay knows how to craft a story. As the creator of a bestselling book trilogy that struck box office gold as a film series, she’s one of the most successful authors of her generation. The thing is, Cate Kay doesn’t really exist. She’s never attended author events or granted any interviews. Her real identity had been a closely guarded secret, until now.

As a young adult, she and her best friend Amanda fantasized escaping their difficult homes and moving to California to become movie stars. But the day before their grand adventure, a tragedy shattered their dreams and Cate has been on the run ever since, taking on different names and charting a new future. But after a shocking revelation, Cate understands that returning home is the only way she’ll be a whole person again.

“An addictive page-turner infused with humor and heart, The Three Lives of Cate Kay balances the dishy allure of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo with the empathy of Slow Dance. A joy to read from first page to last” (Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author).

Kate Fagan is an Emmy Award–winning journalist and the author of USA TODAY bestseller The Three Lives of Cate Kay and the #1 New York Times bestseller What Made Maddy Run, which was a semi-finalist for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing. She is also the author of three nonfiction titles, a former professional basketball player, and spent seven years at ESPN. Kate currently lives in Bolton Landing, New York.