Is Bad Blood Worth Reading?
Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
Ada’s Score
Carreyrou's account of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes moves with the pace of a thriller but never sacrifices rigour for momentum. The reporting is meticulous — built from hundreds of sources — yet the prose stays lean and propulsive, making complex biotech fraud feel viscerally immediate. What distinguishes this book is its moral clarity: Carreyrou never sensationalises Holmes, but he never excuses her either. The result is a portrait of Silicon Valley's "fake it till you make it" culture taken to its most dangerous extreme. Compelling for anyone drawn to corporate power, ambition, and the cost of unchecked deception.
Deep Dive“Holmes becomes more frightening the more Carreyrou explains her. This is what great investigative journalism looks like.”
The Most Elegant Unraveling in Modern Nonfiction
John Carreyrou spent years chasing the Theranos story when no one else would touch it, and Bad Blood reads like the literary equivalent of watching a master surgeon work — every incision precise, every revelation placed exactly where it will do the most damage. What's remarkable isn't just the fraud itself, which is staggering in its audacity, but the way Carreyrou makes you feel the human cost underneath the Silicon Valley mythology. Readers finish this book furious, and then immediately hand it to someone they love, because some stories are too important to experience alone.
Ada Brief
AI reading intelligence“Holmes becomes more frightening the more Carreyrou explains her. This is what great investigative journalism looks like.”
The Most Elegant Unraveling in Modern Nonfiction
John Carreyrou spent years chasing the Theranos story when no one else would touch it, and Bad Blood reads like the literary equivalent of watching a master surgeon work — every incision precise, every revelation placed exactly where it will do the most damage. What's remarkable isn't just the fraud itself, which is staggering in its audacity, but the way Carreyrou makes you feel the human cost underneath the Silicon Valley mythology. Readers finish this book furious, and then immediately hand it to someone they love, because some stories are too important to experience alone.
Book Details
- Publisher
- Vintage Books
- Published
- January 1, 2020
- Pages
- 341
- Language
- ENG
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Affiliate linksISBN: 9780525431992
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Ada’s Score
4.4
Ada’s editorial score — not an aggregate of reader reviews.
Common Questions About Bad Blood
- Is Bad Blood worth reading?
- Holmes becomes more frightening the more Carreyrou explains her. This is what great investigative journalism looks like. Ada rates it 4.4 out of 5.
- How many pages is Bad Blood?
- Bad Blood is 341 pages long — around 6–7 hours at an average reading pace.
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