People Like Her is one of those books that gripped me from the very first page. The two main narrators, Emmy and Dan, are immediately engaging, and although Emmy is quite frustrating and obnoxious at times, she is still very relatable. The humour is dark and on point, delivered with razor sharp accuracy, and beneath it all, it is a cautionary tale about the modern age, where social media rules.

The pace of this book is very fast, and my one niggle is that I would have liked slightly more in the epilogue. A truly dark, twisty thriller that will keep you reading late into the night.

This book was very original. I love books that are centred around the new modern technology and how dangerous it can be. This novel is about a blogger sharing her life on Instagram and how this leaves her open to weirdos and trolls - until it reaches a thrilling end.

It really makes you think about how you come across in your online presence and also to think before you speak and give advice. The story was full of fake people, scary twists and intense moments. I didn't particularly like any of the main characters, they weren't endearing at all - but in some ways this made it all the more exciting waiting to see what the outcome would be.

Thanks to netgalley for the arc, I would recommed Ellery Lloyd and I look forward to the release and seeing the cover design.

A fantastically written modern thriller, and worrying something that is all too plausible with social media and influencer culture as it is. From the brilliant opening chapter to the very last line People Like Her is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.

Great book. The plot centres on an Instagramer and her life. As an avid user of social media this engaged me quickly. I would reccomend you read this book.

Ressentiment

The Kierkegaardian concept of ressentiment is at the heart of Ellery Lloyd’s debut novel, People Like Her. Lloyd has married the concept to the digital era phenomenon, Instagram, which is relevant right now. The bones of the story are strong, and it is meticulously crafted. There is a sense of Gone Girl, and a dash of Girl on the Train. There are even examples of modern Homeric cataloguing.

Emmy—one of the three narrative voices in the text—plays her life out on social media. She is an ‘Insta-mum’ and has a million followers. She regularly displays photos of herself, her husband and children on the social media platform. However, once her husband Dan has narrated chapter two, the reader discovers that Emmy’s life has a warped sense of reality. Dan’s version of events is very different to hers. She is an unreliable narrator, whereas Dan appears to be reliable. Having said that, Dan’s version may also be questionable as he is oblivious to his own Kierkegaard ressentiment towards his wife; although, he recognises the concept in her followers.

A bent on existentialism bubbles beneath the surface of Emmy’s flawlessly crafted Instagram world. However, although Emmy comes across as a selfish unlikeable character, the reader can’t help but pity her. ‘The Truman Show’ facade begins to crumble when someone else notices, through tragic circumstances, that Emmy isn’t giving honest advice to her followers.

The third narrator—the follower— bears similarities to the underground man in Dostoevsky’s Notes From the Underground. Similarly to underground man, this narrator goes unnoticed and remains nameless through most of the story, which adds to the rising tension.

I read a lot in this genre, so I usually have an idea of where a story is going; However, in People Like Her, the plot twists and turns, and flips the perceived outcome on its head. The aftershocks are already rippling through my social media usage.

Emmy is an Insta-mum influencer, married to Dan with two perfect children. Life is a perfectly curated mixture of mum-struggles (#greydays) and the new, positive advertising #yaydays. But Dan isn't writing the new book he needs, Emmy knows her career is time-limited and is struggling to make the next step, and someone is watching them.

I feel like this isn't the first book I've read which looks at the facade of influencers and what's really going on behind them. It does a good job of making the pressures Emmy is under sympathetic, whilst not shying away from the fact that Emmy herself is pretty ruthless and calculating. Interspersed is the story of what happened to Grace, which Jill blames Emmy for. I did think the level of blame was a bit over-done, and also under-examined, Jill putting all the blame on Emmy seemed a slightly strange decision. I did like the character of Emmy's agent though, and felt her best friend was under-used for a story that was a major plot point.

All of these issues were things that occurred to me after I'd finished the book though, it kept me engaged and turning pages keen to see what was going to happen, which is often all you want.

I read this in two sittings. It was fast paced and action packed and delivered exactly what I was hoping for. Great thriller and so well thought out in this age of insta-mums and the truths behind the squares.
Prickly characters that I wasn't sure I liked, but that worked.
Thanks very much to Ellery Lloyd and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this superb debut.

People Like Her follows Instagram influencer Emmy, her husband Dan and their seemingly 'perfectly imperfect' family. Initially I felt that it wasn't really my cup of tea, but there was an element of intrigue and a dark undertow that seemed to pull me in. Written from three points of view, I enjoyed the different narratives and the tension builds up nicely.

I quite enjoyed the cynical behind-the-scenes of the Instagram world - views, co-ordinated likes and comments, the dark side of gossip sites, and the glossy, not-quite-realness of perfected poses and photos - however this took up a large part of the story, as though the author was trying to ensure that we knew they had done their research on Instagram and the influencer world and were putting every fact they had learned into the story. The upside of all of this was that I was very much drawn into this world as the story unfolded and some of the scenarios were hilarious - they seem far-fetched but absolutely spot on at the same time.

The characters were really unlikeable to me, but I don't really see this as a bad thing. If an author makes me feel strongly about a character either way I quite enjoy it. I thought I'd figured out what was going to happen, but no! There were lots of twists and turns and I loved the ending, especially how each character turned out, the choices they made, and what happened to them. Having said this, it seemed the second part of the book rushed along very quickly after the detail of the first half. It was as though once the detail of the intricacies of Instagram was 'out of the way' the story became quite rushed - fast paced, but possibly too fast.

I can see this book becoming really popular - again it's not really a book I'd initially go for but I'm glad I read it!

A book for modern times featuring the unreal world Instagram influencers and attendant online social media with all the less pleasant side of trolls and stalkers for good measure. Quite a fast paced gripping read which keeps the reader guessing as the plot has many twists and turns leading up blind alleys along the way. Well written with a touch of humour plus spine chilling moments. Good characters, although I didn't personally take to them, with a salutatory lesson on the dangers of social media.

An excellently addictive commercial thriller that explores the dangers of internet fame and being an influencer in the social media world.

Stalkers and adorers you are never quite sure and in this well written and beautifully plotted story our main protagonists live life in the Instagram spotlight. There's some clever insights and this is very often ironically humerous - overall a really great read and I hope it does well upon it's release next year when I will write a fuller review.

One to watch in 2021.

This is commercial thriller fiction at its best. Such a smooth, well crafted read that immediately made me feel I was in safe hands. I was totally hooked on the story of Emmy and Dan and their instalife and raced through the book, heart in throat, to find out their fate. I was really impressed with how well researched this was and how nuanced the main characters were, in the sense that the authors made sure they tread the line between unlikeable and sympathetic just the right amount to keep me both compelled and rooting for them. This was a standout and thought-provoking book in a genre that feels, at the moment, a little samey. Highly recommend! Thanks for the proof.

A social media stalker story is a particular catnip of mine. I adored Charlotte Duckworth's Unfollow Me, which explored a similar theme, so was intrigued by this debut. On the whole this was a readable, beach book, an assured debut, however it was a flawed one. Although I'd be curious to see what the author does next as there is a lot of potential with this one.
This follows Emmy who is in her 30s, mother of three-year old Coco and a toddler called Bear, and makes her living as an Instagram influencer. Her brand is being a 'relatable mum'. Emmy was an editor for a magazine, but when that closed and she lost her job she turned to be an influencer as that's where the money is at. The novel explores the different sides of social media and how crafted one's online image is and how it affects one's life where things are done - parties, dinners, shopping - to showcase one's life in the perfect post and to promote the adverts one has made a deal with rather than living authentically. Her husband, Dan, is a novelist who is struggling from writer's block after his first debut was released eight years ago. For most of the time Dan co-parents and helps Emmy, who is the main earner in the family. They live a lovely, affluent house. Until one day when Coco goes missing at a shopping centre only to be found again on another floor...and then there's the break-in...
Lurking in the shadows is a woman in her 60s, who's watching and waiting for the perfect moment so she take her revenge on the fake Instamum...
This had potential. Unfortunately this didn't quiet live up to the premise. The main problem is that the writing is so descriptive full of minutiae details of their routines and how Instagram works that the story gets lost and it takes far too long for the plot to get going. In the second half the writing does pick-up, but the rather lacklustre reason for the revenge angle of the story and Jill's under-fleshed character leaves a lot to be desired. On the whole this isn't a bad read, but it wasn't quite the five star either. I just felt Unfollow Me by Charlotte Duckworth did it better.

Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for this arc. I was drawn to the Instagram influencer aspect of this novel and of course, I love a psychological thriller centred around social media. This is narrated from three characters:
* Emmy - in her 30s, she was once a fashion editor but when magazines started to close down due to the rise of on-line culture she was made redundant and years later has rebranded herself as an Insta-mum. She's driven and ambitious.
* Dan - Emmy's husband and father of their two children, Coco and Bear, he inherited a trust fund when his father died and wrote a novel in his 20s that was a literary darling, but now he's got writer's block and his wife is the main breadwinner. He watches his wife lie and distort their life for Instagram.
* Jill - in her 60s. she lost her husband and then her daughter, and she's hellbent on revenge against Emmy, a troll lurking in the shadows...
This had a gripping opening and the prose was easy to read, but ultimately I'm not sure how I feel about this. The first half was a slog, with not much happening. I felt the plot was too slow and there was SO MUCH description about setting up posts for Instagram and the whole politics of it (which is pretty standard and easy to follow) that the writing got repetitive with descriptions of Emmy's posts that somewhere the story got lost. The second half was much pacier, but overall I wish there had been more conflict and more plot from the get-go. Also the revenge angle wasn't that convincing, I felt Jill's motivation wasn't compelling enough and I wished her character had been fleshed out more. However there were some pleasant turns and reveals at the end. It's 3.5/5.

This was a fast paced thriller that hooked me throughout the book. The characters felt realistic and the multiple narrative voices added to the intensity of the plot. This book talks of an Instagram celebrity and the descriptions seemed very realistic. The plot of this book reminded me of Catherine Ryan Howard's Rewind where one of the characters was an Instagram hotshot and also Follow Me which did deal with social media. This book too has a stalker angle like Follow Me, but i definitely enjoyed reading it despite it being similar in its general plot. Overall though, this is a different book from the two and definitely enjoyable.

Not the type of book I'd generally read since I don't buy into the fakery of instagram nor have an account but I thoroughly enjoyed this read.
The only likeable character is Bear yet this book still works giving a peek behind the veil of the vacuous world of influencers, showing just how contrived their lives are and the perils of making yourself public property.

This is an incredible book. Very up-to-date with the ‘insta’ influencer lifestyle, this thriller explores just how far Emmy is prepared to go and what she is willing to risk to be liked and how far others are prepared to go for revenge. Gripping and chilling right to the last word on the final page, this keeps the reader enthralled throughout, Definitely an author to watch out for. Highly recommended.

This one had me hooked from the very first paragraph. It was twisty, dark and always had me guessing. The writing style was sharp and clever which i enjoyed. I loved the focus on the life of influencers. Dramatic, witty and addictive, this one is a solid 5 star,.

Chilling unputdownable a timely look at the world the life of an Uber influencer.Sat down to read a few pages& wound up reading late into the night could not put down.Will be recommending this tense page turner.#netgalley #panmacmillan

Great writing, excellent twisty plot (with brilliant pay-off) and well-drawn, believable characters. Not often a novel manages to successfully blend laugh-out-loud humour with a bone-chilling dread. Read it in one sitting – will definitely be recommending.

How to hook a reader from the off: STRONG first line! And it keeps on in that vein. I was offered the opportunity to read this book published next year, along with three other Mantle titles. I don’t read a lot of such very contemporary fiction, but the description of this was intriguing, so in I jumped.
My Instagram habit is fairly light but I’ve seen enough to appreciate how true to life this reads – at times it was more like reading a blog or magazine feature than a novel. I’m not sure I could have read on if I were a parent (I’m guilty as charged in having bought ‘palewood toys of the sort that only childfree people give as gifts’) or someone in the public eye – the tension was built ratchet-tight so well that it made me feel sick even though my situation couldn’t be more different.
You might think you know where the story is headed, but Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos are twitching a piece of string and you’re the kitten entranced by it.
I think this would work really well as an audiobook, with a different voice for each of the three narrators. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see this on screen one day. I highly recommend this book if you want to read an up-to-the-minute look at modern life. Just don't expect to get anything else done once you start. And thank your lucky stars you don't have as many followers on social media as you might once have thought you wanted...