I really enjoyed this book.
I'm not one for insta stars and all that rubbish but this thriller was so good that I couldn't put it down!

‘Followed by millions, hunted by one..’ cover tag line.

My thanks to Pan Macmillan/Mantle for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘People Like Her’ by Ellery Lloyd in exchange for an honest review.

Emmy Jackson had been a fashion editor for a glossy British magazine, though with the changes in the industry along with motherhood she has left the fashion shows behind to become an Instamum with over a million followers and a number of lucrative sponsorships. Yet in actuality her online persona of Mamabare has been carefully crafted in order to appeal to her target audience.

So Emmy dresses down and artfully stages photoshoots to emphasise how much she is struggling with being the mother of three-year old Chloe and infant son, Bear. Her posts are cutesy though anything but spontaneous.

Her husband, Dan, prefers the quiet life but currently they are heavily relying on Emmy’s income from her Instagram activities. He was a trust fund kid, who had some success with his first novel. Yet now the fund is running low and he is struggling to write his second book.

Unknown to either of them they are being stalked by someone who blames Emmy for ruining her life. Eep! Chapters move between Emmy and Dan with the occasional input from the stalker - who is getting closer and closer and is clearly very much a danger.

This was a cracker of a domestic noir from Ellery Lloyd, which is the pen name of the London-based husband-and-wife writing team of Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos. It focuses on the highly competitive world of the mega-influencers. Even though my involvement in Instagram is minimal, I am aware of how powerful some influencers have become.

There does seem to be an element of restrained satire within the narrative, exposing the cynicism and artifice behind the influencers along with the cut-throat competitiveness where one misstep can lead to being someone being ‘cancelled’. I found it a bit melodramatic at times though this suited the plot.

Aside from a gripping story, its authors also raise questions about the fickleness of social media, which has become such a part of 21st Century life, as well as the potential vulnerabilities associated with it.

I enjoyed it very much and zoomed through it very quickly.

Instamum Emmy has thousands of parents following her relatable social media pages where she shows the struggles of modern parenthood for her and her husband Dan, a novelist who has been struggling for years with his second novel. But Emmy and Dan’s reality is very different to that portrayed on Instagram and someone wants to hold Emmy accountable for pain she has caused....

This is a compulsive suspense novel with an interesting premise which examines the lives of influencers, both real and virtual. Emmy’s increasingly questionable parenting decisions which seem to lean more towards what will get her more engagement on her pages, rather than what is best for the children, start to drive a wedge between her and Dan. Neither Emmy nor Dan are particularly likeable but Emmy’s almost ruthless pursuit of success is compelling and the mystery of exactly what she has done to earn the hatred of the unidentified POV character keep the reader turning the pages.

Wow what a rollercoaster ride this book was. There are some distressing parts which I can see would upset some readers and it was, I admit tough to read the details however overall I felt it was extremely well written. I found it hard to put in a particular genre but definitely worth a read. The only thing that spoilt it for me was I felt there was a timing discrepancy at the end of the book with the baby’s age. He was eight weeks old then fast forward to where he’s “just a few months shy now of his second birthday “ but the rest of the ended didn’t seem to fit into that two year window.
The book puts life into perspective how social media can have an impact of people’s lives.
Thank you to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy in return for my honest review

I have to be honest, there are no likeable characters in this book, although I might have had just a little sympathy for husband Dan. A man whose career as a writer has been side-lined since wife Emmie’s career as an influencer took off. Still trying to write a follow up to his best seller of 8 year ago, he’s roped into parenting duties to help out with his wife’s busy insta-life.
What is clear is that the whole thing is staged. The photos, the blogging are all set up to create an image that other mothers can relate to. She even makes public appearances. Behind all this is her agent Irene, a well organised and sharp businesswoman, arranging the next big thing for her and organising new agreements with retailers. The rewards are amazing – lots of freebies, fabulous holidays, and contracts that pay the bills and more.
It was an interesting peak into the world of an Instagrammer/Influencer. Emmie’s dreadful mother has also got in on the act with her own Instagram account. So now with her sights on TV, what could go wrong for Emmie?
Well, quite a bit, actually, because as well as several domestic catastrophes, it’s clear someone is out for revenge.
The story is told from Emmie, Dan, and the mysterious avenger’s viewpoint. If I there is one criticism I have to make, it was at times I felt there tended to rather too much information on the influencer side of the story. I didn’t feel I wanted so much detail. For me, it slowed down the pace of the novel – but that’s just a personal thing. It was the mystery voice, planning and plotting which kept me reading. Why were they so determined to wreck Emmie’s life? What had she done? It soon becomes clear that loss, grief and blame are the motives for wanting Emmie’s demise.

An interesting storyline and an enjoyable debut novel.
My thanks to Netgalley and Mantle/Pan Macmillan for an ARC of People Like Her in exchange for an honest review.

Emmy has a loving husband Dan, two gorgeous children Coco and Bear and a lovely house she is #blessed she's also an instagram influencer. Everything is not always as it seems on the grid!

Emmy's instagram #mamabare is all about her life raising two small children and she has a massive amount of followers. Dan is uneasy with their childrens photographs and lives being catalogued online but he supports his wife as she is the main breadwinner in the family..

The book is told from both Emmy's and Dan's point of view in alternate chapters along with an obsessive followers story which unfolds throughout the book.

It tells quite a sinister story about the life of influencers and there is a few twists throughout the book which keeps it interesting. Overall a quick easy enjoyable read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC.

A unique 21st century thriller is exactly what we all need right now -wouldn’t you agree? In an age where we are becoming increasingly more skeptical of social media, I’m always up for reading a book that essentially takes it down from the pedestal it has been on for far too long. And that’s precisely what I got from this book!

Emmy Jackson is the much-adored, wonderfully honest mum influencer, known as mamabare. A former fashion journalist, Emmy’s Instagram career has really taken off and millions of people know exactly who she and her family are. However, one follower isn’t quite so enamoured by Emmy and is on a mission to destroy her…

Emmy portrays herself as a no-holds-barred, imperfect mother because according to her research, that’s what the UK Insta-mummies respond to best. She is smart and it’s not surprising that her social media career has taken off because everything she posts is calculated. It’s a business for her and in fact, a lot of the plot in this book is about how sometimes that money-powered instinct can override the things that really matter.

This is the first time we meet the person who is hell-bent on destroying Emmy’s life. It came as such a big smack in the face and drastically changed the tone of the book. I’d been expecting a thriller but the chapters preceding this had simply painted a picture of Emmy and her husband Dan’s comfortable life in East London. So this gear change really ratcheted things up and I was mentally strapping myself in for a slow stalk with an unclear ending.

Emmy’s stalker’s motive wasn’t clear until quite a long way into the book. I also wasn’t completely sure exactly who it was until the very end. I kept scrutinising everyone who came into the family’s life and assessing whether they could possibly be the person behind these emotive italics that were telling a tragic story. I did actually end up shedding a few tears about the horrific tale that the stalker told. I wouldn’t go so far as saying that I understood their actions but I definitely held a lot of sympathy for them by the end.

As I said at the start of this review, People Like Her takes a pretty cynical view of social media on the whole but particularly of influencer culture. Emmy’s husband Dan is a serious novelist and he is apparently still completely baffled by his wife’s career choice. Although the existence of influencers isn’t really all that new anymore, I think there is still a general idea in society that social media isn’t a valid form of ‘business’. Kids use it, so how can anything remotely serious take place there? Of course, in reality the most popular bloggers and vloggers genuinely make six figures by working very hard but the view that they get paid for not doing anything of importance is definitely still very prevalent amongst those who live predominantly offline.

The book explores several problematic themes and questions that come from the world of parenting influencers. Is everything that Emmy is doing for her kids as she keeps telling herself or is it actually all about the money and freebies? Are these things technically the same thing? When Emmy eventually majorly oversteps the mark in pursuit of a big opportunity, I did start to wonder if she was much more selfish and money-driven than I previously thought. In the end, I think I concluded that she simply needed to come back down to earth and spend time getting back to who she was before mamabare.

I also really enjoyed the paragraphs of social commentary, full of truth and wisdom. Gender relations, the perils of the internet, the real struggles of raising a young family in the public eye, the often crippling life-changing effect that grief can have. So much of real life as a human was packed into the story and I’ve never read a thriller that has had so much to say about the world. This made for a really great, thought-provoking reading experience in a way that I hadn’t really been expecting and I really appreciated it.

People Like Her is a witty, tense and very clever novel that I couldn’t put down. Incredibly compulsive with a huge amount of heart, sparks of humour and wise words of warning, this is the perfect dark read to get completely lost in for a while.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but it surprised me anyway!
It grabs you from the start when it is obvious that something has happened to the main character and then the book goes back and shows you how it all came about. I particularly liked the style of the book where each chapter was from the perspective of one of the three main characters and how they viewed events really moved the story on. There was a sense of unease as you wondered exactly what was going to happen and towards the end you read through metaphorical fingers hoping that it wouldn't.
I could not put the book down for the last quarter as I needed to find out how it ended. There were clever unexpected twists that make it a well written example of it's genre. I would happily recommend it.
This book made me think about social media, it's darker side and what happens behind the scenes, which is no bad thing.

Thanks to Netgalley for an arc for my honest review.

Ellery Lloyd’s gripping debut “People Like Her” is a taut and exciting thriller that is expertly crafted and tightly written. This is a must read for fans of the thriller genre and for those that enjoy fiction based around social media’s dark subculture.

Emmy is known to her million plus Instagram followers as mamabare - a bares all, honest mama who is here to help other mum’s know that they are doing their best. In reality it is 90% show and her marriage to Dan is shaky, her relationship with her children based predominantly around what she can post. As Emmy and Dan navigate their way through the complexities of social media fame, someone out there is waiting to punish Emmy. Not all followers are fans and some trolls aren’t satisfied remaining behind a screen...

I really enjoyed “People Like Her” and found myself immediately hooked into the narrative and the characters. Written by a husband and wife team, I found this lent a really authentic voice to the characters of Emmy and Dan, whose point of view the majority of the story is told from (there are also sections told from the anonymous stalker’s perspective too). As a father to two young children, I found I could relate to aspects of both Dan and Emmy’s day to day life with children and this gave the base of the story a great sense of plausibility. In turn, this helped the tenser aspects of the plot to feel even more realistic and there were many moments as the narrative progressed where my heart was very much in my throat! I enjoyed the slow burner aspect of the plot and how the threat gradually builds, which made it a suspenseful read that was full of anticipation. There were multiple characters that I thought could be out to get Emmy and it was really tense trying to work out exactly who they are and how they were going to infiltrate her life.

I also found that there was so much more to the criminal aspect of the plot, which added multiple engaging layers to the story. For example, it is an intriguing glimpse at a fractious marriage that is strained by the pressures of raising two young children, having to present a perfectly styled “imperfect” representation of idyllic family life via social media and the conflict the influencer lifestyle can place upon the real, behind the scenes family. Amongst the darker aspects of the plot, there are also moments of satirical comedy that are very welcome (I found Dan’s descriptions of Emmy’s Instamum friends particularly amusing)! However, what I found most memorable about the narrative is how human the stories at the centre of it are. There’s the exploration of the trappings of living life through a filter and as a series of painstakingly constructed square boxes, so that life isn’t really lived at all. Emmy’s existence is almost purely for content on her Insta page and the impact of this is felt by all the family. Similarly, the person out for Emmy is harbouring a deep set pain that they directly attribute to the falsity of social media. Ultimately, there are blurred lines between who’s the real villain and who is the genuine victim - Emmy and Dan are clearly not entirely innocent and their stalker clearly has a viscous plan. However, I also felt genuine sympathy for the stalker and all that they had been through. The dual interpretation of the title perfectly sums up the complexity of the narrative - yes people like Emmy (she has a million plus subscribers), but also people like her can have a devastatingly negative impact upon society, which she and her family are about to find out the consequences of.

I highly recommend this well paced and engaging thriller!

Meet Emmy - a successful Instagram influencer (known as the_Mamabare with 1M+ followers) focussing on challenges as a mum of 2. She wants to be liked and she is supporting her family on insta so she will do anything, even lie, to create a perfect instaworld.
Meet Dan - Emmy’s husband and struggling writer who has to put aside his career to support his wife in creating the right insta profile for her adoring fans. He just wants a quiet life.
Meet the follower - a silent follower stalking Emmy’s every move on insta and in real life, and sees how manipulative and fake the_Mamabare is, and wants revenge for ruining her life.

Being an instagrammer myself, I was really looking forward to reading this one! I wasn’t disappointed. It’s fast paced yet full of suspense at the same time, which is helped by switching between key protagonist’s viewpoints in the story. It’s a fascinating narrative delving into creating the perfect insta life because who knows what we see on insta is in fact true. How much of life on social media is curated to drive engagement and gain followers? This is what is explored in this thriller where Emmy goes to any length to please her adoring fans even if it means lying to her husband, betraying friends and manipulating her followers. This is a chilling story where opening yourself up to social media and sharing all sorts of personal information (tagging locations, sharing personal photos, stories) can go really wrong, particularly if someone has a vendetta against you.. I like the play on the title too...do people like Emmy? Is Emmy really relatable as she makes out?

This is a chilling and original thriller to read. I got goosebumps at certain points and I think I even gasped! There are also some really funny moments when describing the life of an influencer which was so relatable too 😅 I recommend reading it!

I really enjoyed this book. I wasn't expecting too much from it but it really grabbed me from the very start and kept me gripped throughout. Would recommend.

A dark and gripping tale of grief and obsession, PEOPLE LIKE HER by Ellery Lloyd is a hypnotic tale that will pull you in instantly and keep you entranced to the very end.

Emmy Jackson never thought that she would be the top mummy influencer on Instagram but that's what she is and she gives it her all. Her life revolves around follower counts, paid ads, PR events, and showing the 'reality' of life as a mum-of-two to her adoring fans who demand more every time. But the pictures on the grid only show what Emmy wants them to show and half the time it isn't reality. But it pays for their lifestyle which is even more important since Dan, her husband, has been writing his second novel for 8 years and doesn't seem to be getting anywhere fast. Sure, Emmy fakes some of her stories and adds the odd little white lie to her captions, but that's social media, isn't it? But when someone becomes obsessed with Emmy and her family, everything takes on a sinister tone. Because someone wants Emmy to pay the ultimate price for what she has done.

Like most people, I'm an Instagram fan and spend plenty of time scrolling through my feed so I was instantly interested in the plot of this story which works effortlessly. The dangers of social media are expertly portrayed on all sides - from the followers who compare themselves to their idols and hang on their every word, to those who love to seeth in anger in celebrity's DMs, to the idols themselves who lose themselves to their influencing lifestyle and the addictive type of work that is involved, and will do whatever it takes to stay on top. But it is the detailed characters in this story which make it come alive and as the drama slowly unfolded, I was on the edge of my seat throughout. Sensitive subjects such as losing a child and mental health issues are also highlighted in this story and handled carefully.

PEOPLE LIKE HER by Ellery Lloyd is a thriller for our times and I look forward to more from this dynamic writing duo.

This is a psychological thriller, but it is also an analysis of the dynamic within a very modern family and initially it seems to be just the latter. Emmy and Dan have two children, Coco (four and a bit) and Bear (a baby), and live in East London. Dan is an author (as in: first book great, second book still in the planning stage after several years). Emmy is an influencer, Mamababe, who writes and runs an Instagram account about the trials and tribulations of motherhood. She has hundreds of thousands of followers and the title is clearly a pun on the social media concept of liking. Just reading those sections of the book will give you a fair understanding of what that life involves, and I found them very entertaining. Balancing this public life with her normal life means that Emmy essentially operates two lives, switching between her fairly idyllic life and the stressed, struggling but shining, world of Mambabe. Problems arise but it all looks manageable and her agent and assistant keep things on track. From the start we know there is a crazy stalker, but the family are entirely unaware of this person (she’s not that kind of stalker).
The book is written from the viewpoints, and with the distinctive voices, of Emmy, Dan, and the stalker. It very skilfully merges their three stories as things progress towards what is ordained to be a serious crisis. That event and, particularly the way it resolves, are entirely consistent with the characters and their lifestyles. I, rather to my surprise, enjoyed it a lot.
This is a psychological thriller, but it is also an analysis of the dynamic within a very modern family and initially it seems to be just the latter. Emmy and Dan have two children, Coco (four and a bit) and Bear (a baby), and live in East London. Dan is an author (as in: first book great, second book still in the planning stage after several years). Emmy is an influencer, Mamababe, who writes and runs an Instagram account about the trials and tribulations of motherhood. She has hundreds of thousands of followers and the title is clearly a pun on the social media concept of liking. Just reading those sections of the book will give you a fair understanding of what that life involves, and I found them very entertaining. Balancing this public life with her normal life means that Emmy essentially operates two lives, switching between her fairly idyllic life and the stressed, struggling but shining, world of Mambabe. Problems arise but it all looks manageable and her agent and assistant keep things on track. From the start we know there is a crazy stalker, but the family are entirely unaware of this person (she’s not that kind of stalker).
The book is written from the viewpoints, and with the distinctive voices, of Emmy, Dan, and the stalker. It very skilfully merges their three stories as things progress towards what is ordained to be a serious crisis. That event and, particularly the way it resolves, are entirely consistent with the characters and their lifestyles. I, rather to my surprise, enjoyed it a lot.
I would like to thank the publisher, the authors and NetGalley for providing me with a proof copy of this book for the purpose of this review.

A gripping insight into the world of social media and how scary it can be. Emmy also known as "Mamabare" on Instagram, a mother to two children and an influencer to all her followers. However one of her followers seeking revenge leads to a terrifying stalking encounter. The book is cleverly written from the perspective of Emmy, Dan and the troll. Emmy's life is carefully choreographered causing concern for husband Dan who has to run with ot against his better judgement. As the story progresses their relationship becomes strained and the true reality of the dangers of social media are revealed. The hurt Emmy has caused with her lies and selfishness make the reader believe that people will do anything to be liked.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a great tense read and definetly for anyone who is looking into becoming a social media influencer. It is a brilliant piece of fiction delving into a realistic situation.

People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd

I picked this one up in high hopes but it proved not to be for me, possibly because I'm not involved much with social media and I didn't quite 'get it'. I did, however, like the writing and really enjoyed the portrayal of a perfectly imperfect mother. I liked the way that we have the different perspectives - the way someone is presented to the world, the way in which they view themselves, the way those closest to them see them, and the way in which people online perceive them. Very intriguing. It was also rather fascinating to see how a facade is constructed and how fragile it can be.

People Like Her is husband and wife writing team Ellery Lloyd's debut psychological thriller about the dangers of social media fame and the influencer lifestyle, of sharing your life with all and sundry, and the repercussions when fans become obsessive. Former fashion editor Emmy Jackson has over a million Instagram followers and with her @Mamabare account is Britain’s most famous ”instamum”. Having traded in her credentials working with magazines during her first pregnancy, she now makes a lucrative living apparently offering a raw and unfiltered view of family life navigating the ups and downs of raising two children - three-year-old Coco and five-week-old Bear - however, her husband Dan is becoming increasingly bitter and hostile about Emmy’s false portrayal of motherhood as it relates to her. He can see little resemblance between the information she posts on Instagram and their real lives and it's not something he can ignore for much longer. The only reason he hasn't said anything too much up until this time is because as a struggling novelist whose last book was written a whole eight years ago, Emmy’s endorsements and sponsorships are what is singlehandedly keeping the family afloat and allowing them to be able to pay their bills so he begrudgingly keeps schtum. On instagram Emmy is a kind of best friend and fellow sufferer: On Instagram, the mother of two small children shares her chaotic family life with bankruptcies, bad luck and mishaps in a "totally honest" way.

Only husband Dan knows that the perfectly organised Emmy meticulously messes up the apartment, the children and herself before every photo shoot in order to increase her sympathy and generate higher advertising income with more likes - at least that's what Emmy thinks. Because there is someone who has not only seen through them, but also blames them for a terrible loss. Someone who wants revenge and doesn't just follow Emmy on Instagram. Can Emmy (and Dan) keep themselves and their family safe? This is an enthralling, scintillating and wickedly woven thriller that has you captivated from the word go, and I loved that it was much more adult orientated than others based around social media. In People Like Her a family and their future is at stake and the narrative highlights just how dangerous and terrifying the internet, and social media, can really be if you don't keep control of it all. This is a compulsive, exciting and unique read set in a cutthroat world where influencers will do anything to acquire fame and anything to retain it. It's fun, refreshingly original and a great piece of escapism told from Dan and Emmy’s perspectives and a book I raced through like there was no tomorrow, and what's even more scary is this could very well be someone's reality. It's a rapid-fire, heart-pounding thrill ride with a palpable sense of tension, suspense and fear throughout. As characters go Emmy is a hot mess pretending to be the princess of perfection with her loyal fans believing everything. Twisty and sinister, this is a riveting and intelligently plotted tale of why you shouldn't believe everything you see on social media and that if something looks too good to be true it often is. Highly recommended.

A really great novel of our time. If you've ever thought about the perks of being a social media influencer I think this could just put you off. I had not idea how orchestrated this all was and how it is a lucrative career. But one where there are no boundaries, no switching off between work and home. You are fair game for everyone out there. I enjoyed the way the story was told in the first person from Emmy's perspective, then Dan's and the stalker, in italics which to me highlighted the creepiness. I've read books about revenge but this was truly evil. I was holding my breath as the book raced to a conclusion. I don't want to give spoilers so will just add that there were twists from what I thought would happen and it was terrifying. A great read. #netgalley #peoplelikeher

As a member of the older generation who still finds the carefully curated world of social media influencers a slightly strange if fascinating concept, I was attracted by the synopsis of this book. Emmy Jackson is a highly successful "Instamum", having amassed a huge following by sharing every little detail of her family life and ensuring she portrays a relatable, if not always entirely accurate, version of family life for all her followers. Her husband Dan is becoming increasingly uncomfortable with sharing their lives to such an extent, but is forced to go along with it, as, whilst he struggles to produce his second novel, it is Emmy's success as "Mamabare" that is funding the majority of their lifestyle.

Written from three points of view - Emmy, Dan and an unnamed third person who seems to have an unnatural interest in the Jackson family - the book becomes increasingly dark as numerous twists are revealed, and the identity of the third narrator becomes apparent. The tension increases and I for one was hooked, racing through the book to its jaw-dropping conclusion.

Very much a book for our time, this was an enjoyable, fast-paced and thought-provoking book that makes you reflect on both the good and bad sides of social media.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The book is told from three characters point of view. Emmy the Instagram mum, Dan her husband and the person who is holding a grudge against them, I found myself speed reading though some of the sections to get to the action. I was interested in finding out the back story of the mystery person but there were a lot of details about the Instagram side of things which just didn’t interest me at all. The drama sucks you in and keeps you reading, all the info about the other Instagram mums was just boring. I was interested and enjoying the mystery figure and then things took a really dark turn. I didn’t think it would be so grim but I found parts of it quite distressing. I’d have to say I didn’t like Emmy or Dan and ended up only having sympathy for the children.

This book is certainly interesting! I very much enjoyed the angle that it is based around Instagram influencers and really showed what they have to do to maintain or grow their following but at what cost? The added element of someone wanting to get at them was very interesting and resolved with a good ending.

Thank you to NetGalley & publisher for the chance to read this book in exchange for a honest review.