People Pleaser by Catriona Stewart is the perfect book to take on your holidays this summer
People Pleaser by Catriona Stewart
I’m not a big New Year’s resolution person, but one of my goals for this year was to stop mindlessly scrolling on my phone while the TV blares in the background and instead read a book (or at least watch TV a bit more intentionally).
So while I haven’t been watching very much TV, I have been reading a lot of literature inspired by TV shows and trends, which is definitely the next best thing.
Enter: People Pleaser.
Catriona Stewart’s debut novel follows Maggie Lathrop, a woman whose life is transformed overnight when she wins LoveShack, America’s most popular reality dating show. But when she is found murdered in a Los Angeles warehouse and the police fail to find any answers, her sister Emma steps in to investigate.
Thrillers aren’t usually my thing and I probably only read one every other month. But when I saw People Pleaser described as White Lotus meets Love Island, I just couldn’t resist.
And I’m so glad I didn’t, because this story had me hooked from the first few pages. I’m generally a pretty quick reader, but this is such a page-turner and I flew through this in just two sittings.
It’s so addictive, especially for anyone, like me, who has ever wondered what goes on on shows like Love Island when the cameras stop rolling. The story is told from several different perspectives, including Maggie’s, and we get an insight into her time both on and off screen, as well as her experiences after leaving LoveShack.
Maggie aside, we also follow other characters throughout the book, and though I wasn’t entirely sold on one POV at the start, they all become important in their own ways by the end.
All of the characters felt really fleshed out, and you really get to both love and hate them (sometimes simultaneously) throughout. The whodunit element of the story was also executed well, and I was in the dark until the very end.
With short chapters and some big twists, this book is an ideal holiday read, though it would also suit commuters too.
For more book recommendations, reviews and news, click here to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter, The Bookish Drop, on Substack.
People Pleaser is available to buy from Waterstones from today, May 22.