PEOPLE LIKE US

PEOPLE LIKE US is a dark and morally complex reading-group novel following three women whose lives collide when a student at an elite boarding school commits suicide.

When model student James Maxwell commits suicide, no one is more shocked than his mother, Holly, who cannot fathom why her outwardly happy and popular son would take his own life.

For the headmaster's wife, Mimi, James's death threatens the school's pristine reputation and her husband's position within it. Mimi's relationship with fellow mum Holly comes under strain as the school tries to separate itself from James's actions.

Meanwhile, far from distancing herself, Holly's old school friend, Emma Huxley a disgraced TV personality, influencer and socialite seems intent on insinuating herself into Holly's life. But to what end?

As the mystery around James's death unravels and these three women face the fallout, it seems that no one will escape unscathed.

Brought up in in Leeds, Rachel Devine graduated from the University of Oxford in 2000 with a degree in Maths and Philosophy, before going on to spend 12 years on the trading floor at a top investment bank. She now lives near Oxford with her husband and three boys. PEOPLE LIKE US is her debut novel.