Other People’s Fun is a taut, elegant triumph: sharply observed, beautifully written, and quietly devastating. Harriet Lane has a gift for getting under the skin of her characters, and here she builds a subtle, spiralling tension that never lets up. Ruth’s vulnerability and Sookie’s performative confidence are rendered with chilling precision, and the way their dynamic shifts - slowly, then all at once - makes for an intensely compelling read. Every page hums with unease, and Lane’s prose is as precise and cutting as ever. A brilliant, tightly coiled novel about image, insecurity, and the invisible lines between admiration and resentment.

In Other People’s Fun, Harriet Lane turns her sharp lens on the lives we curate and the truths we bury. She writes not about the bold or the loud—but about the quiet women who fade into the background... until they don’t.

Ruth is slipping through the cracks. Her marriage is over, her daughter is moving on, and her job is a dead end. She feels invisible—until Sookie walks back into her life. All confidence, color, and charisma, Sookie once ruled the social scene at school while Ruth stood quietly on the sidelines. But now, Sookie seems interested—too interested.

At first, Ruth is flattered. Then she’s confused. And then… she starts to see. Beneath the gloss and filtered posts, something is rotten. Sinister in the most satisfying way, Other People’s Fun is a masterclass in slow-burning suspense and the psychology of being overlooked. Harriet Lane reminds us that what’s hidden is often more dangerous than what’s revealed—and sometimes, invisibility is its own kind of power.

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I’ve been waiting YEARS for Harriet Lane’s next novel, after I loved Alys, Always and was blow away by Her. Fortunately, Other People’s Fun showed me this novel was worth the wait! Land continues to show her truly outstanding abilities as a writer- few can match her skills for character development, plotting, and prose, especially in this genre. She is a master of the subtle, slow burn psychological thriller. Other People’s Fun delves into a chance meeting that the reader sees evolve into a truly toxic friendship. This is a must read!