Other People's Fun
A Novel
by Harriet Lane
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Pub Date Nov 04 2025 | Archive Date Dec 04 2025
Description
"I look. I can’t stop looking. That’s the deal, isn’t it? We all know that’s how it works. If someone wants to be seen—and oh, how they want to be seen—then someone has to watch."
Ruth is alone, unnoticed, and at a loss: her marriage has ended, her daughter is leaving home, and her job is leading nowhere.
But luckily Sookie is back in her life–vivid, self-assured Sookie, who never spared the time for Ruth when they were teenagers, but who now seems to want to be friends. But as Ruth is caught up in Sookie’s life, she sees that everything is not as Instagrammable as Sookie would have you believe. As the truth about Sookie becomes clearer, so too does the choice Ruth will have to make.
Unputdownable, spiky, and subtle, Other People’s Fun is a novel about modern life, from the little lies we tell our neighbors, friends, families, and ourselves to the hall of mirrors that is social media. Filled with Harriet Lane’s trademark creeping unease and forensic observation, this page-turner considers how desperately we want others to see us as we are—and what happens when they finally do.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9780316369947 |
| PRICE | $29.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 208 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Andrea D, Reviewer
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.
#OtherPeoplesFun #HarrietLane #LittleBrownAndCompany #CreepingDread #InstagramVsReality #QuietWomenWithSharpEdges
