Necessary People

Books | Fiction / Psychological

3.7

(92)

Anna Pitoniak

A propulsive, "chilling" novel exploring the dangerous fault lines of female friendships (Lee Child), Necessary People deftly plumbs the limits of ambition, loyalty, and love. One of them has it all. One of them wants it all. But they can't both win.Stella and Violet are best friends, and from the moment they met in college, they knew their roles. Beautiful, privileged, and reckless Stella lives in the spotlight. Hardworking, laser-focused Violet stays behind the scenes, always ready to clean up the mess that Stella inevitably leaves in her wake.After graduation, Violet moves to New York and lands a job in cable news, where she works her way up from intern to assistant to producer, and to a life where she's finally free from Stella's shadow. In this fast-paced world, Violet thrives, and her ambitions grow -- but everything is jeopardized when Stella, envious of Violet's new life, uses her connections, beauty, and charisma to get hired at the same network. Stella soon moves in front of the camera, becoming the public face of the stories that Violet has worked tirelessly to produce -- and taking all the credit. Stella might be the one with the rich family and the right friends, but Violet isn't giving up so easily. As she and Stella strive for success, each reveals just how far she'll go to get what she wants -- even if it means destroying the other person along the way."I literally couldn't stop reading." -- Stephen King"I love a book that is smart as hell and impossible to put down and this is IT." -- Jessica KnollNamed one of the Best Books of May by Marie Claire, Town & Country, Refinery29, Cosmopolitan, Woman's Day, Bustle, CrimeReads, and O, the Oprah Magazine

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More Details:

Author

Anna Pitoniak

Pages

336

Publisher

Little, Brown

Published Date

2019-05-21

ISBN

0316451711 9780316451710

Community ReviewsSee all

"i went into this book almost completely blind. BOY WAS IT INSANE?? i don’t usually read stuff like this but it was really fascinating and well written. i haven’t been that genuinely shocked by a book in a while. really keen look into female power dynamics. "

Kimmy W

"Fast-paced book, which I borrowed when I saw a comment from Stephen King saying it was a page-turner. Agreed. The pace is good and the sense of dread real, but the characters are unsympathetic and hard to root for"

Diane Morello

"This was a fun read in which you empathize with the underdog and love watching her have her princess glow-up moments. The twists were fun as well, bringing it down a few roads I didn’t expect. I didn’t love the ending—I feel like it could have used a few more chapters and one more dark twist or something to be more satisfying. But all in all, it was entertaining and enjoyable. "

Kate Holcomb

""Everyone wants what they don't have. Everyone wants more."<br/><br/>I loved Necessary People! This was such an entertaining read, and I found Anna Pitoniak's portrayal of a competitive female friendship to be pretty damn accurate. I wanted to scream at Stella and Violet so frequently, but I also found them to be relatable. This is an excellent drama / suspense story, and I highly recommend picking it up this summer. I would recommend this one for fans of Social Creature, but they are still very different books. Necessary People is a smart book, and it went deeper than most suspense books are going right now. I'm glad I read this one."