THE PLAYERS CLUB

During a turbulent period in her life, a 30-something London woman joins a group of others who share a unique hobby in this debut novel.

Beth Greenwood is just going through the motions. She works remotely as a graphic designer for a big food delivery business and sometimes meets a man from an app for a date—mainly for stories to entertain her sister, Elspeth, over their weekly dinner. But one particularly bad afternoon, she catches a glimpse of a rich woman stepping out of a taxi wearing a pair of beautiful suede boots, and she has a sudden longing to be that woman. Beth begins what she soon discovers is called “Life-Playing,” slipping into a different life for just one day, fully becoming the invented person. After a day spent as Nikki Love, a fitness instructor for a Peloton-like company, she meets a woman who recognizes what she’s doing and invites her to join a group of four women who help each other achieve whatever Life-Play they desire. Between her new friends and her beloved sister, Beth finally feels content. But when her real life suddenly takes a terrible turn, the line between fantasy and reality becomes worryingly blurred and Beth has to take stock of who she truly wants to be. Mills has crafted a tale that starts as a whimsical adventure and morphs into a memorable portrait of friendship, identity, and grief. The second section in particular, when Beth loses herself in a particular Life-Play, stands out for its observations on the appeal of true crime as juxtaposed with Beth’s shaky mental state. Beth’s emotions propel the back half of the novel and it’s hard not to feel everything along with her, the novel itself almost a Beth Greenwood Life-Play for the reader. Mills takes big risks here but always manages to nail the landing.

An original, surprisingly moving tale.