PEOPLE ARE TALKING

“With a propulsive narrative and razor-sharp social commentary, People Are Talking boldly confronts the complexities of sexual assault and its aftermath. The expertly-crafted dual timelines and perspectives kept me hooked from start to finish. —Jordyn Taylor, award-winning author of The Revenge Game and Wicked Darlings

“Compulsively readable and thought-provoking, Amanda Eisenberg’s debut novel cleverly weaves the intrigue of a secret collegiate society with an essential post-#MeToo reckoning. Readers will relate to the audacious main characters Dani and Mal while appreciating their complex friendship and knife-sharp insights about relationships, ambition and consent.” —Katy Stankevitz, content creator

Mallory Shepard has her back against the wall. Her girlfriend dumped her, her landlord wants to evict her and her literary agent is about to drop her—unless she can come up with a compelling follow-up to her debut novel. A book deal would solve her problems, which is why she agrees to attend an estranged college friend’s wedding in Texas. It’ll be the first time she’s seen that friend group since an incident tore them apart eight years earlier, and Mal intends to squeeze her ex-friends for information. The plan is nearly foolproof, except that her anger problem threatens to expose her agenda, as does her weakness for her college nemesis: Andrew Rosen.

Danit Leibowitz is—was—Mal’s best friend. Together they transformed the Newts, a secret society, into a group that tracks alleged rapists long after they graduated from the prestigious halls of Weston College. Now a rising lefty political star, Dani is asked to come up with another plan to reinvent the Newts, which Gen Z deems out of touch amid ever-changing gender and sex politics. When she learns Mal will be there, Dani hatches a plan to appease the Newts and win back her friend, all in 72 hours. 

Crammed into an Austin rental for the weekend, the six friends seek to settle old scores and win back ex-friends and lovers. But when the Newts infiltrate the wedding, with deadly consequences, Mal and Dani are forced to consider whether they’re willing to separate the personal from the political—even at the expense of protecting the people they love.