If you could be anyone – who would you be?

The Players Club is a debut novel for Rachel Mills, which explores an intriguing and imaginative premise: the idea of stepping into someone else’s life, of trying on identities in the same way we as children once played make-believe.  Through Beth Greenwood, the novel taps into a very human curiosity – what if we could be braver, more successful, more extraordinary simply by choosing to be so?

The book captures that sense of possibility and escapism.  Beth’s journey into different roles creates a narrative that is often surprising and, at times, thought-provoking. There’s a playful, almost dreamlike quality to the concept, and moments where the story hints at deeper questions about identity, self-worth, and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are.

As the book progresses, the line between imagination and reality becomes increasingly blurred. While this is clearly intentional, it can also make the story feel a little disorienting. The relationship between Beth and her sister, Elspeth, add an important emotional layer and had the potential to be the heart of the novel, (these were actually my favourite chapters to read) however I was distracted with everything happening around it.

Overall, The Players Club is an imaginative and ambitious novel that will appeal to readers who enjoy experimental storytelling and big, conceptual ideas. While it didn’t entirely deliver on the emotional connection I was hoping for, it remains an interesting exploration of identity and the allure of becoming someone else.

About the Book

9If you could be anyone – who would you be?

Beth Greenwood has always imagined being someone else. Someone more successful, more exciting. More alive. What would it really be like to walk in another person’s shoes – just for a day? 

And then she gets the chance to do it, with the help of the Players Club. A secret group of women who have made it their mission to let one another live their dreams. Tell them who you want to try, and they will make it happen. Circus acrobat, traffic controller, woman-who-shops-in-Chanel: no identity is out of reach. Being alive has never been so much fun.

That is, until the stakes of Beth’s own life become dangerously high, and the line between self-invention and self-delusion begins to blur. Torn between her new friends and her real responsibilities, Beth has to ask herself: when it matters most, who does she really want to be?

Smart, original, and full of heart, The Players Club will bring your imagination to life and get your book club group talking…

About The Authors

Rachel Mills is Director and literary agent at Rachel Mills Literary. She is a regular contributor across UK media, including The Telegraph, Front Row, The Times and as a columnist for the Bookseller.

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