An incredibly propulsive and provocative debut novel about the dark underside of gossip - the way it can shape and distort the truth until you're not sure what is real or what you believe.

CHOSEN AS A 2026 MUST-READ BOOK BY THE GUARDIAN, SUNDAY TIMES, STYLIST, SUNDAY INDEPENDENT, NEW ARAB AND BBC CULTURE

'AWFULLY ADDICTIVE . . . PEOPLE, GOOD AND BAD, ARE GOING TO LOVE IT' GUARDIAN

'A SPECTACULAR TRIUMPH' KHALED HOSSEINI

'THRILLING. I'LL BE RECOMMENDING THIS BOOK TO EVERYONE' ANN PATCHETT

'GORGEOUS AND POWERFUL' TOMMY ORANGE, NEW YORK TIMES

'A SWEEPING FAMILY SAGA' SUNDAY TIMES

'GRIPPING STUFF' DAILY MAIL

'UTTERLY ADDICTIVE . . . WILL HAVE EVERYONE TALKING' PAULA HAWKINS

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EVERYONE THINKS THEY KNOW WHAT HAPPENED . . .

The Sharaf family is the picture of success. They arrived in America as refugees with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. And now, after years of hard work, they live in the most exclusive neighbourhood, their growing family attending the most prestigious schools. Zorah, the eldest daughter, is the apple of her father's eye.

But when Zorah dies in an unthinkable tragedy, the family is thrust into the court of public opinion. There is talk that the Sharafs' happy household was anything but, and soon the veneer of the model immigrant family starts to crumble.

Those who knew her best - and those who never met her - all have an opinion on who Zorah really was, and what really happened to her . . .

Told through the chorus of voices surrounding the Sharafs, Good People is a riveting, provocative and unforgettable story of community, family and identity.

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'THIS YEAR'S MOST HOTLY ANTICIPATED DEBUT...MORE THAN LIVES UP TO THE HYPE' STYLIST

'THRILLING AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING' ECONOMIST

'PROPULSIVE' SUNDAY INDEPENDENT

'BRILLIANT' MONICA ALI

'A BLINDER OF A DEBUT' IRISH INDEPENDENT

'GRIPPING AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING' LOUISE O'NEILL

'A CLEVER WHODUNNIT' RED

'UNLIKE ANYTHING ELSE YOU'LL READ THIS YEAR' ANNA BAILEY

'THRILLING AND ADDICTIVE' INEWS

'ABSOLUTELY RIVETING' EMMA VAN STRAATEN

Details

ISBN13: 9780349019444
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 400
Edition:
Publication Date: 10 Feb 2026
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 23(H)x14.8(L)x3.4(W)488
Weight (gm): 488

Author Biography

Patmeena Sabit was born in Kabul a few years after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. When she was a month old, her family fled the conflict and became refugees in Pakistan, joining the millions of other Afghans that had sought refuge there. They later moved to the United States and she grew up in Virginia. She currently lives in Toronto. Good People is her debut novel.

Reviews

Good People is a stunning read. I could not recommend it more enthusiastically. The story of an investigation into a suspicious death, this rich novel is so much more. Written with raw emotional insight, this page-turner is a fascinating, kaleidoscopic look at a grieving Afghan family caught between culture and country. With startling empathy for all sides, Patmeena Sabit plumbs the fault lines of honor, truth, prejudice, and how identity shapes guilt in the aftermath of tragedy. What a spectacular triumph this book is. This is the Afghan novel I have been eagerly waiting for -- Khaled Hosseini, author of THE KITE RUNNER
Good People is a thrilling tour de force of a novel. I'll be recommending this book to everyone -- Ann Patchett
Ingeniously structured, thought-provoking and utterly addictive, Good People will have everyone talking -- Paula Hawkins, author of THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN
Brilliant. The best debut I've read in a very long time -- Monica Ali, author of LOVE MARRIAGE
Shocking and intimate . . . absolutely unlike anything else you'll read this year -- Anna Bailey, author of TALL BONES
Good People is equal parts an immigrant novel, a tightly-wound mystery, and an oral history. Patmeena Sabit moves between these with insight, ease and grace to give us a remarkable, unsettling snapshot of our complicated times -- Sameer Pandya, author of OUR BEAUTIFUL BOYS
A triumphant debut! With the sophistication and assurance of a seasoned writer, Patmeena Sabit has crafted a prescient East-West story as only a third culture talent could have. The plot: masterful. The writing: beguiling. The pacing: breakneck. The possibility I will read this again and again: absolute. I can't wait to read what Sabit will create next! -- Alka Joshi, author of THE HENNA ARTIST and the JAIPUR trilogy
An extraordinary debut. Tense and propulsive . . . absolutely riveting -- Emma van Straaten, author of THIS IMMACULATE BODY
A clever debut probing the American dream * Guardian, '2026 Debuts to Look Out For' *
Told through several different voices, this sweeping family saga will stay with you long after you put it down * Sunday Times Style, 'Must-Reads for 2026' *
Addictively readable . . . I'd put money on this book featuring in everyone's best of lists when we reach the end of 2026 . . . it's absolutely thought-provoking, at times unsettling and gripping throughout * Stylist, '37 things that are going to be huge in 2026' *
Propulsive . . . There's a big buzz about Patmeena Sabit's Good People * Sunday Independent, 'Debuts to Look Out For in 2026' *
Clever . . . Sabit moves deftly between arguments as we, as readers, bring our own prejudices to bear on just what actually happened * Marie Claire *
Narrated by a full cast on Audible, the novel's multiple perspectives are brought to vivid life * Independent (audiobook review) *
The novel is, in essence, a crime mystery in which a community turns detective and puts a grieving family on trial. It is also a sharp portrait of an immigrant community in the modern United States, an anatomy of poisonous gossip and a commentary on wider societal divisions. Most of all, though, it is awfully addictive * Guardian *
This tale is thrilling and thought-provoking * Economist *
Gripping and emotional * Woman & Home *