A deep dive into greed, privilege and the unravelling of Jill and Ted’s picture‑perfect life.
I know what I am getting when I pick up a Shari Lapena novel, and her latest domestic thriller delivers the chaotic, compulsive fun I was looking for. Getting Away with Murder is fast and messy, and full of people making bad choices for all the wrong reasons. It is a reverse mystery, so the crime is revealed at the very beginning, and the real suspense is watching the unravelling process.
The story centres around Jill and Ted, a couple whose entire identity is wrapped up in their gorgeous Brooklyn brownstone. It’s their personality. It’s their pride. It’s their status symbol. Ted’s inheritance is running low, and a disastrous investment throws them into serious financial trouble, and they panic. Rather than facing reality or downsizing, they come up with a simple but horrifying plan: kill Ted’s rich brother and take care of all their money problems at once.
And of course things are never simple for long. The book goes straight into the mess that follows: the guilt, the suspicion, the blackmail and the dawning realisation that Jill and Ted are not nearly as clever as they think they are. Lapena writes brilliantly about ordinary people losing their grip, and it’s strangely addictive watching these two unravel.
One of the things I enjoyed the most was the pacing. It never finishes. I loved the short chapters and the changing perspectives; it makes it so easy to stay hooked, and I kept telling myself “just one more” until I had raced through half the book. The characters are also a highlight. They’re horrible, truly unlikeable people, but Lapena writes them so precisely that their downfall is part of the fun.
But the murder occurs in the first chapter, so this book is a refreshing take on domestic suspense. It’s not about cracking the case. It’s about this tension and the psychology of what’s next. The dread is slow and convincing, and every crack in their picture-perfect life feels earned. The fallout is messy, believable and the kind of chaos I want in a thriller.
If you are into domestic thrillers with morally grey or downright awful characters, this book will totally hit the spot. It’s just right for readers who love stories about wealth and entitlement and the disaster that happens when privilege meets desperation. Plus, it’s a great slump-buster, fast, accessible and easy to get into.
Getting Away with Murder is juicy, dramatic and a lot of fun to read. This may not be Lapena’s most complicated novel, but it may be one of her most binge-able. The real fun is watching two people who think they are smarter than everyone else slowly come to the realisation that they are not. It goes down easy but still packs a punch.
Great for a rainy afternoon, a reading retreat, or any time you want something twisty, messy and impossible to put down.
Thank you to Penguin Random House SA for the opportunity to read this book.
Other books by this author:
