We mere mortals are fascinated by stories about the super-rich. Why is that?
Perhaps it’s just curiosity about how the one percenters live, or a yearning for financial escapism in the face of mounting grocery and gas bills. Or perhaps it’s because celebrity billionaires are the flawed and fickle gods of our secular age, and we immerse ourselves in their struggles to make sense of the world around us.
Whatever the reason, it’s clear from cult television series like Succession and The White Lotus that we prefer extreme privilege to be served with a fat dollop of schadenfreude. We seem to want reassurance that super-sized wealth brings super-sized problems—nasty power struggles, psychological torment and maybe also a body count.
But society’s enduring fascination with the downfall of the elites isn’t just a case of the green-eyed monster. History has taught us that where there is extreme wealth, there is usually also extreme power. As Lord Acton observed almost 140 years ago, power tends to corrupt, and the collision of pots of money, power and corruption makes the world of the super-rich a juicy setting for a high-stakes drama —and especially for a crime novel.
My debut crime mystery, See How They Fall, centers on the billionaire Turner dynasty. The Turners own extravagant homes on every continent, globetrot by private jet and super yacht, snap up MoMA-quality art and mingle with fellow celebs and super-models. When the Turner patriarch passes away, the family gathers to discuss his estate, but the weekend ends in tragedy with one of them dead and another left fighting for their life. Spoiler alert: there is more to the Turner family than meets the eye, and they will stop at nothing to prevent the unravelling of their toxic empire.
If you love a suspenseful read that absorbs you into the lifestyle of the super wealthy, then check out these other novels that build on classics like Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile, Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr Ripley, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca:
Queen K by Sarah Thomas
Melanie, a private tutor to the daughter of Russian oligarchs, is helping her employers navigate the intricacies of British aristocracy. But all is not well beneath the glittering surface, as Melanie discovers in this gripping thriller about ultra-rich people behaving badly in luxurious locales.
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
Booker Prize-winning author, Eleanor Catton, pitches environmental activists against an enigmatic American billionaire in this witty and brilliantly-observed literary thriller. Birnam Wood is a tale of twisted ambition and outrageous fortune that culminates in a deadly finale of Shakespearean proportions.
The Club by Ellery Lloyd
The Club is a traditional murder-mystery set in the glamorous world of an elite private members’ club. Inspired by the author’s experience wrangling celebrities at Soho House, this page-turner is a deliciously dark tale about the deadly consequences of the quest for fame and fortune.
The Party by Elizabeth Day
Outsider Martin Gilmour and charming old-money heir Ben Fitzmaurice became close friends at an elite boarding school, but their friendship is tested 25 years later when Ben’s lavish 40th birthday party takes a sinister turn. This taut psychological thriller set in the British upper class is laced with secrets, revenge and plenty of wit.
Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore
In Bittersweet, scholarship student Mabel is seduced by her college roommate Genevra Winslow’s privileged East Coast world. But as an insider, she becomes privy to a terrible secret about the Winslow family, and has to decide whether or not to expose them and so risk expulsion from paradise and perhaps also her life. A gothic thriller about the dark underbelly of immense privilege.
17 Years Later by J.P. Pomare
The violent slaughter of the wealthy Primrose family while they slept shocked the nation, and their private chef, Bill Kareama, was jailed for the crime. But 17 years later, celebrity true-crime podcaster Sloane Abbott is convinced there is more to the Primrose murders and sets out to discover the truth. A gripping, twisty thriller from a master crime writer.
No One Will Know by Rose Carlyle
This propulsive thriller centers on Eve Sylvester, a desperate young woman who is manipulated by the wealthy Hygates to accept a nannying position at their remote Tasmanian mansion. With plenty of audacious twists, this modern-day take on the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale reveals the terrible consequences of greed, secrets and lies.
Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft
After years of swindling filthy-rich men, Bea is ready to leave her past behind and marry into one of the country’s wealthiest blue-blooded families. But what begins as a game transforms into a life-and-death pursuit for the truth in this fast-paced, wickedly entertaining thriller.
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