Ever since The Dream podcast premiered close to ten years ago, I’ve had a special interest in multi-level marketing businesses. You might’ve heard them called direct sales, or even, on occasion, pyramid schemes. I’m sure all of us, at some point or another, have had a friend become a salesperson overnight. They’re hosting parties, they’re posting online, they have a product they think will be great for you – and guess what, you could sell it too!
For my third Pinnacle Hotel mystery, I knew I wanted MLMs to play a starring role. Fortunately for me, multi-level marketing has been around for over a hundred years now, and in the 50s at home demonstration parties were booming. Tupperware parties were all the rage, thanks to Brownie Wise. She was not the owner of Tupperware, that was a man called Earl Tupper. (He was very creative with his naming choices.) But Wise realized that women weren’t buying Tupperware because they didn’t totally understand it, and she threw the first at home demonstration. Well, that was all it took. Housewives began buying and selling Tupperware for their own use, and for their own parties. Rumor has it, Wise was fired by Tupper because he was jealous of her success. And she was successful. She was the first woman ever on the cover of Business Week. Plus, we know she had style, because she drove a pink Cadillac. Her at home demonstrations laid the groundwork for the MLMs we see today.
For The Socialite’s Guide to Sleuthing and Secrets, I made up my own business called Ladies Love to Sparkle and the women in the business sell, you guessed it, “affordable, costume jewelry”. When a team is having a meeting at the Pinnacle Hotel, the leader collapses in my sleuth’s lap, and it’s up to her to figure out what happened and why.
I believe MLMs are an excellent opportunity for mystery writers, namely because you could burn a lot of money and a lot of friendships by being in one. Of course, some people do succeed. They wouldn’t be so popular if that wasn’t the case. But for the people who don’t, the 99% who never turn a profit? Well, that’s where the motive is.
I’ve been searching, and I found a few books, both fiction and nonfiction, that center around multi-level marketing businesses. But I think there’s plenty of room for more, especially from mystery authors!
DEATH IN THE DOWNLINE by Maria Abrams
Just released earlier this year (2025), Death in the Downline: A Multi-Level Marketing Murder Mystery is about a woman named Drew who, back in her hometown, joins a business called LuminUS after being recruited by an old friend. That same friend gets into trouble when a LuminUs distributor is murdered and it’s up to Drew to save her by solving the crime.
PYRAMDIA by Stephanie Sanders-Jacob
This is a horror novel, and that’s okay! We are multi-faceted readers when it comes to multi-level marketing. Harriet, while enduring some struggles in her life, meets a woman who convinces her to join her MLM business. They sell tea. They drink tea. Harriet can’t stop drinking the tea. I am so ready to read about the tea!
LUCY UNDYING by Kiersten White
If I had a nickel for every MLM centered book I found that involved vampires, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice. Lucy Undying: A Dracula Novel starts with Dracula, and ends with multi-level marketing, which I think is a testament to White’s skill as an author. Lucy, the main character, is one of Dracula’s first victims, and then spends her undead life trying to free from his clutches.
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THE FEMALE PERSUASION: A NOVEL by Meg Wolitzer
This is a coming-of-age story and no, it’s not directly about direct sales. But it is about female friendships, and mentoring, and power and really – that’s at the core of every multi-level marketing business. Greer is a freshman when she hears well-known feminist activist Faith speak at a seminar for the first time. She can’t believe it when Faith asks her to join her in a new venture.
CULTISH by Amanda Montell
Nonfiction book alert! I am a huge Amanda Montell fan and her sophomore book, all about the language used by various forms of cults, has an entire chapter on multi-level marketing. I can’t recommend this book enough!
And, of course, that leaves:
SELLING THE DREAM by Jane Marie
Jane Marie is the host of the podcast I mentioned earlier, called The Dream, and this Publisher’s Weekly starred book expands on the topic covered in the first season of her podcast.
Multi-Level Marketing companies sell the American Dream. They’re built on big promises, and the backs of women who are looking for something for themselves. They’re looking for financial freedom, or friendships, or purpose. And MLMs sell a false sense of that by taking their money and taking advantage. There’s tension there, and motive too, and that’s why I think more authors should consider using MLMs in their plots.
Mystery authors, of course – MLMs are rife with manipulation tactics and deception that fit our genre perfectly – but also horror or thriller or even a romcom. These businesses and their shady practices have been around for a hundred years, so almost all of us are aware of them. That familiarity makes them an excellent story telling tool across genres.
So go ahead – take this plot device home today! Use it in your work! Share with your friends the benefits of using MLM in fiction!
And if you do write that book? Well, all I ask is a small commission.
Alternatively, you could just tell me about it.
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