As a popcorn thriller writer, I’m obsessed with class differences and how the “haves” versus the “have-nots” can dictate actions. How someone who lives morally can have their judgment clouded when money enters the picture, and how some people will do anything to have that kind of status. In my new thriller Their Double Lives, we’re first presented with our main character Kim, a server at a bougie country club, who has a dilemma: her dog Murphy—her best friend, her buddy, and the one who metaphorically saved her life, is dying. He needs life saving surgery which she can’t afford. She’s stuck in a position of watching wealthy club members spend thousands of dollars on a bottle of wine for one dinner, while she can’t even scrape up enough to keep her baby alive. Soon, she gets an offer from someone who calls themself The Stranger, one that she almost can’t refuse—slip a pill into the new member’s dessert this weekend, and when he dies, she will have enough money for Murphy’s surgery. To make it more titillating, it comes with a down payment for services not yet rendered. Even after looking at her new bank balance, she decides she’s no murderer. Then Murphy has another seizure, and she realizes she’ll do anything—anything—to keep him alive. Let the games begin.
However, when the time comes, her target walks in. It’s the former love of her life Tony, her bad-boy ex-boyfriend from high school, and he arrives with his college-aged fiancée, PJ. Fifteen years have passed since she last saw him, but she still can’t bring herself to slip him the poison. Hours later, it’s PJ who dies a horrific death at the table and Kim panics. She didn’t do a thing, but now she knows someone wanted both of them dead. Why? Frantic at the thought of the consequences for not going through with his murder, she suspects everyone around her of being The Stranger. This is just the beginning of her descent into trying to find out what Tony—and PJ—were involved in that warranted them being targeted for death. Are either of them who they said they were, and who’s playing whom? Worst yet, is The Stranger after Kim for the money already paid, and where would that leave Murphy? After all is said and done, can she really finish the job for money, or does something else drive her to see the truth?
Thrillers are a terrific genre for seeing how “the other half” lives. Summer homes, staff, country clubs, yachts, black-tie charity events, private jets, and a garage full of sports cars is not something the average person experiences in life. Reading these books, we get to live with our faces pressed against the glass, watching snooty people get anything they want with the literal snap of their fingers. And most of the time in these books, the conflict arises because someone without access wants to live that life. But how far will they go?
I’ve been a huge fan of Krysten Ritter since she nailed the role of Chloe in Don’t Trust the B— In Apt 23, so imagine the way I ran to get my hands on The Retreat. Liz Dawson is a chameleon, transforming herself into whoever she has to be to con her way into a rich lifestyle. When she successfully pretends to be an art dealer with a rare painting, she finds herself immersed in a world of glitz and glamour when she’s tasked to hang the art at a home in a resort-style neighborhood in Mexico—all expenses paid. Once there, she realizes how easy it is to pretend to be Isabelle Beresford, the homeowner. Many haven’t seen her for years while the home was being remodeled, and with Liz’s resemblance to Isabelle, it’s easy to take over her life. After a humble, dismissive upbringing, she slides effortlessly into the role of rich Isabelle, fooling the staff as well as the neighbors. Of course, someone knows the truth, and Liz has to fight between who she was and who she wants to be while evading being caught. She knows the cost of being found out, but that’s part of the intrigue for her—she lives for the con. When bodies start to pile up around her, she wonders how long she’ll have before she’s not only caught, but accused of murder.
I’ve mentioned before that one of the OG thriller writers is powerhouse duo Liv Constantine. The Last Mrs. Parrish continues to be a fave of mine, but the sequel, The Next Mrs. Parrish may supersede its predecessor. Amber Patterson Parrish is back, unwilling to give up the rich lifestyle she ended up having by lying, cheating, stealing, and … well, I won’t give it all away. Narcissists make for some great characters, but a narcissist out for revenge is delicious. Having grown up poor, her life is blown up by her own doing in the first book. Now, she refuses to go back to her roots. When Jackson, the husband she had a hand in jailing, gets released, the cat-and-mouse games begin. But this time, they’re running out of money, which puts her status in jeopardy, and now she’s up to her old antics to keep up with the Joneses even after Jackson tries to divorce her. She soon learns you can only outrun your past for so long when someone who knew her before shows up to rock the boat. The threat of being penniless pushes her to the edge of manipulation and crime and her comeuppance is divine.
Cassidy Foster, an aspiring scriptwriter, is living in a dump—at least according to LA standards. In The Hollywood Assistant, by May Cobb, Cassidy is given the opportunity to help out the Sterlings, mega director Nate and his movie-star wife Marisol. They have the perfect marriage, the perfect home, the perfect careers—everything Cassidy aspires to have. She’s given keys to the house and has full access to their lifestyle. Soon after, Nate is asking for her help reading scripts and giving notes, and she starts to see her dreams turning into reality. However, cracks materialize in the Sterlings’ marriage which Cassidy witnesses, and while she plays her role as dutiful assistant, we start to see how far Cassidy is willing to go to achieve her end game. Is she really who she appears to be, or does she have a skeleton or two of her own in her now-designer closet? When a murder threatens to shake up her new lifestyle, is she willing to tell the truth about the Sterlings, or is the alternative too glamourous to give up?
To me, popcorn thrillers aren’t winning any Pulitzers anytime soon, but that’s why I love them. They’re easy, fun, over-the-top escapism, and a terrific way to see how far the regular Joe would go to attain their goal, whether it’s a job, a home, or a spouse. The fun part about these types of books is it’s usually someone like you or me, just living our lives, trying to get by when we’re faced with a moral dilemma, and it’s always the wealthy dangling the goods. I love watching characters struggle with right and wrong, whether it’s fighting against it or embracing it. No one is who they seem to be, and the past is always side-eyeing from afar. And faced with vast wealth and zero consequences, most characters turn slippery and I’m here to watch them battle good versus evil, even when they compromise themselves for money.
And murder.
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