Couple’s quest to preserve lavish lifestyle comes with harrowing consequences

If you’re looking for the perfect summer thriller brimming with rich people behaving badly, an inheritance worth killing for and a stormy night at sea, look no further than Shari Lapena’s latest release, Getting Away With Murder.

The internationally bestselling author of The Couple Next Door, She Didn’t See it Coming and others has mastered the craft of delivering an addictive read, and her 10th book is no exception.

In it we meet Jill and Ted Westcott, who are terrific at being wealthy; whether it’s buying art or planning luxury vacations, they have mastered the craft of living a lavish lifestyle. No expense is spared on their beloved prized jewel — a New York brownstone. Every inch is tastefully redesigned and renovated to reflect their refined taste. Together, they’ve created perfection and the kind of happiness only money can buy.

“They dote on their home the way others dote on their children, with great pride,” Lapena writes. “They love to show it off, the way others show off their progeny. They can talk endlessly about the house, the way others talk endlessly about their kids.”

Yet when Jill and Ted’s wealth dwindles faster than they realize, coupled with a few reckless investments made by Ted, they’re confronted with a choice: either risk losing their lifestyle and lavish home, or resort to a deed that tests the limits of how far they will go to protect the life they’ve built.

As the sole heir to his older brother’s $45-million fortune, Ted is the first to contemplate murder to inherit the wealth.

“Ted lies awake, staring at the ceiling. How he hates his brother. His taunting, his superiority, his blatant success. He could kill him. The idea of it almost takes his breath away,” Lapena writes.

Soon he hatches a plan. An afternoon at sea on his brother’s pretentiously named sailboat, the Fortune Seeker, some rough seas, a few glasses of champagne and a conveniently absent life vest should do the trick. But first, he needs to convince Jill to become his accomplice.

Her love for their house and a desperation to keep it has her primed toward the unthinkable. Together, they plot the perfect murder.

Yet soon after the deed is done, they realize that getting away with murder is not as easy as they once believed. Anonymous blackmailers, pesky investigators and hidden cameras abound, and the couple learns that they can trust no one — not even each other.

In the twisty, spellbinding cat-and-mouse game that follows, the nerve-wracking tension becomes more taut on each page, making it impossible to look away. Wickedly sharp, tense and filled with many gasp-worthy moments, clear your schedule and hang on for a wild ride. Once you start reading Getting Away With Murder, you won’t want to put it down until you reach the last page.

A sharp-eyed reader with a passion for mind-bending thrillers, Rochelle Squires is always chasing the next twist she never saw coming.

Shari Lapena will launch Getting Away With Murder on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m at McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location.