Getting Away with Murder by Shari Lapena




Ted and Jill are in trouble. A habit of overspending and some bad investments have put them in a pickle. How can they climb out of this hole and return to the life of luxury to which they’re accustomed? Simple. They’ll commit the perfect crime and reap the benefits. But as the investigators, their friends, and even their cleaning lady get suspicious, they have to decide if they can live with their lies.

Terrible people doing terrible things. While I knew I likely wouldn’t be rooting for the main characters, I was hoping for some redeemable foils. But this read was filled with unlikable people. Even the lead investigator — who we could’ve cheered on — was underdeveloped and abrasive. In fact, only two of the “suspects” were developed really at all.

While eloquently written, Freytag’s Pyramid was more of a flat line. Some events held promise, but ultimately resulted in no changes to the plot. The characters we started with were more or less unchanged in the unsatisfying ending. Mim’s revelation got about a page and was never mentioned again, leaving a plot hole that could’ve been easily filled.

Overall, there was enough hook that I had to finish, but felt more like I was a gawker at a car wreck than a satisfied reader.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for the early read!   

Getting Away with Murder: ★★1/2

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