Book Review: Getting Away with Murder by Shari Lapena

 

Ted and Jill Westcott bought a Brooklyn Heights brownstone, which they then remodeled and decorated without a second thought to just how much they were spending. Then, Ted—who is overconfident at best—makes a bad investment, not only losing a big chunk of what remained of the Westcott's money but losing some other people's as well. Ted, scared to tell Jill what he'd done, decides to borrow money from a loan shark, but when the reality of the couple's disastrous financial situation becomes too much for him to hide, he begins grasping at any solution he can find.

Greg Westcott is Ted's only sibling. Unfortunately for Ted, Greg has a much better understanding of investments and has grown the large inheritance both he and his brother got after the death of their parents into a forty-five-million-dollar empire. When Ted is unable to pay back the loan shark, he's forced to come clean with Jill. They'll have to put a mortgage on their beloved brownstone if they hope to pay back their debt and have money on which to live. Jill is livid and refuses to do so. As much as both of them hate it, they realize their only other option is to ask Greg for a loan.

Greg is unmarried and has no children. He's haughty, self-important and likes to brag. During one of their conversations, Greg lets his younger brother know that he is Greg's heir. When Greg denies Ted and Jill a loan, the two of them come up with a foolproof plan to kill Greg and inherit the man's millions. Problem is that nothing is foolproof.

It isn't just Greg who pays for Ted and Jill's greediness. Their plan casts a wide net that traps many people, and Lapena delivers a nice little twist at the end. This book is devious, well researched and definitely worth a reader's time.

I gave this book five stars. It more than held my interest, and I enjoyed Lapena's writing style.