Our Favorite "Rich Person Thrillers"
We both love a juicy, twisty thriller or mystery, and shows and books about super-rich people, so thrillers about rich people are some of our favorites. Rebecca and The Talented Mr. Ripley are two of the most famous, but there are so many great current reads. The key to a successful rich person thriller is to have a not-rich foil, who is usually the narrator/bad guy, and an exclusive backdrop, whether that’s an elite school, the fancy clubs of Manhattan or a wealthy Connecticut suburb.
A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell
Made into a movie (that has a slightly different plot, but with the same result) starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, this book is about a widowed mommy blogger, Stephanie, who becomes friends with an ultra-chic fashion PR mom, Emily, from her son’s school in Fairfield County, CT. When Emily asks Stephanie to watch her son after school one day, everything starts to unravel. Emily goes missing, and Stephanie is drawn into the mystery of what happened to her all while struggling with her own secret. The plot twists are unexpected, and also very campy and melodramatic. - D
Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton
Social Creature is a book that I was ready to love. It centers around Louise, who is struggling in New York City, working multiple jobs to make ends meet, and her budding friendship with Lavinia, a younger and super-rich “manic pixie dream girl.” As the friendship gets increasingly intense, and then toxic, things take a shocking turn. I had fun reading this book, but it was almost too similar to The Talented Mr. Ripley in terms of how the plot developed. The author did update the story by changing the genders, settings and adding in the role of technology, but some of the twists were very easy to see coming because of the similarities. - D
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The financially struggling narrator in this classic is Richard Papen, who leaves his small town in California to attend an exclusive liberal arts college in Vermont. When he tries to enroll in classics courses, he realizes that he needs to become part of the small group that their professor has hand-picked. As he gets closer to the group, he realizes there are multiple secrets causing huge amounts of tension, which unravel into a murder. The group then continues to grapple with the aftermath, and things get messier, taking several shocking turns. This is one of the more “literary” reads on this list in terms of the language and density, which won’t surprise anyone who has read Tartt’s other famous book, The Goldfinch. - D
Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart
Opening in Mexico, where the protagonist Jule is on the run from something, this book goes backwards to reveal how she got there, all while manipulating the reader with her version of the truth. She’s been traveling the world with her best friend, Imogen, but where is her friend now and what happened to separate them? Trying to figure out where the truth lies and who is who they claim to be makes it a tension filled read. - D
Tell Me Everything by Cambria Brockman
Malin was quickly swept up in a close knit and exclusive social group at Hawthorne College freshman year, and they only grew closer over the years. As graduation approaches, their group starts to unravel, along with secrets that they’ve been holding onto. At the center of this glamorous and wealthy friend circle, there are truths lurking that could turn deadly when they’re revealed. - E
The Last Mrs. Parrish and The Wife Stalker by Liv Constantine
The Last Mrs. Parrish got a lot of press when it came out and was even a part of Reese’s Book Club, so I had high expectations when I first read it and was a little disappointed. It’s definitely more of a campy, fluffy book, but as long as you know what you’re getting into, it’s a fun read and I enjoyed it more the second time around. Daphne Parrish seems to have the perfect life, and Amber Patterson thinks that Daphne is taking it for granted and wants that life for her own. She schemes her way into their world and will do anything necessary to get her hooks into Daphne’s husband, Jackson. Will she succeed? Should she want to? It’s a dark and soapy read on wealthy suburban perfection. The Wife Stalker by the same author is also a fun and different take on wealthy marriages, obsession and trading up. - E
The Hunting Party and The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Both novels have three classic ingredients for a good story: 1) Wealthy and attractive college friends getting together after years apart. 2) Gorgeous but spooky locations. 3) Secrets, betrayals and murder. Need I say more? - E
The After Party and The Yohnalossee Riding Camp for Girls and The After Party by Anton DiSclafani
These are more suspenseful than thrillerish reads, but Yohnalossee in particular is so gripping that you’ll get caught up in it and stay up way too late reading. Thea has been sent to an exclusive all girls boarding school in North Carolina after a family tragedy at her home in Florida. Cast out of her family, she tried to navigate the wealthy world of school with its distinct rituals, horses, and social layers. Moving back and forth between the past and the present, with all the confusing sensibilities and experiences of being a teenage girl, it’s hard to put down. - E
The Heiresses by Sara Shepard
The Saybrook family runs a diamond empire, and each one of the women is more gorgeous and glamorous than the next. Aster is the glamorous socialite, Corinne the overachieving executive engaged to the scion of another prominent family, Rowan, the successful but single lawyer, and Poppy the perfect oldest cousin, the happily married mother who’s next in line to run the empire. But when one of them plunges to her death, and it looks like others could follow, they’ll have to get the bottom of their families secrets and darker underbelly. Pure silly fun! - E
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