Archive · 8 Aug 2026
Why 'Getting Away With Murder' Is Shari Lapena's New Page-Turner
A grown-up named Shari Lapena writes mystery stories, and her new book is called 'Getting Away With Murder.'
In the story, a married couple named Jill and Ted live in a big, beautiful house in New York that they love very much.
One day, the husband makes some bad money choices, and the couple are scared they will lose their house.
To keep their house, they decide to do a very bad thing: they hurt a close relative so they can use the relative's money.
Even though nobody catches them, someone starts sending secret messages saying they know what the couple did.
The couple get very scared and begin to worry about their friends and family — and even about each other.
The book is full of surprises and twists, and one of their friends even gets killed.
It is a fast, exciting story about greed and what happens when people make terrible choices.
Bestselling author Shari Lapena's latest thriller, 'Getting Away With Murder,' centers on New York couple Jill and Ted, who murder a close relative to save the brownstone they love.
Ted's bad investments threaten the couple's home, pushing them to plot a cold-blooded 'accident' so an inheritance can pay off their debts.
After seemingly getting away with it, the couple are blackmailed by anonymous messages claiming to have evidence of the crime.
The 352-page, 58-chapter novel follows the couple's unraveling, a friend's killing, and mounting suspicion from a detective.
Following in the tradition of crime narratives by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Edgar Allan Poe and Agatha Christie, Lapena tells the story partly from the criminals' perspective.
- Who
- Jill and Ted, a married couple in New York, are the main characters; the book is by bestselling author Shari Lapena.
- What
- A review of Shari Lapena's thriller 'Getting Away With Murder,' about a couple who murder a relative to save their beloved brownstone and then face blackmail.
- When
- The article does not specify a publication date; the novel is described as Lapena's latest thriller.
- Where
- New York, where the couple's luxurious brownstone is set; the book is published by Bantam.
- Why
- The couple murder a close relative to inherit wealth and pay off debts caused by Ted's bad investments so they can keep the house they love.
Literary Purists
Thriller Fans
Character depth
Literary Purists
Literary purists may scoff at the relative lack of character depth in the book.
Thriller Fans
Most readers will be too busy racing through the pages to mind, since the fast pace is part of the appeal.
Plot plausibility
Literary Purists
Some find too many coincidences in the plot for comfort.
Thriller Fans
Thriller fans enjoy the many twists and turns and frequent shocks to the system.
Portrayal of the wealthy
Literary Purists
Some readers feel Lapena is being too judgemental of the wealthy.
Thriller Fans
Others see the novel as a compelling cautionary tale about greed and the consequences of murder.
- Author
- Shari Lapena
- Title
- Getting Away With Murder
- Publisher
- Bantam
- Pages
- 352
- Chapters
- 58
- Price
- Rs 699
- Setting
- A luxurious brownstone in New York
- Genre
- Domestic noir thriller