A new Shari Lapena book!
You all already know she is royalty in my eyes, my all-time favorite. It was the uniquely addictive hit of a Shari Lapena book that I was desperately seeking when, as a side quest along the way, I discovered Sally Hepworth, who’s since become my other favorite. I’d already read everything by Shari Lapena (starting with The Couple Next Door back in 2020 lockdown season when my firstborn was a baby, and I’ve been addicted to her novels ever since), but wasn’t aware that she had a new book out — so imagine my thrill when, while standing at the library checkout counter, I casually glanced over at the New Arrivals shelf and saw THIS:
This find made my whole day, nay, my whole week! Month! Spectacular! What a joy. Shari Lapena is a hero. A blessing upon the human race. A gift from God to all female readers of crime fiction. I am so in awe of her skills. If I could borrow just a single shred of her talent, just a tiny sliver, I think I could die proud of myself.
She simply doesn’t miss. (Actually, there was one single move she made in the ending one of her books that I didn’t love, which left me feeling unsatisfied — but, in light of an otherwise great book and nine other flawless novels, I can forgive that.) And the same is true of her latest, Getting Away with Murder.
While just as good as all her others (if not better!) (I say that every time though!), this one did feel a little bit different. And I love that! It’s nice to see her versatility as a storyteller. The murder in this story isn’t like any of the others she’s written. It’s a perfect crime. There are no witnesses, no body, no evidence. The whole question that drives the plot is not “who did it?” but rather, “will they get away with it?”
It’s incredibly tense. What’s most amazing to me about this book is how you, the reader, simultaneously loathe Ted and Jill, but also kind of can’t help feeling for them: being scared when they are scared, and relieved when they are relieved?!? Sick work, Ms. Lapena! Ted and Jill are despicable humans, just the worst kind of people. I both love and hate the ending, a perfectly-executed ending.
Naturally, I was less conflicted to find myself siding with Ramirez and with Nadya, the two most sympathetic individuals in the book. These are my people. They live in my world. They speak the truth. I actually would love to see SL do a thing she’s never done before, and bring Ramirez back for another book. He’s such a cool dude, and I so feel his pain — I want to see him win one, now! She probably won’t do this, though, as all of her books are unconnected standalones, which in this age of “everything needs a sequel” I actually deeply appreciate.
And even though Ted is horrible, you also kind of can’t help but cheer for his development as a character, right?! He goes from snivelly weak little worm-guy to bold and shameless criminal. Not exactly growth, but also, kind of…?! Go hard or go home, right? Turns out Jill was the real loser out of the two of them. I never liked her even a little. Any adult human who “hates children” is a huge red flag. On that note, I was glad Lara got a happyish ending, even though I guess she really wasn’t much better than Jill, was she?
Have you guys read this one yet? What did you think? Do you love her stuff as much as I do?! Let me know in the comments. I’ll just be over here waiting like a dog at her dinner table for the next tasty morsel to drop. Hopefully it won’t be long.