Eliza Jane Brazier

"For fans of Parasite and Ready or Not--a destitute woman pretends to be someone else and moves into the lower floor of a Los Angeles duplex, and inadvertently becomes a target in the twisted game of the wealthy family upstairs. All out of money and friends couches to sleep on, Demi is desperate. Lucky for her, a stranger presents her with the chance of a lifetime: a new identity and the downstairs apartment in a secluded Beachwood Canyon duplex. Unlucky for her, the couple upstairs is wealthy, bored, and in need of a new play thing. What starts as another round of the game the couple play where they move a 'self-made' person into the apartment and compete to make them lose everything, quickly devolves into chaos. Because Demi isn't clueless and she's spent her whole life just trying to survive. We all know this game can only end in one way...winner takes all"--

Good Rich People

Liyah 🤎

Super interesting premise that didn't pan out in the most enjoyable way. It seems like the author wrote themselves into a corner that limited satisfying endings. I really enjoyed Demi's perspective but I thought Lyla's was a bit contrived often. It was a book where no character was worth rooting for which was interesting but I felt like that means Lyla's character could've been more fascinating then she was. I listened to this as an audiobook and honestly if not for the ease of reading b/c I was just listening and the stellar performance of the actors doing the reading I probably wouldn't have finished it if I'd read it in print.

docking half a point for how frustratingly stupid some of the main characters were

Megan Christensen

Sarah Pino

After finishing this book I immediately did not know how to feel about it all. Initially I was intrigued by all the characters, but I found the way the book was written hard to follow. It seemed to jump back and forth in time and perspectives and ultimately left me unsettled. I was really enjoying the book, but the ending left so much to be desired. I think a lot of the content was for shock value, which is fine with me, but didn’t hold any actual substance. Overall, not at the top of my recommendation list and not what I want from a thriller, but was exciting to read once I got my bearings. 

A destitute woman deceives her way into the guesthouse of a Hollywood Hills mansion and inadvertently becomes a target in the twisted game of the wealthy family upstairs in the next intoxicating novel from Eliza Jane Brazier. Lyla has always believed that life is a game she is destined to win, but her husband, Graham, takes the game to dangerous levels. The wealthy couple invites self-made success stories to live in their guesthouse and then conspires to ruin their lives. After all, there is nothing worse than a bootstrapper. Demi has always felt like the odds were stacked against her. At the end of her rope, she seizes a risky opportunity to take over another person’s life and unwittingly becomes the subject of the upstairs couple’s wicked entertainment. But Demi has been struggling all her life, and she’s not about to go down without a fight. In a twist that neither woman sees coming, the game quickly devolves into chaos and rockets toward an explosive conclusion. Because every good rich person knows: in money and in life, it’s winner take all. Even if you have to leave a few bodies behind.

Cheri McElroy

The plot is about the ultra-wealthy with too much time on their hands. Boredom, infinite resources and no moral compass make for a bad combination. So they play games with other people they rent an apartment to.

Until a tenant comes along who has the wits to match theirs. Game on.

This was almost farcical and ridiculous but makes the point well about poverty, hopelessness, and a lack of compassion and where it leads. A fun literary thriller.

Zoe Smolen

This was a pretty standard thriller. The way the stories were woven together was interesting, but did make the timing of the sections a little hard to follow. 

I also wanted a bigger twist. What happened was fine, but I really wanted more reveals and twists than we ultimately ended up having.

Thanks to the publishers for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lacey Feigl

Lyla has always valued money over everything. Money over kindness, love or happiness and she had just that with her husband Graham and his controlling mother. All the money in the world but absolutely no say in how she lives her life. When Graham tells Lyla she is to partake in his mother and his game to prove her worthiness, Lyla doesn’t have a choice. While she loves her husband she loves his money even more and will do what must be done.. destroy the life of their current house guest Demi.

Good Rich People is 319 pages long and took me two days to read.

THIS BOOK IS WILD! I enjoyed it so much and am giving it a 4 out of 5! I absolutely hated every character but it made it that much more enjoyable! One thing is for certain.. they are absolutely not “good” rich people!

Thank you, Berkley, for sending me this copy!

Here’s to the adventure of finding a novel novel!

Lacey

Kourtney

What in the world did I just read? But in a good way?

As many know, I love to read my rom-com’s, but every now and then I like to go into a psychological thriller. Verity by Colleen Hoover? Chilled me to the core and I couldn’t put it down. The Ghostwriter by AR Torre? Same. Now I can add Good Rich People to that list.

If you ask me why I liked it, I can’t quite tell you. I know I couldn’t put it down - and when I had to, it was always in the back of my mind. What would happen next? How would it all end? I didn’t like any of the characters, but that was the point.

In this story we meet Graham and Lyla - a wealthy couple who are bored with life. They rent out their guesthouse to people who have climbed the ladder to reach their success just so they can tear them down. And I’m talking seriously down - homeless, jobless, hooked on something they weren’t before. Just for funsies.

Until they meet their newest tenant, Demi. Demi has many secrets she’s hiding and changes the game from the way it is usually played.

The chapters are small, and the POV alternates every few chapters between Lyla and Demi. Sometimes they do not line up sequentially - for example, Lyla will experience something and then in 2 chapters we go back before the event and see Demi’s POV. It wasn’t confusing though - this worked very well.

If you are into suspense, psychological thrillers and just an overall creepy “what did I just read” feeling, then give this one a try!

TW: a dog is killed in the book. It is talked about in an after-the-fact fashion. I still cringed but I didn’t cry (yes I’m that girl who cries when animals are messed with).

Good Rich People

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