Getting Away with Murder by Shari Lapena
Getting Away with Murder
A Novel — 10th Thriller by Shari Lapena
by Shari Lapena
| Genre: | Psychological Thriller / Whydunit |
| Published: | July 28, 2026 |
| Publisher: | Viking Penguin / Pamela Dorman |
| Setting: | New York City |
| GR Rating: | ⭐ 4.5/5 Stars (Early Reviews) |
| My Rating: | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 |
5 out of 5 — The Must-Read Psychological Thriller of 2026!
What would you do to keep your dream home — your sanctuary, your status symbol, the thing that defines everything you are? For Jill and Ted, the answer is shockingly simple. Getting Away with Murder by Shari Lapena is the most wickedly addictive and deviously twisty thriller of 2026 — and it is absolutely impossible to put down.
The tenth thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door, Getting Away with Murder arrives on July 28, 2026 — already praised by the biggest names in thriller fiction. Freida McFadden calls it a deviously delicious thriller that kept her turning pages from the intense opening to the shocking conclusion — and she is absolutely right.
“An utterly original and gripping morality play about greed and corruption in the modern age. Reader: you’ve just found your must-read thriller of 2026.” — Nita Prose, #1 NYT Bestselling Author
About the Author — Shari Lapena
Shari Lapena is the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling queen of page-turners and author of Everyone Here is Lying and The Couple Next Door. She has sold millions of copies worldwide and is consistently praised as one of the finest psychological thriller writers working today.
Lisa Jewell — #1 New York Times bestselling author — says Shari Lapena is far and away one of the best psychological thriller writers in the world and that she is intensely bingeable. Getting Away with Murder is her tenth thriller — and early readers are already calling it her best yet.
Book Summary — What is Getting Away with Murder About?
Jill and Ted adore their New York brownstone the way others adore their children. They have carefully, expensively, made every inch of it their own. It reflects who they are, their status and tastes. With the grand mahogany staircase and state-of-the-art kitchen, it is the stuff of glossy magazines and real-estate dreams. It is their sanctuary.
So when Ted’s inheritance runs out and he makes a bad investment, they panic. How can they protect their beloved home and enviable lifestyle? The answer is obvious. Or at least, it is obvious to Jill and Ted.
The death of one wealthy family member could solve all their problems. Together, they will get away with murder. As long as nobody suspects them — and as long as their carefully constructed plan does not begin to unravel. But in Shari Lapena’s world, plans always unravel. And the consequences are always devastating.
This is not just a thriller about murder — it is a razor-sharp examination of greed, status, and the dangerous lengths people will go to preserve the life they feel they deserve. Think Macbeth reborn in a New York brownstone — dark, compulsive, and completely brilliant.
The Macbeth Connection
Lapena contemporizes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, and the results are as page-turning as they are revealing — according to Nita Prose. Jill and Ted’s dynamic mirrors Shakespeare’s most famous murderous couple — ambition, manipulation, and the slow unraveling of a conscience — updated perfectly for the modern age of real estate obsession and social media status.
Main Characters
Jill
The Lady Macbeth of the story — the driving force behind the plan, obsessed with the brownstone and the lifestyle it represents. Jill is one of Lapena’s most compelling and chilling creations — a woman whose love for her home has eclipsed her love for everything else, including her own conscience. She loves her husband. But she might love their house more.
Ted
The Macbeth of the pair — talented at convincing himself that what he is doing is justified, and spectacularly bad at dealing with the consequences. Ted’s financial failure and his desperate need to maintain appearances makes him the perfect partner in crime — and the perfect source of the novel’s mounting tension as their plan begins to crack.
What Top Authors Are Saying
“Lapena’s books are addictive!”
— Freida McFadden, #1 NYT Bestselling Author
“Shari Lapena is far and away one of the best psychological thriller writers in the world. She is intensely bingeable.”
— Lisa Jewell, #1 NYT Bestselling Author
“Wickedly fun, glamorous and chilling. Shari Lapena flips the script masterfully yet retains her trademark twists and killer ending.”
— Chris Whitaker, NYT Bestselling Author
“My favorite Lapena book yet!”
— Mary Kubica, NYT Bestselling Author
5 Reasons Getting Away with Murder is a Must Read
1. The Most Original Premise of 2026
A couple who commit murder to save their dream home — it sounds outrageous, but Lapena makes it feel horrifyingly plausible. The idea that a house could be worth more to someone than a human life is both darkly funny and deeply chilling. This is exactly the kind of premise that makes Lapena one of the most exciting thriller writers alive.
2. Short Chapters — Impossible to Stop Reading
Getting Away with Murder is fast, wild, and so impossible to put down that readers basically blinked and finished it. The story jumps right in and never lets up — short chapters, constant tension, and plenty of those oh no they did not moments. This is the definition of a one-sitting thriller.
3. Characters You Love to Hate
The characters are pure chaos in human form. Every single one is the perfect blend of shady, annoying, guilty-looking, or downright suspicious. Truly, a whole cast of people you cannot stand but please keep talking. Lapena’s ability to create deeply unlikeable characters you cannot stop watching is one of her greatest gifts.
4. A Modern Macbeth — Dark and Brilliant
Getting Away with Murder is one of those brilliantly gripping thrillers you just cannot stop reading. Unfolding in layers it builds to form a compelling and claustrophobic moral dilemma. The Macbeth parallels give the novel a literary depth that elevates it far above a standard thriller.
5. The Trademark Lapena Twist Ending
Getting Away with Murder is a bold, twisty read that flies by at breakneck speed. Buckle up for a wild ride because you will not get these characters — or their actions — out of your mind anytime soon. The ending is exactly the kind of shocking, brilliant finale that Lapena fans have come to expect and love.
What I Loved & What Could Be Better
What I Loved
- Completely original premise
- Short chapters — one sitting read
- Jill and Ted — brilliantly awful
- Modern Macbeth parallels
- Shocking twist ending
- Praised by 8+ top authors
Minor Issues
- First 30% is slow build
- No truly likeable characters
- Some readers want more twists
Who Should Read Getting Away with Murder?
- Fans of Shari Lapena’s previous thrillers
- Readers who love Freida McFadden and Lisa Jewell
- Anyone who enjoys dark, twisty psychological thrillers
- Fans of morally complex villains as protagonists
- Readers who loved The Couple Next Door
- Anyone looking for the best thriller of July 2026
My Final Rating
5 out of 5 — Wickedly addictive, brilliantly twisty and completely impossible to put down. Shari Lapena’s best yet!
Final Verdict — Is Getting Away with Murder Worth Reading?
Without any doubt — yes. Getting Away with Murder is Shari Lapena at her absolute best — darker, bolder, and more original than anything she has written before. The premise is devilishly clever, the characters are magnificently awful, and the pacing is relentless from the very first page to the shocking final twist.
Jill and Ted are two of the most compelling villains in recent thriller fiction — people whose greed and self-delusion feel horrifyingly real in the age of social media status and real estate obsession. Watching their plan unravel is both deeply satisfying and deeply unsettling — exactly the combination that makes Lapena one of the most addictive thriller writers alive.
If you have never read Shari Lapena before, Getting Away with Murder is the perfect place to start. And if you are already a fan — buckle up, because this is her best book yet. Pre-order your copy today!
Ready to Read Getting Away with Murder?
Get your copy of the must-read thriller of 2026 — available July 28, 2026 on Amazon.
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Available July 28, 2026 — Pre-order Now!
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