Jeepers I can't believe it took me so long to finally read this one! I enjoyed it! Funny, it takes place not far from my home in one of my favorite neighborhoods so the descriptions had me picturing places in my mind as I read. I think the middle section was paced out well but things seem to escalate super quickly and then the ending was a bit flat for me. It just seemed unrealistic and left things to be desired.

Unfortunately this book did not work for me. It had potential but for some reason I felt like the first 25% was a dragged and I DNFed it.

What a fun, delicious, insomnia-inducing book this is. It had me at the title, call something Santa Monica, and I'm in. But clearly, Cassidy Lucas doesn't have the same positive connotation that I have with the place. Or is very good at exposing the Type A, high strung white woman darkness hiding behind the glorious facades. Mel just moved into this sun-soaked utopia from Brooklyn and also thinks the place is absurd. Her husband, Adam, dived right into his new home, transforming his body, think abs, and mind, think Zen. But Mel wants to hold on to her black clothes, her quirky letterpress business, her snarky ways. But she is surrounded by thin, fit, perfect 40 years olds like Regina. And Regina, well, is lying to her husband, deep into financial troubles that will probably land her in prison.
The story starts when Mel lets Regina plan a workout class in her luscious back garden. The gorgeous, energetic Zack Doherty leads this class.
Now we know from the prologue that this adonis ends up dead.
Zack is a Florida native of Mexican descent who passes as white. His half-sister Lettie is not so lucky; she cleans the houses of these women, trying to stay a few steps ahead of ICE. Zack, who doesn't want to have much to do with her, loves her son. When he causes an accident, he feels so guilty that he tries to find ways to cough up the money his sis needs. Enters Regina and that stupid scheme.
You get the picture, these people are all in each other's lives, and all these lives are on the brink of collapsing. Mel thinks her husband is cheating and gets too close with Zack, Regina is trying not to be discovered, as is Zack, and Lettie's situation is the direst of all.
Santa Monica is told through all their POVs, and especially Lettie is the voice of this book. With a crystal clear vision, she lays bare the privileged and absurdity of these women's lives. Lettie, the illegal, in danger of being thrown out of this paradise by agent Orange, is the heart of Santa Monica.
I could not put this away. These characters are so compelling, especially Mel and Zack, the situations so recognizable, the climate described so current; I love when a book uses a luminous tone and still discloses what is not functioning in the community/society.
The ending is genuinely satisfying, or if you liked Zack a lot, like me, bittersweet. Grab this; you won't regret it.

Nothing in this book was what I expected, which is why I liked it so much. The mystery and the social justice issues kept me hooked and rooting for the main characters.

This timely story of class and race was a little unbelievable at times, but I liked the characters so much, I'm going to let that go. It opens with Lettie, an undocumented worker, finding her half-brother Zack dead on the floor of the gym where he works as a trainer to the rich women in town. And then we get the story of the months preceding this through the eyes of Lettie, Zack, and some of the residents.

There are lots of juicy things going on in this book: romantic (and not so romantic) trysts, family secrets, embezzlement, and the ever-present threat of deportation. There is Mel, the newly rich transplant wanting to befriend her weekly house cleaner, Lettie; there are the usual suspects of Ladies Who Lunch; and incredibly good-looking and fit Zack, whom the women of Santa Monica can't get enough of.

Juicy and a bit twisty with everyone involved in some shenanigans or another, this book has a little something for nearly everyone.

My thanks to Harper Perennial and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tedious is the word that comes to mind with this book. I kept waiting for a story line and couldn’t find one and none of the characters were likable. There is quite a bit of social/economic and political commentary but not enough to care about the book.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Hate to say it but this book did not work for me. I grew up near Santa Monica and I truly never knew anyone like the characters in this book. I guess I just did not like the superficial vapid Southern California stereotyping in the story.

A perfect combination of mystery and murder. The character introduction and plotting has perfect timing. At times the story felt a little stretchy. The flashback portions were interesting! And they increased the excitement very much!
I just felt that a little more clear distinctions between the timeline would have made the story even more enjoyable.

This book starts out with a bang! Zach Doheny is found dead within the first few pages, and then it just takes off from there. Lucas's style is very much like Liane Moriarty, who I absolutely love. There is a twist and turn on every page. This story is set in the beautiful Santa Monica, and the characters are the stereotypical rich white women. However Zach and Lettie are two characters who are in this world but clearly don't fit in. Zach was a gym rat trainer who is trying to become an actor. Lettie is an immigrant, as well as, a maid for the women of the neighborhood just trying to make a living for her son. The narration rotates among a few of the lead characters, and they all have thrilling stories. I devoured this story because it is both unpredictable and twisted.

This book reminds me of Big Little Lies, which I loved. The author uses the same premise of starting with a dead body and working through the story backwards. I enjoyed this one and the locale of Santa Monica was perfect, as I read this as it is starting to get cold, so it was nice to have a reminder of summer and the beach!

This is my firsy Cassidy Lucas book and I loved it!!!!! The high end gossip and problems of the rich will keep you enticed until the last page. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

An insiders view of the lush life in Santa Monica. It’s full of the elite staying separate,and the struggles to stay in that rareified state. The central story is told from both sides of the coin. A mother struggles with immigration worries and a disabled son. Her brother who has anglicized his name to move up in the gym world. Two women who find their circumstances changing at home. Finally money , it’s pull and it’s status all contribute to a shocking end for at least one of these characters and rebirth for another.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This fun and quick read started with a dead body - Zack, a handsome trainer with a sex addiction, is found dead by his sister. How did he die, and who killed him?? Set in LA in the months before his death, the rest of the plot follows Zack, his sister Lettie, and two women who take Zack’s workout classes and hide some pretty dark secrets. Though the death was a mystery, the rest of the book was a sharp and witty look at LA and the secrets people have. Funny and smart. 4 stars.

A true page turner of a debut novel.From the discovery of a. Dead body page by page I was drawn in to this multi layered thriller.A new author to follow a book I highly recommend.#netgalley#santamonica

I was really surprised by this book (in a good way!) as I thought I had it all figured out by the second chapter, but boy was I wrong!

Opening with a dead body is a risky maneuver for even the most skilled writers, but Cassidy Lucas uses this to her advantage and develops a twisting plot that has the reader second-guessing themselves with each turning page. While some characters are more developed than others, the whodunit moves quickly and the reader is constantly aware that the flashbacks all lead to the death of a pivotal character.

This is a great beach read--not too taxing, but definitely entertaining!