F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said, “Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me.” His most well-regarded book, The Great Gatsby, went on to prove it. Published almost a hundred years ago, it’s hard to believe that the inequality he wrote about has gotten even worse.

And so have the people.

Author Eliza Jane Brazier, in her sophomore offering, doesn’t seem to think too highly of rich people; her title Good Rich People is sarcastic. Her rich married couple, Graham and Lyla, aren’t the carelessly indifferent type à la Tom and Daisy Buchanan; they actively seek to harm other people. In their contemporary home overlooking Los Angeles, on the grounds of Graham’s mother Margo’s extensive estate (which includes a nine-level garden based on Dante’s circles of hell), they invite tenants to live in their guest house, and then play a game to ruin their lives. When we first meet Lyla, she’s overseeing the handyman cleaning the blood out of their decorative fountain. The blood came from the previous tenant. Lyla is trapped in a sexless marriage; she loves Graham, who is a sociopathic, manipulative pretty boy completely in cahoots with his evil mother. Neither Graham nor Margo think Lyla really belongs in their family. They want her to destroy the life of their new tenant, Demi, to prove that she does. And Lyla says okay.

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2 1/2 stars rounded up to 3

OK, I think this must just really not be the book for me because it seems like lots of people LOVED it and I did not. And it's not because all of the characters were insufferable... I don't necessarily have to like the characters in a book to love the book. I couldn't figure out if it was intended to be satire or not... If it was, I don't think it was done well enough or dug deep enough. And if it wasn't, there were just too many ridiculous things being said and done for it to be believable or enjoyable for me.

The book begins with us learning about the game Layla's ultra rich husband Graham and his mother Margo have sucked Layla into. They basically allow tenants to rent the guesthouse on their property and then play with their lives to ruin them. They're so wealthy that basically everything and everyone in life bores them and unless they're majorly causing destruction, they don't care about anything. Layla isn't totally into this mindset, but cares so much about money, she goes along with it. When the new tenant Demi moves in, Margo decides it's Layla's turn to lead the game. But Demi isn't quite who she says she is.

So many passages has me rolling my eyes and I just found myself having a tough time really getting into the book. I do understand how people enjoyed it and do think it's a unique story in some ways; just not the story for me. I'm not a big thriller reader to begin with and I suppose if I am, I like them to be a bit more realistic.

I didn't love the writing style of this book. It's a me problem, not the book's problem. The short, choppy sentences kept me really outside of the story and I just couldn't get into it.

"I put up with him for the reason everybody did. Because beauty and money are God, and Graham is more beautiful, and has more money, than anyone I've ever known."

So goes the story of Lyla — who is forced to join her rich, beautiful and bored husband's games in order to prove to him and his mother that she's one of them. Details around "the game" are hazy at best, but you patch together that it has something to do with messing with the mind of the new downstairs tenant, a go-getter who wants to belong in their world but never can. Told in the alternating viewpoints of Lyla and the downstairs tenant "Demi," you enter both a world where money means nothing and everything.

What I Liked: The timeline of the POV switches really threw me off balance, but I think it adds a lot to the mystery and suspense of the story and really made the twists extra surprising. I also enjoyed both Lyla and Demi's viewpoints on the family's wealth. There's one point where Lyla talks about how awful it feels to wait in line and really shows how much money has shielded her from the world. But we also see the dark side of wealth, which is important.

What I Didn't Like: The plot is really slow in places and can feel repetitive. Eliza Jane Brazier's writing is very atmospheric, which some people may really love but will be boring for others. It was also a really dark book and both characters could be really frustrating, which really hurt my personal enjoyment. Finally, I had a hard time connecting to Lyla's motives for her actions. Maybe it's the wealth gap. 🤷‍♀️

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't have a lot to say about this book as I couldn't be bothered to finish it. I don't like giving less than three star reviews (it makes me feel mean) but I found the writing to be pretty bland and I just couldn't get engaged. It's an interesting premise, but the characters weren't, maybe because they didn't feel well-developed, so it did rock my world.

I was so excited to read Good Rich People. I loved Eliza Jane Brazier's debut, If I Disappeared, a moody, tense thriller, but I was disappointed in Good Rich People. The characters — particularly Lyla — felt flat to me. I couldn't tell if the depiction of the uber rich was intended to be satire or serious. It left me wanting more.

That said, I'll still pick up Brazier's third book and hope it's more like If I Disappeared.

This was kind of bizarre. I made it 50 pages but really didn't like the main character & the way she just took whatever her husband and MIL doled out. Will I go back to this? Maybe?? I didn't really care one way or another BUT lots of friends liked this so maybe it's me.

This book is the perfect way to spend a cold, snowy and/or rainy day. This book reads like a Lifetime Movie and I don’t mean that in a bad way at all. It has unlikable characters, unreliable narrator, out of touch and one dimensional rich people. I would have liked a point of view from Graham. My man had some serious mommy issues. 🥴

BOOK REVIEW

BOOK: Good Rich People
AUTHOR: Eliza Jane Brazier
FORMAT: eBook
GENRE: Thriller
RATING: 7/10
3.5 stars

Thank you so much @berkleypub and @netgalley for the #gifted advanced copy of GOOD RICH PEOPLE, out now!

MY THOUGHTS

What a weird book!!! I went into this one not really sure what to expect after seeing some very mixed reviews (especially @jordys.book.club ‘s review), and I finished it with a head full of mixed emotions. My two thoughts immediately upon finishing were “WTF did I just read” and “Wow that was wildly entertaining.”

I loved how ridiculous this book was. I almost felt like each of the characters was a caricature of someone else, playing strongly into the satirical vibes I got throughout the book. The plot was pretty unique and I was eager to keep reading and see what was going to happen. The characters themselves were hysterical and I found myself laughing out loud at them a lot of the time (i.e., Margo and Bean). There were also little plot twists that were snuck in there that made the ending enjoyable.

I’m not entirely convinced that this book was intended to be satire? I wish that was clearer. I found it hysterical and ridiculous and but I’m not sure that was intentional. I also didn’t love how the alternating POVs occurred in parallel timelines. I found myself confused for a lot of the book and had a hard time piecing together what was happening and when. I also, despite liking the very ending, wish we got more of an explosion at the end. There was so much build up and suspense and I kind of felt like it plateaued. I definitely could have used an epilogue with some closure on what was going to happen to the characters afterwards.

Even though the book was a pretty quick and easy read, the plot didn't engage me as much as I hoped it would. I think the dual POV didn't really add much to the narrative since it was a complete replay of all the events from the first POV adding in some new details but those details didn't push the plot further really. I really wanted to enjoy the characters but I found them a bit flat and they just didn't live up to the potential craziness of playing this "game" that was hinted at for the whole book. I think had we gotten the perspective from the mother, it would have brought in a more interesting and crazy character that would have been exciting to follow. I really appreciated the potential that this book had in the plot but I think the execution (no pun intended) didn't pan out as well as I hoped it would. I would definitely read more by this author because I found her writing style to be quick and easy to read, which I always appreciate in a mystery/thriller.

My gosh, this book was so twisted and unexpected. Perfectly paced, GOOD RICH PEOPLE had me flipping the pages as fast as I could. All that glitters definitely isn't gold in this one. Original, bold, and breath-taking.

Good Rich People
By Eliza Jane Brazier

Good Rich People is a wild ride of a read, and I loved every bit of it. It is crazy, completely mental and hilarious in a wickedly disturbing way.

There is Lyla, and her husband Graham, and mother in law Margot who loves to play deadly games of people’s lives, and bringing them to a devastating and deadly ruin. This is their hobby and what keeps them from getting too bored with their very wealthy existence. Beneath their Hollywood Hills mansion is a guest house they rent out, and they painstakingly choose their tenant to play these deadly games with. But unbeknownst to them, their tenant Demi is not what they thought she would be. Let the games begin!

This is a fantastic and addictive read I could not turn the pages fast enough.

Highly Recommend!!

This is perfect fodder for a Hollywood movie. I'm sure it will be made into one. I just did not like it. I could not follow the timelines.

This was sort of uncomfortably awful and yet I mostly liked it anyway.

Brazier gives us a near-satirical farce about the poor, bored rich people who have to resort to something akin to the psychological torture of others just to get their rocks off. After all, when everything is right at your fingertips, it’s all just so very…boring? Sure, why not.

This book probably needed a touch more absurdity and humor to make clear that it’s farcical and to keep the reader from just being disgusted. But mostly the story makes its point with wry, wink-nudge humor. Lyla’s character probably needed to be either more likable or more hateful, which would likely have kept her from mostly being obnoxious. She’s not an endearing protagonist, but she’s also no fun to hate, which is awkward territory for a fictional character.

But the plot on the whole is fun, and the touches of subtle absurdity in the details are the best part of the book (Allllll the Moët. Hilarious).

Fair warning: There is a dog murder in this book. It’s graphic and comes up pretty frequently in the story after it happens. I’m not sure why I wasn’t more put off by this (usually when there’s a pet murder I will abandon the book entirely). I suspect that the ridiculousness of the entire story and light tone allowed me to take it about as seriously as you can take anything else in this book, and maybe you’ll feel the same. Regardless, I always feel compelled to warn readers about animal cruelty in books, as I’m always grateful when someone warns me.

Graham and his mother, Margo, enjoy playing a sick game where they invite people to live in their guesthouse, then toy with them and ultimately ruin their lives. Lyla, Graham's wife, plays along by sitting back and watching the game happen time and time again. Demi is the newest target for the twisted family. What they don't realize is that Demi is a fierce survivor and the game may now be changing...

Good Rich People is a binge-worthy psychological thriller that you won't want to put down. This one is disturbing, yet contains pops of dark humor. The story is told through the alternating views of Lyla and Demi, and the chapters are nice and short. As the story unfolds, you are introduced to quite the cast of unlikable characters. Good Rich People was different from other thrillers I've read and I really appreciated the originality!

The premise of this book is so ridiculous. All this book was rich people who are bored and mess with less fortunate people and then they play games with themselves. I only kept reading because it was short enough.

Graham and Lyla believe life is a game, but how far will Lyla go to win?

Good Rich People had so much potential to be great, but that wasn't the case. I was hoping to go into a crazy game of survival. This book took a different turn instead.

I really enjoyed reading from Demi's perspective. Her side of the story was very interesting. I also enjoyed the setup of the book. I felt like we were about to go on one hell of a ride.

Unfortunately I really could not stand the rich people in this story. I feel like that was the authors intention but they were so insufferable that I found my self hating everything they did or said. At one point we are supposed to feel sorry for Lyla but after everything that happened I could not. The ending was also so lack luster. The idea of the game was so unique but it was over way to quickly. It felt like the ending was rushed and unfinished. What even happened to Demi?

Overall this book just left me wanting more. I want more of the game. More of an ending. This book could have been amazing but fell flat for me.
2/5 Stars

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

Good Rich People is a psychological thriller about a very rich family and the diabolical games they play with those less fortunate. If you enjoy unlikeable characters, this one might be right up your alley since none of the characters are even remotely likeable. Told from multiple viewpoints, with some decent twists, Good Rich People is a wild ride that I found entertaining, despite being unbelievable at times.

"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."

I'm still processing my thoughts on this one, but this was, for the most part, an entertaining read. It reminded me of Gatsby meets Clue, with characters who have more money than they know what to do with. Bored with their lives, they move people into their guesthouse and conspire to ruin their lives. The more they ruin their lives, the more entertaining it is for them. Most of the people in this book are awful, but I was still surprised at the lengths they were willing to go to. There were lots of twists and turns in this cat and mouse game. Thank you @berkleypub for my finished copy!

Lyla and graham are a married uber rich couple who have nothing in common besides both being rich and awful. Graham is constantly bored and to keep himself occupied he plays “the game” with his tenants. I wish there was something that could have fended off my boredom during this book. Every two pages there’s a mention of Moet which became literary paper cuts for my eyes. Would love to know if this is really just one long ad!

I thought this was supposed to be bonkers but nothing happens for 100 pages. Changing between Lyla and Demi’s (the tenant) point of view, the story chugs on while each person becomes more and more terrible. I usually love alternating pov’s but the structure of retelling the last 30 pages from the other character’s pov slogged this down for me a lot. I also love awful people but there was no rhyme or reason besides they’re rich and it just wasn’t fun for me. It just didn’t work for me and I mostly couldn’t wait for it to be over.