Why is it that we like to watch or read about members of high society acting badly? Shows like White Lotus or Succession are so compelling, even if everyone in them is pretty horrible.
Maybe it’s the satisfaction that these people who have everything—money and privilege—are still not happy with their lives. They want more.
Or maybe we just want to see the luxury and extravagance of high society. It also may be compelling because the drama can be so delicious, especially when you have lots of wealth at stake.
Mystery writers have been writing about the misdeeds of the rich and famous for decades.
Sometimes the mysteries are intended as satire, making fun of these spoiled people, while also exposing the folly of these supposed members of high society. Some are just fun mysteries/thrillers with wealthy people acting badly.
Here are seven mysteries that explore murder and mayhem in high society.
Well Bred and Dead
Socialite Pauline Cook is widowed and broke after becoming accustomed to upper-class life in Chicago. But things get infinitely worse when she stumbles on the corpse of her friend Ethan Campbell, a writer who focused on Chicago’s high society.
He doesn’t appear to have any family, so Pauline feels responsible for tying up his loose ends. But she starts getting suspicious about his alleged suicide.
Other evidence suggests that he may not have been the man she thought she knew. Now she’s got to get to the bottom of Ethan’s mysterious death, without dying or bankrupting herself any further.
A Death of No Importance
Set in the 1900s, Jane Prescott is a ladies’ maid. She works for the nouveau riche Benchley family, who are desperate to be accepted by New York high society.
Jane may not be wealthy herself, but she’s worked long enough in service that she knows how high society works. The Benchleys are flailing. It doesn’t help that their daughter, Charlotte Benchley, has announced that she’s engaged to the son of an old-wealth family.
But when the playboy turns up dead, Jane finds herself having to use her knowledge of the rich and richer to find out who killed the wealthy heir.
Big Fat F@!k-up
While some of the books on this list are quite serious and dark, the three-book Jimmy Cooper mystery series set in Los Angeles is a hoot. And what is more high society than Los Angeles with Beverly Hills and Hollywood?
Jimmy Cooper is the poster child for a messed-up former child star. Jimmy’s been given a chance in his mom’s law firm as the in-house detective, but he unexpectedly finds himself in the spotlight.
He takes a case from a young heiress who thinks her uncle is going to get her murdered for her inheritance. But it’s not the client who ends up dead, it’s the uncle. Everyone thinks she’s the culprit.
Although most think it’s a clear-cut case of avunculicide, and Jimmy is just messing things up once again, can he get through the case without succumbing to bad habits and find the truth?
Murder on Lake Garda
It’s going to be the wedding of the season. Italian Influencer Eva Bianchi is due to marry Laurence Heywood, a wealthy financier, at Castello Fiore, a private island in the middle of Lake Garda in Italy.
Robyn, the plus one of the groom's brother, feels very out of sorts. It doesn’t help that the family isn't welcoming her as one of their own. She’s blamed for “taking” her boyfriend away from the family business of making money.
But when it’s time for the wedding to begin, a scream rings out, and a body is found. Now Robyn has to use her skills as a former journalist to figure out what happened and, hopefully, prevent anyone else from meeting an untimely end.
A Killer Wedding
This could be the break that Christine is hoping for. Billionaire Gloria Beaufort has hired her to cover the wedding of Gloria’s grandson in a castle in Ireland for the premier fashion magazine.
Despite the beautifully romantic setting where no expense was spared, something dark lies beneath the happy festivities. It all comes to a head when Gloria is found dead at the beginning of the weekend, and the family wants to continue with the wedding anyway.
They tell Christine to keep her mouth shut and just cover the wedding like she was hired to do. Christine realizes that there may be more to the matriarch’s death than an unfortunate accident.
So while she photographs the wedding, she’s gathering clues from the family members, all of whom had issues with Gloria. Maybe this is the story that will define Christine’s career—or end it forever.
You're Invited
Amaya was definitely not expecting an invite to her ex-best friend’s luxurious wedding in Sri Lanka. Especially when her former BFF Kaavi is marrying Amaya’s ex-boyfriend.
Most people would just politely decline, but Amaya is definitely going…to stop the wedding. No matter what. But when Amaya shows up, no one, including the future bride, understands why she’s there.
Amaya’s got a reputation, so when Kaavi disappears just before the wedding, leaving only blood stains behind, everyone thinks that Amaya is behind it.
Did Amaya seek revenge against her former best friend who ruined her life? Or is someone else out for the bride? It’s quite the thriller with many unexpected and horrifying twists and turns.
The Other Half
Detective Caius Beauchamp was out for a run on London’s Hampstead Heath when he came across a body of a woman, wearing a single stiletto. He soon learns it’s the body of the socialite named Clemmie.
Suspicion falls on her boyfriend Rupert, who was busy throwing himself a drug-filled birthday party in a McDonald’s, and claimed he didn’t even notice she wasn’t there. Not known for his sensitivity or empathy, he’s suspected of her untimely death.
After all, the couple had some pretty amazing rows. Caius finds himself looking behind the glamour and privilege to figure out who was behind the young woman’s death. Can he figure out how and why the other half dies?
Featured image: Canva
