Story for the Week
When we bought our home in 2007, Dennis and I hadn’t really been house hunting. We had a realtor we happened to know, and every once in a while, we would look at something to see what we liked and what we didn’t. But we weren’t really in the market for a house. In fact, when we signed the papers, we had just signed a new lease for our apartment two months prior.
I feel like our home is almost the perfect size—three bedrooms, a bath and a half, nice size living room and a pretty spacious eat-in kitchen. There’s an extra room with a walk-in closet that I use as a home office. Our bedrooms and bathrooms could be a little bigger. The laundry room could definitely be bigger. I would have liked an upstairs or a downstairs, but Dennis liked that everything is on one level and none of the rooms are so far away that you would call from one of the bedrooms and no one would hear you. And we have a really good-sized yard.
Shortly after we bought our home, we attended a holiday dinner at a friend’s, who had just purchased what could obviously be called a dream home. It was probably four times the size of ours, upstairs with a loft, downstairs with an entertainment room, a master bedroom suite with a closet the size of another room. Amazingly gorgeous. The type of house that I will likely never own in my lifetime. 😉
As we were leaving the dinner, Dennis asked me if I thought we would ever own a home like that. I told him I didn’t want to own a home like that because I wouldn’t want to have to clean a home that size. I don’t even like to clean the 1,500 square feet we live in now! Why in the world would I want to clean 6,000?
His argument was that if we could afford a home like that, we would be able to afford to hire someone to clean it. Touché.
No shame to anyone with a home that size. But while I still would have liked an upstairs or downstairs, I’m happy with the size of our home the way it is. Plus, as hard as moving is in general, I told Dennis when we signed the papers on this one that I was never moving again. After 17 years, and looking around at the amount of “things” we accumulated, I feel even more strongly that I’m not moving again. 🤣
I just finished a book centered around a competition to find a buyer for a $50M beachfront home in Malibu. It sounded stunning from the description in the book, and who wouldn’t want to wake up to an ocean view every morning? And sure, it might be great to live in something like that for a little while, but after not too long, I fear it would become too much house for me.
Book Review
⭐⭐⭐½
3.5 Stars for To Die For by Lisa Gray
329 pages
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publication Date: August 1, 2023
This title was an Amazon First Reads selection.
Publisher’s Description
In the elite world of luxury real estate, it is often kill or be killed, something agent Andi Hart knows all too well—and after recent events, she’s ready to set her own rules. So when her boss challenges the team to find a buyer for a glitzy Malibu beach house, with a prize commission of a cool $1 million, she knows it’s her ticket to a new life.
But she’s not the only one who not only wants but needs the money. Each of her four colleagues has secrets they’re eager to hide—secrets $1 million would go a long way in concealing. And soon, it becomes clear all five would do just about anything to get their hands on it….
When a dead body is found at the open house, the dream home becomes a nightmarish crime scene. Has the contest reached a deadly new level, or is there something more sinister at work?
************
Main Characters:
- Andi Hart – top-selling real estate agent at Saint Realty, working on leaving to start her own firm, single having left a boyfriend in New York three years ago
- David and Diana Saint – owners of Saint Realty, just secured a deal from a developer to sell a $50M beachfront property, offered an incentive of $1M to whichever agent brings in the ultimate buyer
- Hunter Brooks – another agent at Saint Realty, was the top-selling agent until Andi started, married to Melissa who has been going through IVF
- Myles Goldman – another agent at Saint Realty, 20-something, comes from an extremely wealthy family but has a gambling problem, has a boyfriend Jack Dunne
- Krystal Taylor – another agent at Saint Realty, grew up poor in Tennessee, married to retired pro football player Micah Taylor, suspects him of having an affair
- Verona King – another agent at Saint Realty, late 40s, married mom of two boys, currently facing a health scare that she hasn’t told anyone about
- Jimmy Aribo – has spent 23 years with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, married to Denise, gets called to the murder in Malibu by his partner Tim Lombardi while at dinner for his 20th wedding anniversary
I selected To Die For as an Amazon First Reads pick based in part on a review line that described it as having a Big Little Lies vibe. When I see that description, I immediately conclude that the book will start with a dead body left unidentified to the reader, and there will be a host of characters who all have their own reasons to commit murder. That is exactly what this book is. As much as I enjoyed Big Little Lies, this one is ok, but it didn’t quite measure up.
The book alternates points of view from each of the real estate agents both before and after the murder as well as the detective’s POV. The author uses the technique of dropping hints about the secrets each of the characters keeps and then switching points of views, but I didn’t find it very effective. This style of writing has to be fast-paced enough that you keep reading to get back to the same character arc, but I found myself thinking “enough already.”
Several times for each character, the author seems to be dropping a bomb by alluding to their secret, but seriously, once is enough, twice at most. Andi moved to New York to escape something from her childhood, and she moved to LA when that something followed her to New York. Verona is dealing with a possible health scare. Myles has a gambling problem. Krystal thinks her husband is having an affair. Hunter is having an affair. But every time the “secret” thing comes up for each character, I felt like they were supposed to be these big “oooooooooo” moments, but they all fell flat.
There are even multiple references to the detective “not getting laid tonight” because he got called in on a case during his anniversary dinner. Enough, enough, enough. It made me chuckle the first time when Aribo thinks about it himself, but his colleagues are an HR manager’s worst nightmare—his partner, the deputy medical examiner, and he even says something sarcastic to his captain. It’s just not funny when that’s the whole theme.
Andi is clearly the central character here. She is the top-selling agent. David and Diana expect her to be the agent that brings in the buyer. She seems well-established, on the verge of opening her own business, but <gasp> something bad happened in her past and she has never really gotten over it. I hope you can read the sarcasm there. Andi is too well-adjusted for the past that comes to light in the back half of the book.
The author also seems to think that everyone in Malibu is characterized by the car they drive, and even down to Andi’s neighbor and his high-end bicycle. I would prefer other character traits than car brands, watch brands, designer bag brands. You get the idea. They’re LA real estate agents. They have to look the part, but I don’t really need to know that Hunter has a Rolls Royce and Myles has a Lambo and wears a Rolex.
There is a decent twist at the end that I didn’t expect. Even leading up to the end, I didn’t figure out the victim before it was revealed. The resolution of the story lines was pretty satisfying. Some people gave this rave reviews and loved it. For me, it’s a take or leave it kind of read.
If you enjoyed this post, please comment below. Subscribe for regular updates, and share it with your friends. If you’re interested in starting a conversation, send an email to booksundertheblanket@gmail.com.
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using the links on my site.
