I am a huge fan of Shari Lapena and my Readers Guide for Getting Away With Murder has a character list, plot summary and Q and A about this twisty cat and mouse thriller!
Readers Guide for Getting Away With Murder
Table of Contents
Jen’s Quick Take on Getting Away With Murder
- Getting Away With Murder is a twisty cat and mouse tale about a couple who decides to kill a family member for money
- With extremely unlikeable characters and a plot driven feel, this book is for readers looking for a fast-paced read that will keep them guessing
- While I felt that the ending of Getting Away With Murder was a bit unsatisfying, it was fun to read and had plenty of twists and turns.
- Publication date: July 28, 2026 by Pamela Dorman/Viking. Thanks so much to them for this advance copy of a book by a favorite author.
Character List for Getting Away With Murder
- Jill Westcott: Brooklyn resident; works at an art gallery
- Ted Westcott: Jill’s husband
- Greg Westcott: Ted’s brother
- Minerva “Min”: Greg’s ex wife
- Robert Carrera: Min’s new boyfriend
- Nadya Sokolov: housekeeper for Ted and Jill Westcott
- Peter Sokolov: Nadia’s son
- Konstantin: sketchy friend of Peter
- Ben Donleavy: friend and neighbor of the Westcotts
- Lara Donleavy: Ben’s wife; Jill’s close friend
- Marlon Fiddick: Ted’s lawyer
- John Burnley: sketchy guy
- Special Agent Paul Ramirez: Coast Guard investigator
- Special Agent in Charge Donovan Brady: boss of Ramirez
Plot Summary for Getting Away With Murder
Note: if this summary seems a little choppy, that’s because the chapters are short. I cut out some of the repeated internal parts (Jill worrying, Ted and Jill spiraling, etc.)
Prologue
Jill is on a boat off Manhattan with her husband Ted and his brother Greg. Jill tries to get Greg drunk. Ted pushes Greg off the boat. After enough time, they call in a mayday and drop life preserver rings.
Jill knows something is bothering her husband. Ted is in a panic over money. He and Jill spent most of his inheritance on a Brooklyn brownstone. Now that brownstone is leveraged as loans after Ted made a bad investment.
Jill and Ted meet Ted’s brother Greg for dinner. Greg is divorced and Ted knows that he is Greg’s heir. Greg brings up the bad investment, which Ted also recommended to Greg’s ex-wife, Min.
Finally, Ted confesses their money problems. He tells Jill that really doesn’t want to ask Greg for money, but Jill urges him to try. Greg says no, they need to learn from their mistakes.
Jill is furious. Since Greg has $45 million, he’s being and selfish.
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Back to the boat: they’ve just pushed Greg overboard.
Ted can barely control the boat. The Coast Guars shows up. Ted and Jill are interviewed. They both say that Ted was driving, but both he and Jill were alarmed by the rough waves. After Greg finally agreed to turn the boat around, he slipped and fell overboard.
Ben and Lara Donleavy hear the news. Lara lies awake wondering who will inherit Greg’s money, then leaves her friend Jill a message.
Ted gets a call from his lawyer who wants to meet. Special Agent Ramirez gets a call from his supervisor, who wants him to look into Greg Westcott case.
Ted and Jill tell their story again. Ramirez says he is hoping the boat had cameras. After he leaves, Ted and Jill panic.
Who gets Greg’s money?
Ted and Jill head to the lawyer’s office. Greg left one third of his estate to the hospital that took care of his mother, and the rest to Ted. But half of Ted’s money is in trust.
Ramirez talks to Minerva. She tells him Greg never wore a life jacket. And that Ted and Greg hated each other. She also adds that Ted made a bad investment.
The Westcott’s housekeeper reflects that her son has fallen in with petty criminals. He asks her if she knew about the Westcott’s money issues.
A man named John Burnley comes to Ted’s office and offers him a financial opportunity.
Nadya’s son asks her if she thinks her employers killed Greg.
Ramirez is told that the case can’t proceed with no evidence.
The Text Threats Begin!
Ted gets a text that says “I know what you did.” Jill wonders if Lara sent the text.
Ted gets another text “you’re not going to get away with it.” He changes his number, and then Jill gets a text that says “murderers.”
Someone’s Watching Ted and Jill
At home, they see a camera.They find another camera, then get another text. They question Nadya, then decide they will have to wait for a blackmail demand.
Ted meets with John, asks him if he planted the cameras, and negotiates blackmail of $4 million.
The person who planted the cameras watches them from two more cameras.
Nadya asks her son Peter if he planted the cameras.
Let’s Go to Venice!
Ted plans a trip to Venice. While there, they get a text saying the blackmail demand will be coming soon. That’s confusing, so Ted texts John and asks for proof that he has footage. Lara and Ben show up in Venice
Ted meets with John and says he needs help. He asks Jill if she thinks Min could be involved.
Things Get Violent
Lara is held at knifepoint in her brownstone by an intruder, who ties her up and asks for the camera footage. She denies it, but he starts cutting her and she passes out. The intruder is John, who realizes he made a mistake. He forces Ben to open his safe.
As John leaves, Ben charges him and John flips him over the railing. The police arrive. Lara tells them what happened, leaving out the part about the cameras. She blames Ted and Jill for her husband’s death.
Lara tells Ted and Jill about the intruder. She’s hysterical and Jill feels terrible. Ted asks her what she wants.
Someone’s Still Watching
The person who planted the cameras is watching. Ted is relieved that Lara agreed to keep quiet for a payoff. He goes to meet John and tells him to stay out of it. John resolves to go after Nadya. Jill realizes what a screw-up Ted is, but she’s stuck with him.
Jill and Ted go visit Min, who clearly suspects that they killed Greg. Min tells them that Greg had terminal pancreatic cancer. Nadya learns that her son copied the Westcott’s key.
John breaks into Nadya’s house. Nadya and Peter discover that their laptops have been stolen. Peter admits to planting cameras in the house and says that Ted and Jill are guilty.
Ben’s Murder Has Repercussions
Nadya freaks out when she reads the news about the Donleavy murder. Did the Westcotts know their neighbors were spying on them? Ramirez also sees the news.
Nadya demands that Peter take her to meet Konstantin. He warns her to stay out of this, but she wants a cut since he used her key to plant the cameras.
Ted Gets his Money But…
Ted gets a text saying the blackmailers are waiting for the estate to settle. After the estate gets finalized, the blackmailer asks for $1 million in bitcoin.
The blackmail text is from Konstantin. John is done with this scam. Lara is pregnant and move to the Upper West Side. Konstantin is waiting for his Bitcoin.
Who is the Blackmailer?
Ted thinks the blackmailers are Min and Robert. Ted learns that illegally recorded conversations are inadmissible. Jill tells Lara that they are not paying the blackmail. Lara is not happy. NO justice for Ben! Ted meets John and tells him the plan.
The Blackmailer Releases the Tapes
Konstantin makes copies of his recordings and send them to the newspapers and the precinct. Ramirez gets a copy.Jill realizes that the cameras must still be recording. The police come to take them in for more questioning. Ted survives the questioning but Jill is torn.
What Was the Ending of Getting Away With Murder?
Ramirez is upset that Jill and Ted got away with murder.
Lara gets questioned because the tapes show her blackmailing Jill and Ted. Lara still blames Ted for everything. She has a baby girl.
Jill get fired. Nadya quits.
Min calls and says that she didn’t plant the cameras – she was in Africa.
Jill gets a text again… from Nadya, who has decided to continue spying on the couple.
Q and A for Getting Away With Murder
First, Jill notices a camera, which Ted destroys. Then Ted goes to a spy shop and buys a camera finder and they find another camera in the kitchen light.
But, in the POV of the watcher (who we learn is Peter) we learn that there are two more cameras: one in the front room and the other in the bedroom. Peter suggests that they didn’t find the last two cameras because “technology is so good,” but we get no explanation of why the device found the first two and not the other.
To me, this is just a plot device. Jill and Ted finding the cameras added tension, but it added even more tension for us to know that they were still being monitored.
There were three suspects: Lara, because she had their spare key. John, because he’s generally sketchy. Nadya, because she also has a key, but no real motive (as far as Jill and Ted know.) Min is their last suspect.
We know that Nadya has a son who dabbles in shady stuff. And yes, it ends up that Peter’s friend Konstantin was the one who planted the cameras, using Nadya’s key.
The Westcotts refuse to pay the blackmail, and Peter and Konstantin get bored watching the Westcotts, so Nadya watches them and sends them texts to amuse herself.
With all the money that Jill and Ted inherited, you’d think they could hire a security expert to find the cameras, or move, or something. But maybe they are too notorious and the irony is that they have to keep that a secret so they won’t be found out.
Thanks for reading! What did you think of the book? Please leave your questions in the comments below!