Can a Wealthy Family Buy Their Alibi? Books Focused on Opulent Wealth, Family Secrets & Suspense by Georgina Cross

 

For readers, novels about the uber wealthy can be an enticing foray into another world, a sneak peek into how “the other half” lives, complete with glamour and over-the-top situations. It’s a fascinating exploration of a person’s flamboyant behavior and entitled notions about their money buying them everything—including a way to bury their secrets.

In my novel, Nanny Needed readers are cast into the mesmerizing world of the Bird family who live in an extraordinary penthouse in the Upper West Side, New York City. Despite the family’s unusual way for hiring nannies and the fact Sarah has zero nannying experience, Sarah takes the job. She agrees to the family’s strict instructions, including that ominous detail she chooses to ignore: Special conditions apply. While dealing with the mother Collette’s tragic behavior and the child in their care, Sarah finds herself going against the powerful family who employs her and the lengths they will take to make sure no one talks—especially the nanny. Until now, the Bird family may have gotten away with a few too many tragedies, but with Sarah, their secrets are about to rise to the surface. 

Other books about families with wealth and secrets: 

Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier

Speaking of opulent wealth, the title says it all. As one of my personal, most anticipated reads for the upcoming year, Eliza Jane Brazier’s sophomore book Good Rich People takes us into the lives of a wealthy couple living in L.A. and the twisted games they will unleash on the people they invite to stay in the guesthouse of their Hollywood Hills mansion. Lyla and Graham have it all, and yet, they can’t stand the idea of someone else having a self-made success story. Enter Demi, a destitute woman who jumps at the chance to take over another person’s identity and deceives her way into living in their guesthouse. But little does she know what Lyla and Graham are planning, and how far they will go to win at their wicked games. Because after all, doesn’t having a lot of money mean you always come out on top and you’re the winner? But Lyla and Graham may have sorely underestimated the latest player living under their roof and she has a few tricks up her sleeve too. Good Rich People is a wild, witty, suspenseful and wholly original story.

Nanny Dearest by Flora Collins 

With Nanny Needed soon to be published, I am definitely plugging another nanny book. Nanny Dearest is Flora Collins’ debut with her novel already gaining quite the buzz as an intense, psychological thriller. When Sue Keller is in her mid-twenties, her father dies, and she finds herself reconnecting with the nanny who cared for her as a child. Annie looked after Sue and lived with the family in their enormous house upstate. She loved Sue as her own. But while the two women rekindle their bond, Sue begins to ask questions and she discovers several tragedies that may have occurred around the time Annie lived with them. A slick thriller, Nanny Dearest shows the dark side of a family and the nanny who promised to care for everyone in the home.

When She Disappeared by Nicole Mabry and Steph Mullin

Writing duo Nicole Mabry and Steph Mullin are back at it again with another suspenseful read. When She Disappeared focuses on the discovery of a teenage girl’s body, the same girl who disappeared fifteen years earlier, and the lengths one family will go to so their only son doesn’t become the main suspect. When Margo returns to her hometown, she works with a documentary crew to investigate the case about the discovery of her high school best friend’s body. But the Abbott family will use their stature to convince everyone—and anyone—to turn the spotlight away from their son. But as Margo uncovers shocking secrets, it appears the Abbotts aren’t the only ones who didn’t want Jessie’s body to be found. 

A Mother Never Lies by Sarah Clarke (Out now)

In A Mother Never Lies, a young woman had the perfect life: a nice house, a loving husband, and a gorgeous little boy. But in one horrific night, everything she knows to be good and pure is taken away from her. Fourteen years later, she’s finally ready to face the past—and she will take her son back. She will bring him home, even if that means going up against her husband’s wealthy and incredibly powerful family who remain intent on brushing their past traumas beneath the carpet. But this mother is no longer going to take no for an answer.

Nanny Needed by Georgina Cross (HarperCollins)

When Sarah Larsen answers the Bird family's advertisement, her life changes overnight.  The job seems like a dream come true: nannying in a glamorous penthouse apartment with a salary that adds several zeroes to her income. Sarah signs the contract binding her to complete secrecy without a second thought. These are important people, after all - they can't be too careful about who they let into their home. All is well until events in Sarah's life begin to take a sinister turn and the trail leads back to the Birds. She soon realises there's something very strange about the family. But by then, is it too late for her?

Georgina Cross is the bestselling suspense author of The Stepdaughter and the author of The Missing Woman published by Bookouture, as well as Nanny Needed with Bantam, Penguin Random House. Two more books are set for publication in 2022. Georgina is a member of Mystery Writers of America and also the Founder & President of Susie's Wish Inc. which sends patients with life-threatening illnesses to the beach. Married to David, they spend their weekends filled with kids' basketball tournaments, scary movies, and trying new restaurants with their combined family of four sons.

More info on Georgina and her books: Instagram: @georginacrossauthor, Twitter: @gcrossauthor, Facebook: @GeorginaCrossAuthor, and georginacrossauthor.com