Bookwild - Saltburn/Wealthy Families Behaving Poorly Book Recommendations

Episode Date: December 22, 2023

This week, Saltburn is available on streaming, and Kate shares book recommendations that match its "wealthy families behaving poorly" vibes!Follow us on Instagram:Gare @gareindeedreadsKate @thegirlwiththecookonthecouchBooks Kate Talked About:Over Her Dead BodyThe HeiressStone Cold FoxGood Rich PeoplePretty ThingsWe Were Liars Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

Guys, welcome to the Killing the Tea podcast. This is Gare and Kate. And we are going to be discussing all things, chills, thrills, and kills. Kate and I are going to be talking about our favorite books, TV shows and movies that are in the thriller or crime fiction genre, as well as some reading habits and other items related to how we met on Bookstagram that will fit in with this podcast. So, So thank you so much for joining us, and we hope that you have fun and get totally terrified. So you guys probably heard me talk a couple weeks ago. I can't remember how many weeks ago about Saltburn. And I went and saw it in theaters, again, a few weeks ago, sometime in November. And I loved it. I am really glad that I saw it in theaters still. And it was just such an, it was such an amazing experience to experience on the big screen. It's a very stylistic movie. It's very driven by the visuals,

which is, it's just a really big part of the movie. Like, the visuals are almost as important as the plot, I guess is what I'm saying. So I was really happy that I did get to see it in theaters. For those of you who don't know what it's about, I'm just going to read the synops.

from IMDB because I don't want to give anything away throughout any of this podcast. But a student at Oxford University finds himself drawn into the world of a charming and aristocratic classmate who invites him to his eccentric family sprawling estate for a summer never to be forgotten. So it's very much and I'm saying Ann because I was able to say it's very it has eat the rich vibes in terms of like the satire that's underneath everything. While still his family character, the family characters that are just like obscenely, generationally wealthy are still really fun to be with,

even though they are kind of being made fun of. But it is a thriller. It's a thriller from the director of a promising young woman, Emerald Fennell. So I was excited from the get-go to read it anywhere, or to read it, to watch it anyway. way. But I just, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was so good. I really, like I said, don't want to give any of it away. So I'm not going to talk about too many specifics as much as I can avoid.

But it was making me think about it just dropped on streaming today. So I was like, I could definitely do some book recommendations that are similar to Saltburn. So if you've seen the movie, you know that there are like multiple different angles you could take on recommendations. There's not a ton of books that would be like, oh, this hits all of the vibes of Saltburn because it has the plot of like an outsider coming into a very wealthy, overly powerful family. So you have that plot point. But then there are all these other like vibes throughout it that make it so unique and its own story. But I don't want to go into too many of those because I don't want to give anything away. So while these recommendations totally fit

saltburn, and if you enjoyed saltburn, you would probably enjoy a lot of these books. I'm also mostly coming from the standpoint of books with wealthy families behaving badly or books that have the kind of eat the rich subtext satire to them, which as a lot of you probably know at this point, I love a story with rich people being crazy, whether from the outsider's perspective or someone in the family. So I had plenty to think of for this subject specifically. But one that I read most recently is one called Over Her Dead Body by Susan Walter. And it is about Ashley Brooks. Ashley Brooks' life isn't working out as planned. After years of struggling to make it in Hollywood, she's still waiting for her big break. When fate leads her to the

doorstep of legendary casting director Louisa Lake George, Ashley thinks her luck is about to change. The prickly old pro knows about a role that she's perfect for. The aspiring actress never gets to thank her, though, because the day after the audition, Louisa is found dead. The bigger shock, she left all of her money to Ashley. Louisa's grown children arrive stunned and ready to fight. Her nephew tries to play peacemaker while Ashley grapples with why Louisa would leave her fortune to a stranger and whether she should keep it. But Ashley quickly discovers everyone, including the dead woman, is hiding something and it's a race to get to the truth before someone else winds up dead. I went into this one, just knowing that synopsis, and I was pleasantly surprised.

to discover that it is told in multiple timelines. You jump around different timelines at multiple points in the book. And also, you are in the perspectives of, I kind of think it ends up being five people. So it's not even just contained to Ashley. The synopsis really describes it very well, but it's also not just contained to Ashley's world. So you're hearing from Ashley, you're hearing from Louisa, you're hearing from her two children who she cut out of the will. And you hear from her nephew who was really close to her. And there are a couple other characters that I won't mention. But there was so much going on in this book. Like, it was so fun reading through all these different perspectives and learning different things through each person. And like maybe with one

person you become really sure of something. And then you switch to another perspective. And you're like, oh, that's actually what was going on. So every chapter feels like there are reveals, like legitimately, it feels like there's a reveal in every chapter. The chapters are really short for people who like short chapters. It also, as you noticed probably with Louisa being a casting director, it takes place in L.A. And there is, there's so much, not so much. It doesn't beat you. over the head with it. But there's really cool commentary on Hollywood, what it means to be an actress in Hollywood, the things that women go through in Hollywood, and the setting's Hollywood. So it's a little more fun than where I live in Indiana. But I just, I devoured it. There's so

many twists in like the back 20% of this book. And it was just, it was just so perfectly crafted. I feel like some of the Hollywood the Hollywood commentary is coming from the place of someone who's been in there because Susan Walter, the author, is a screenwriter who has had, basically, who's lived, worked,

breathed in Hollywood. So it felt very authentic. And I also feel like when I saw that about the author, Susan before I read the book. And then as I was reading the book, I was like, you can feel how well this would play out on TV or in a movie, in my opinion. And so I always love when you can kind of feel those other things, maybe from other genres. And the way that she kind of had everything come together and the way each character's arc resolved was so satisfying and also just felt like something that would be so perfectly placed for a movie. So this is basically me hoping that like someone

she knows in Hollywood reads the book and turns it into a movie. But it was seriously so much fun and I would love to talk to anyone about it who does read it. I have not talked to anyone who has read it yet. And that ending, oh my goodness, multiple parts of that ending. Keeping with that theme of inheritances, I am currently reading one right now. I am almost done with it. I am really, really enjoying it. It comes out on January 9th. It's called The Aris by Rachel Hawkins. And it has quite a synopsis. So buckle in. When Ruby McTavish Callahan, Woodward, Miller, Kenmore dies. She's not only North Carolina's richest woman, she's also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny

town of Tavistock from Ashby House. Her family's estate high in the Blue Ridge Mountains. In the aftermath of her death, that estate, along with a nine-figure fortune and the complicated legacy of being a McTavish, passed to her adopted son Camden. But to everyone's surprise, Cam wants little to do with the house or the money and even less to do with the surviving mctavish's instead he rejects his inheritance settling into a normal life as an english teacher in colorado and marrying jewels a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past 10 years later camden is a mctavish in name only but a summons in the wake of his uncle's death brings him and jules back into the family fold at ashby house its views are just as stunning as ever its rooms just as elegant but coming to

home reminds Cam why he was so quick to leave in the first place. Jules, however, has other ideas, and the more she learns about Canva's estranged family and the twisted secrets that they keep, the more determined she is for her husband to claim everything Ruby once intended for him to have. But Ruby's plans were always more complicated than they appeared. As Ashby's house tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl. What really happened to those four husbands who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realized that an inheritance can entail far more than what's written in a will and that the

bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave. So much going on in this one as well, while also being extremely distinct and different from over her dead body. So I know I segued to kind of into another one that's dealing with an inheritance, but they could not feel more different in terms of like tone and characters than what's going on. It is just a lot of fun. It's kind of like it's a very mixed media approach to telling this story because as you can probably tell from the synopsis, what happened like years ago in the 1940s when Ruby was kidnapped is going to be importance of everything else is happening in this story. So through some of her writings, we're learning about what happened to her growing up and in her marriages that have ended in

mysterious deaths. We're also in Camden's perspective and in Jules' perspectives, and you get like snippets of newspaper pieces. So there are so many different sources of information going on for this book and it keeps it like it just keeps you on your toes the whole time like right as you think that you're starting to figure something out you're like jumping into another time completely or another person's perspective and everyone is motivated by all of the money the huge amount of money that was left in ruby's wake so definitely full of rich people behaving badly in this one another one that I very immediately thought of when I was thinking about this genre of recommendations is Good Rich People by Eliza James Brazier, which like, I mean, the title pretty much tells

you why this one matches so well. It's also one of my favorite covers, maybe of all time. Love this cover so much. But it is about two women, mostly. Lila has always believed that life is a game she is destined to win, but her husband Graham takes the game to dangerous levels. The wealthy couple invites self-made success stories to live in their guest house and then conspires to ruin their lives. After all, there's nothing worse than a bootstrapper. Demi has always felt like the odds were stacked against her. At the end of her rope, she seizes a risky opportunity to take over another person's life and unwittingly becomes the subject of the upstairs couple's wicked entertainment. But Demi has been struggling all her life, and she's not about

to go down without a fight. In a twist that neither woman sees coming, the game quickly devolves into chaos and rockets toward an explosive conclusion because every good rich person knows in money and life it's winner take all, even if you have to leave a few bodies behind. I remember flying through this one. I read it, let's see, it came out in January 2022, so I read it a long time ago and still remember how much I just, like, could not wait to binge my way through it. Just did not want to do anything else with my life while I was reading it. But it, the Demi character, who is basically just doing whatever she can to survive, is now pitted against these good, rich people who are actually extremely devious.

And just the way everything plays out is. slightly terrifying, but also like the epitome of a book that covers kind of like class warfare, for sure. The ending, wild, so wild. And the way that it wrapped in, it also like wrapped itself around into kind of like the prologue that's at the beginning of the book, which I always love when books do that as well. But this one was just literally so much fun. kind of like, it's kind of like a cat and mouse type thing. You're switching between those perspectives of Lila and Demi. And so it really feels like a cat and mouse thriller, but on in a, in a class warfare type way. So the next one that came to mind is more of a con,

but it is about someone coming in trying to con people who are wealthy people that are misbehaving. And it is Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Collarcroft, which is one of my favorites of 2023. Like any enterprising woman, Bee knows that she's, that she, B knows what she's worth and is determined to get all she deserves. It just so happens that what she deserves is to marry rich. After a lifetime of forced instruction in the art of swindling men by her mother, B wants nothing more than to escape her shadow, close the door on her sordid passed and disappear safely into old money domesticity. When B finds her final mark in the perfectly dull blue butt, I'm going to get through it, and the perfectly dull blue-blooded

Colin, she's ready to deploy all her tricks one last time. The challenge isn't getting the ring, but rather the approval of Colin's family and everyone else in their tax bracket, particularly his childhood best friend, Gail. Going toe to toe with Gail isn't a threat to an expert like B, but what begins as an amusing cat and mouse game quickly develops into a dangerous chase. As the truth of bees passed threatens to come roaring out, she finds herself racing against the clock to pass the finish line before everything is exposed. By now you all know how much I am obsessed with con thrillers. I will just read just about any thriller that is marketed to me that way. So I was very excited about that with this one.

but this one actually has a lot more character development in it than you would kind of initially think from reading the synopsis. And so the scenes that we get with B and her mom growing up are, they're very important to the story. They're also heartbreaking and very much like shows how she became who she is, but also like makes you root for her so much when she's having to go up against some of these people who are just very willing to do terrible stuff to her. I was, like, so angry at multiple points in this book. And so pulling for her in the end was, like, I was so massively invested in it. And just, as I said, is one of my very favorites that I read in 2023.

So clearly, I have a little bit of a theme in this wealthy families behaving badly. subgenre of erases and cons because my next one is one of my favorites of all time. I constantly think of this book and if I was someone who could enjoy rereading books, I would be rereading this one. It just never hits the same way for me, so I typically don't. But anyway, this one is called Pretty Things by Janelle Brown. Two wildly different women, one a grifter, the other and heiress are brought together by the scam of a lifetime and a page turner from the New York Times

best-selling author of Watching Disappear. Nina once bought into the idea that her fancy the liberal arts degree would lead to a fulfilling career. When that dream crashed, she turned to stealing from rich kids in L.A. alongside her wily Irish boyfriend, Lachlan. Nina learned from the best. Her mother was the original con artist hustling to give her daughter a decent childhood despite their wayward life. But when her mom gets sick, Nina puts everything on the line to help her, even if it means running her most audacious, dangerous scam yet. Vanessa is a privileged young heiress who wanted to make her mark in the world. Instead, she becomes an Instagram influencer, traveling the globe, receiving free clothing and products, and posing for pictures and exotic

locales. But behind the covetable facade is a life marked by tragedy. After a broken engagement, Vanessa retreats to her family's sprawling mountain estate Stonehaven, a mansion of dark secrets not just from Vanessa's past, but from that of a lost and troubled girl named Nina. Nina, Vanessa, and Lachlan's paths collide here on the cold shores of Lake Tahoe, where their intertwined lives give way to a winter of aspiration and desire, duplicity, and revenge.

This dazzling, twisty, mesmerizing novel showcases acclaimed author Janelle Brown at her best as two brilliant damage women try to survive the greatest game of deceit and destruction that they will ever play. Like I said, this is when I read so long ago and I am still so utterly obsessed with it, still one of my favorite stories that just still sticks in my mind. There are multiple points where there are just like massive paradigm shifts in the book. And that was one of the things that I loved so much about it is you really would like feel it going

one direction, think you knew where it was going, then all of a sudden something huge happens. You also don't even know how you feel for each character about what just happened, which I think I've probably talked a lot about already. I love that when I'm kind of torn on who I'm rooting for, how I feel about like a paradigm shift. Like, I like being torn between characters, because I feel like, I feel like in those cases, the reason I end up loving that is it means the characters have like all been so well developed that you just can't help pulling for both people. And it's also just, it's also fun being like, oh, poor little rich girl, that genre, but also still making you care about her. So this one will just always live in my head rent free as one of my favorites of all time. if you hadn't read it yet, you want to read it.

The next one that I thought of is another one that has, like, lived in my head rent-free since I read it. It says in 2017 is when I read it and it is still this poignant in my mind. And it is, we were liars by E. Lockhart and the synopsis does not give much, but this is what it is. A beautiful and distinguished family, a private island, a brilliant damaged girl, a passionate political boy. A group of four friends, the liars, whose friendship turns destructive. A revolution, an accident, a secret. Lies upon lies, true love, and the truth. We were liars is a

modern sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author E. Lockhart. Read it, and if anyone asks you how it ends, just lie. And this one is Y.A. They are teenagers. Um, but it has, it almost has, you know, it almost has dark academia vibes in the sense that it's like this group of younger friends who are kind of like all knit together. But they also all have secrets. And you definitely are also running into the fact that some of them are extremely wealthy. And I can't even remember the main character's name at this point because it's been that long and it's not, the synopsis, but, wow, I can't even remember, and I apologize if I'm wrong about this, but I'm pretty sure the main character is, like, not as wealthy as the rest of them. I think that's part of it.

So the dynamic is a little bit off, but you're getting all of these reveals of, like, who's keeping which secrets from what throughout the whole book, and you're, like, really trying to figure out what's at the core of what the main character is. struggling with. I'm trying not to give any of it away. And then when you get to the end, you're like, oh my God, how did I miss that? So that's a big part of why it stuck in my mind for so long. Like, I know that's a huge part of it. The ending is just wild. So even though I don't remember, clearly I can't remember names or anything like that. I don't remember that. I still know exactly what happened at the end and just how much it blew my name.

mind. So it is just another really, really fun thriller. It's really short, too. 242 pages is what it says here. So if you're ever in the mood for one where you just want to like burn through it really quickly, this one's really perfect for that as well. So yeah, these are the books that came to mind for me when I was trying to think of some recommendations for salt burn. Again, there are some parts of salt burn that you're not going to find really in any of these books, but I didn't want to have to give too much away either. And it's also a very unique movie in its own right. So giving, I don't know that there's really anything that you could literally compare it to. There is a movie it can be compared to, but I was really glad that I didn't see the movie comparison before I saw the

movie because it would have taken away from some of the movie. So I'm not going to talk about the movie it's been compared to. Because again, it's, it is. It is. It is. It is. It is. It is. It is. It is. is its own unique story. It's a very unique viewing experience. I will say if you're home for the holidays and with family, not what I recommend watching with family. Now, some families, I'm sure, I have a large tolerance for some of what is in some of the wild scenes here. But I'm going to just go out on a limb here and say that most of you aren't dying to watch saltburn with your parents. I'm putting out there. Definitely not grandparents, I would think. So it's not one of those movies. Watch it yourself or with your spouse or with a friend or whatever. And then if you finish it and

you need some book recommendations to continue the wealthy, misbehaving people, eat the rich satire vibe, then I definitely think you could pick up some of these books. The other thing is I do think most people who listen to this podcast would probably enjoy it as a movie. So I am recommending it as a movie. Like I said, there are some wild scenes. Before I went, I started seeing all this stuff on TikTok about like, what did I just watch? Like people acting like they were traumatized by it. And I started getting nervous. And so the one thing I will say is what that started to make me nervous about was body horror, which is not my vibe. I wish it was. I was. I I wish I could enjoy even more movies, but like grotesque body horror, you know, you're like close-ups of like someone having to like cut something on their arm or whatever.

Not for me. Never has been for me. And so I started getting nervous that the movie was going to have some like wild body horror in it from some people's reactions. And there is not in my opinion. So if you've seen some of people's reactions like freaking out. it definitely has its own unique scenes and moments, but none of it is body horror. So for my girlies who struggle with that, you don't have to worry about that one. But it is available on streaming now, I think on all platforms.

So if you didn't get to catch it in the theaters, you can watch it now from the comfort of your home. For everyone who is celebrating Christmas here soon, I hope all of you guys have a very happy holidays. I will see you again next week.