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Death in the Downline

Audiobook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: At least 6 months
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: At least 6 months

It's multilevel murder in this darkly funny mystery novel about the glamorous world of MLM "huns"—and the dangerous secrets at the top of the pyramid.

Drew thought she was destined to rise above her small New Jersey hometown and make it as a serious journalist in New York City. But now she's back in Clearfield, pushing thirty, newly single, and living with her father.

After a chance encounter at the grocery store, she reconnects with her ex-best friend, Steph, who married young and never left their hometown. But Steph looks good. Sh is tanned, clear-skinned, and glowing. She drives an expensive car and wears only name-brands. What's her secret? A multilevel marketing scheme called LuminUS that has taken the ladies of Clearfield by storm. With nothing left to lose, Drew gets sucked into this glamorous world of downlines, sales parties, and girls' trips.

But when a LuminUS distributor dies under mysterious circumstances, can Drew uncover the dark secret at the heart of the organization—and save her best friend—before it's too late?

Laugh-out-loud funny and a pitch-perfect skewering of pyramid schemes, Death in the Downline is a book that will have listeners nodding in recognition and cheering for Drew until the cathartic conclusion.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 21, 2024
      Abrams aims to skewer the world of multilevel marketing in her breezy if undercooked debut. After a failed stint as a journalist in New York City, 30-year-old Drew Cooper has reluctantly returned home to Clearwater, N.J. Adrift and depressed, she crawls through her days until she runs into her high school best friend, Stephanie Murphy, at the supermarket. Taken aback by Stephanie’s pristine, youthful appearance, which she attributes to the products she sells for cosmetics company LuminUS, Drew agrees to join her as a sales rep. After an initial boost to her self-confidence (and her bank balance), Drew starts to sense simmering animosities among her LuminUS cohorts. Stephanie, however, admits to no such divisions—even when one of the region’s top sellers turns up dead under suspicious circumstances and another murder follows. Abrams’s attempts to expose the dark heart of pyramid schemes by satirizing the predatory glee of their sales reps are amusing enough, but the book’s brisk pacing becomes a liability by the time the rushed conclusion rolls around. Though there’s some tongue-in-cheek fun to be had, this feels like a missed opportunity. Agent: Lane Heymont, Tobias Literary.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrators Megan Tusing and Mia Hutchinson-Shaw draw listeners into the glamorous world of multilevel marketing in this mystery novel. Drew, an unemployed journalist, has moved home and is desperate for connection. When her old friend Steph invites her to coffee, Drew is sucked into Steph's world of LuminUs, a multilevel marketing company. After things turn dark at a conference, it's up to Drew to uncover what's going on. Hutchinson-Shaw provides the main narration, giving an emotional, dynamic performance. Tusing provides an authoritative narration of news articles and podcast segments. Listeners will feel Drew's fear as she digs for clues. Balancing humor and seriousness, this novel is a cautionary tale about combining friendship and finances. C.R. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine

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Languages

  • English

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