I first got caught up in the lifestyle p0rn aspect of We Could Be Beautiful, by Swan Huntley. Catherine is a trust-fund Manhattanite, who owns a cute hobby business selling artistic cards, but spends most of her time redecorating, buying art, or going to stylish restaurants. Her best friend Susan was her private school classmate, also with a trust fund and cute hobby business, and her younger sister, Caroline, has three nannies for her three children. I usually enjoy reading lifestyle stories, but it’s extra engaging when I’ve been inside my 1-br apartment for 10,000 years, and just the chance to enter a store to browse sounds incredibly appealing.

But, quickly, this story twists into something darker. Catherine loves the style and feel of her shop, but barely looks at any bills or profits. Why would she pay attention to how the store is doing, when she gets deposits of $80,000 a month from her inheritance? When that stops, and she actually has to think about money (in a slightly-less-excessive-shopping kind of way, not really worrying about bills), where her money comes from and how to get more of it, she starts to uncover family secrets. Meanwhile, her new romance is just perfect, although he strangely doesn’t have any friends or family, and her mother freaks out when his name is mentioned…

Catherine’s constantly moaning how it’s “always something” with her when she really means that the caterers brought the wrong rental chairs, not, you know, actual problems. And she brings this attitude towards her real problems, too. Without spoilers, she uncovers dark secrets about people very close to her, and even then, she’s focused on her shopping habit and near-constant home redecorating. Such a fascinating character in a suspenseful drama.

My only real annoyance was the ending — after such a surprising, twisty storyline, some of the final scenes felt a bit flat with so much tied off into a neat bow.

For more Manhattan thrillers, I liked Beware That Girl, about a darkly twisted prep-school friendship, and Social Creatures, about a darkly twisted mid-twenties friendship. For more Manhattan inheritance drama, I liked The Nest and The Heirs.