The Craigslist Murders

March 1, 2011

Chic interior designer vents her frustrations by bumping off wealthy women she stalks online.

A talented and savvy decorator to the über-rich, Charlotte Wolfe knows better than anyone that her success has come with a hefty price to her soul. Her venal, shallow clients think nothing of spending $300,000 on a swimming pool, but violently berate their terrified staff over using one of their $10,000 toilets. Tired of being an enabler to their luxe and pointless (in her eyes) lifestyle, she takes it upon herself to thin the herd a bit. Her chosen technique is to find a rich lady selling a ludicrously expensive item on Craigslist, get into her Manhattan apartment and bludgeon her to death with a fireplace poker she keeps hidden in a rolled-up yoga mat. Using a fake identity to cover her tracks, Charlotte rationalizes that she is actually putting these miserable creatures out of their misery. But as her secret activities start to bleed over into her regular life, she comes to recognize that her rage is rooted in an unhappy upbringing. Her social-climber mother's cruelty did a number on young Charlotte's self-esteem, and the tragic death of her baby sister pulled her even deeper toward her darkest impulses. Her carefully constructed façade is further threatened by a growing attraction to her client Pavel, a mysterious Russian businessman who is himself no stranger to violence. But can she trust him? Wickedly topical, with a fully developed and sympathetic protagonist, Cullerton's debut novel abounds with juicy details about Charlotte's exclusive world. 

Satirical take on modern class warfare with a memorable femme fatale.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 1, 2011

In her thirties, single, beautiful, and stylish Charlotte Wolfe is not your ordinary interior designer. Her clientele consists entirely of the upper echelon of Manhattan's Upper East Side. She satisfies their pre-financial crisis need for envy-inducing extravagances by dealing exclusively with sumptuous materials, rare fixtures, high-end appliances, and custom-milled or costly antique furniture. Most unusual, however, is her secondary calling as a serial murderer of a specific type of woman whom Charlotte finds all too appallingly common among the stupendously rich: the petty, rancorous, clueless, narcissistic trophy wife. She considers them monsters and believes her role to be executioner. Rather than bite the hands that feed her, however, Charlotte saves her fireplace poker for those who aim to sell their most pretentious possessions via Craigslist. The mystery in this tale of multiple murders is not who did it, but why and whether this intelligent, gifted culprit will be exposed. VERDICT This suspenseful romp for mystery lovers offers an informed peek inside the magnificent homes and lives of New York socialites, illuminating instruction on the finer things of life, and an absorbing character study of a darkly engaging murderess.--Sheila Riley, Smithsonian Inst. Libs., Washington, DC

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