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Death in the Downline
- Author
- Maria Abrams
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Publish Date
- 14 January 2025
- Run Time
- 9 hours 20 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Rating
- 4.0 (1 review)
What to expect
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.
Critics Review
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“A funny, spot-on mystery that will appeal to genre fans and MLM skeptics.”
Booklist
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“Entertaining, funny, and page-turning. A compassionate look at the reasons women get roped into these schemes in the first place, even the ones who do the unthinkable to keep the ruse going.”
Emily Lynn Paulson, author of Hey, Hun
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“Narrators Megan Tusing and Mia Hutchinson–Shaw draw listeners into the glamorous world of multilevel marketing in this mystery novel…Hutchinson–Shaw provides the main narration, giving an emotional, dynamic performance. Tusing provides an authoritative narration of news articles and podcast segments.”
AudioFile
User Reviews
Book 4.0
Narration 4.0
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4.0 4.0
Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad book, but the title is totally misleading! Anyone expecting cosy crime is going to find a quite dark takedown of MLMs instead. It does that very well, so if you don't already know about MLMs and how they work, this book will be an interesting listen. If you do already know about the MLM world, it might not be for you. I enjoyed it well enough, and the narration is decent overall. I'll definitely be looking out for more works from the author.
pigmint 2026-08-19
Details
- Author
- Maria Abrams
- Narrator
- Megan Tusing, Mia Hutchinson-Shaw
- Duration
- 9 hours 20 minutes
- Release Date
- 14 January 2025
- ISBN
- 9798874727093
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Genre
- Crime and mystery: women sleuths, Thriller / suspense fiction, Fiction: general and literary
- Rating
- 4.0(1 review)
- Narration
- 4.0(1 review)
Synopsis
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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