THE CRAIGSLIST MURDERS

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.