The Book:
Death in the Downline by Maria Abrams
Published January 14, 2025 by Quirk Books
Date read: January 6, 2025
Find more January 2025 releases here.
Death in the Downline spoilers can be found below, but they’re hidden under a spoiler tag so you’re safe to keep scrolling if you’d just like to read my review.
The Characters:
Drew
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
This page contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this site.
The Plot (from Goodreads):
It’s multi-level 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 former best friend, Steph, who married young and never left their hometown. But Steph looks . . . good. She’s tanned, clear-skinned, and glowing. She drives an expensive car and wears only name brands. What’s her secret? A multi-level marketing scheme called LuminUS that’s 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 page-turner that will have readers nodding in recognition and cheering for Drew until the cathartic conclusion.
Death in the Downline Spoilers
The Reveal:
Mackenzie was the first to die; she fell off the hotel balcony at the conference. Drew began investigating LuminUS after her death and found a local group attempting to out their shady practices.
Then Leah died. Her husband Aaron had killed her. Aaron and Leah were in too deep with LuminUS and feared that their reputation would be damaged beyond repair if the truth about LuminUS got out. Leah had killed Mackenzie to keep her quiet, but then the guilt did away with her and she was about to confess. Aaron killed her to keep her quiet as well.
The Ending:
Drew had gotten her blood tested and the results showed trace amounts of heavy metals. After Aaron’s arrest, LuminUS products were tested more thoroughly and found to contain radon and tapeworm eggs, among other things.
I hope these Death in the Downline spoilers were helpful.
The Review:
This book was so hilariously fun. Ever since I stumbled across r/antimlm and other snark pages on Reddit, I’ve been fascinated by MLMs and pyramid schemes, and how they prey on vulnerable women for the company’s profit. Luckily no one I know personally has ever fallen victim to one and I’m too much of a homebody to be approached by MLM members, but they’re so interesting to read about.
DEATH IN THE DOWNLINE is both a takedown of MLM culture and a fun cozy mystery. I found that the commentary on MLMs struck the perfect tone: the author is clear that the villains are those at the top of the pyramid. They’ve cultivated their scummy “networking” tactics to be hard to notice, and those who fall for it aren’t stupid. The book is extremely informative but doesn’t feel preachy.
I felt for our main character Drew–a desperate, out-of-work journalist–and enjoyed following along with her thought process as she realized that she had joined a pyramid scheme. I also enjoyed the progression of her friendship with Steph, especially how it resolved.
Give this one a read if you want to learn more about MLMs and their tactics while enjoying a fun cozy mystery.
Follow me on Bloglovin’!
