Murder on the Upper East Side by Gigi Waldorf
Simon & Schuster/August 4, 2026
Murder on the Upper East Side by Gigi Waldorf is guilty pleasure, plain and simple. It also screams Gossip-Girls-Get-Murdery with its many similarities to the teen drama–from the backdrop of a prestigious Upper East Side prep school, to the toxic cliques, to the boy drama, to the anonymous social medial account that reports on the goings-on of the young elite.
It’s 2026 at the exclusive Lenox Club in downtown Manhattan, and queen bee (think psychotic Regina George) Madison DuPont has been–gasp!–poisoned, and only moments after her big speech at the Prescott Academy class reunion. If someone hadn’t hit the lights, maybe the police would have more eye witness evidence to go on, but alas.
What was supposed to be an evening of dining, mingling, and comparing the respective worth of one’s couture has become a closed-door murder investigation, with the police preventing the entire cast of attendees from leaving while they conduct what seems to be never-ending interviews. (These police are hard workers! They’re not leaving until an arrest!).
Hannah Miller, the back-in-the day Pittsburgh transplant, worries that she’s the primary suspect in Madison’s murder. There on the dime of her employer, an online publication that wants juicy details on the Lenox Club and its clientele, Hannah had only recently published an unflattering story on Madison and her mayor-to-be husband. Not only that, but she was allegedly the last to see Madison before she flounced off to the bathroom and left her drink unattended. In Hannah’s mind, she must solve the mystery of Madison’s death by the time she leaves Lenox Club, or she’ll be the one led off in handcuffs.
Herein lies the issue with this one–forced conflict. Sure, Hannah’s not a true member of the inner circle, but is there really enough to make her prime suspect number one? Someone who knew the Lenox Club well had swiped the remote to hit the lights; Hannah didn’t have that familiarity. And Madison was casually cruel to Hannah, but she was worse to others. All the police have to go on to suspect Hannah is a bit of circumstantial evidence, and even that is weak. So, there’s hardly a sense of urgency as Hannah takes it upon herself to unmask Madison’s killer by daylight.
Also, isn’t it a rule that the husband is always suspect number one? After Madison takes her plunge to the floor, there’s hardly a mention of him. Maybe he’s home, resting. (He’s much older than Madison).
We hardly need Madison’s husband, however, as there are many other suspects from which to choose. There’s Gemma, the curvaceous cutie Madison had once slut-shamed into leaving Prescott Academy; Elle, Madison’s ambitious best-frenemy; Bash, former party boy-turned-CEO-in-over-his-head. There’s the abused and browbeaten Mr. Harris, a schoolteacher Madison had tormented; and Ami, Hannah’s sister who Madison had deemed not good enough for her brother, Alex. And on and on.
Honestly, Madison was so awful in high school, this easily could have been a Murder on the Orient Express type of scenario. But it isn’t. Someone calmly drinking Dom Perignon and eyeing the rest of the crowd is behind this.
Shifting narratives between many of these suspects but always keeping Hannah as the anchor–to include her memories of senior year–Waldorf presents a glittering whodunit with a cast of suspects who often resemble caricatures of Upper East Side privilege but nonetheless are always entertaining. Who, of their number, not only hated Madison enough to want to kill her, but had the wherewithal to pull it off?
Murder on the Upper East Side is like other novels that take advantage of the intoxicating, glamorous world of the super elite and their dark secrets. It’s not Agatha Christie, but Agatha Christie-lite. Fans of teen dramas and locked room thrillers will find plenty to enjoy in this fun debut.
*About the reviewer: Sarah Reida’s debut adult novel, Neighborhood Watch, received a Kirkus Star and was honored as an Amazon editorial pick as one of the Best Books of the Year So Far 2024. She is seeking representation for her sophomore novel, a small town mystery involving beer and murder. Join Sarah’s elite group of Instagram followers here
