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8 novels about billionaires, secret societies, and the ultra-rich behaving badly

The past few years have produced a surge of novels obsessed with the billionaire class, elite inner circles, and the terrifying ways extreme wealth reshapes morality. These books explore secret societies, inherited influence, cult-like organizations, and wealthy people so insulated from ordinary life that empathy itself begins to erode. Some focus on billionaires chasing immortality. Others examine the emptiness that comes from having unlimited access to pleasure, luxury, and power. Together, they tap into a growing cultural anxiety about what happens when the ultra-rich begin viewing the rest of society as something to manipulate, consume, or control.

If you love dark academia, literary thrillers, cult fiction, and stories about elite power structures operating behind closed doors, these recent novels belong on your reading list.

Salomé by Leslie Baird

Salomé explores what happens when the billionaire class becomes so detached from ordinary humanity that other people begin to look disposable. At the center of the novel is a secretive global network of ultra-wealthy elites connected by technology, power, and a shared obsession with transcending death itself.

These billionaires aren’t satisfied with controlling industries or governments—they want immortality so they may maintain that control forever, even if it means inhabiting the bodies of other people to achieve it. The novel turns extreme wealth into something genuinely monstrous, examining how unchecked privilege erodes empathy until human beings become little more than interchangeable commodities to be used, consumed, and discarded. Read now!

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11 contemporary literary novels that explore grief, identity, ambition, and the quiet ways people come undone

Some contemporary literary novels announce themselves loudly, built around shocking twists or sweeping drama. Others work more quietly, slipping under your skin through emotional precision, unsettling atmosphere, and an understanding of how ordinary lives can become emotionally unbearable. The novels on this list belong firmly in the second category.

These books explore grief, isolation, class, motherhood, ambition, memory, friendship, and the impossible expectations people inherit from families and society. Some blur the line between realism and psychological horror. Others stay grounded in everyday life while exposing the emotional fractures hidden beneath routines, relationships, and carefully maintained appearances. What connects them is their interest in interior lives—the private fears, compulsions, disappointments, and longings people carry even when outwardly functioning just fine.

If you’re looking for contemporary literary fiction that feels emotionally intelligent, psychologically rich, and deeply human, these novels deserve your attention.

The cover of the novel Mercy Hill by Hannah Thurman features a tree.

Mercy Hill by Hannah Thurman

A tense and emotionally layered novel about family loyalty, inherited expectations, and the quiet damage caused by control disguised as care. Hannah Thurman explores how obligation and manipulation can shape entire lives, especially for women expected to endure without complaint. Mercy Hill is intimate, unsettling, and deeply perceptive about the ways families can trap people long after they believe they’ve escaped.

Read my full review.
Buy this book.

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My 5 favorite books of 2025: Fierce, compelling, and unapologetically feminist

This year has been a phenomenal one for reading. I’ve devoured dozens of new releases, and after much deliberation, I’ve narrowed down my favorites to five books that I think are particularly telling of the age we live in. Each of these novels features women at the center of the story—some brilliant, some flawed, some delightfully deranged—and together, they paint a vivid picture of modern womanhood. These are all books I have actually read this year, reviewed, and vetted as an experienced author and book reviewer. There are undoubtedly other incredible 2025 releases I haven’t yet encountered, but these five stand out for me.

Salt Bones by Jennifer Givhan

Givhan’s novel is a dark, seductive thriller that stays with you long after the final page. I loved how she navigates grief, trauma, and memory with a sharp psychological lens. The female protagonist is both vulnerable and fierce, and there’s a subtle feminist undercurrent that interrogates how women navigate power and vulnerability in a patriarchal world.

Read now!

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Seasonal reads: Books to dive into this busy time of year

The end of the year is often a time for reflection, connection, and a little cozy escape — whether that’s in a favorite chair with a cup of tea or curled up under a blanket while the world rushes by. This season, I’ve rounded up a mix of books I’ve reviewed that are perfect for December reading, from thought-provoking literary stories to chills that aren’t just from the winter air.

Stories that make you think about family and connection

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino — A story that delves deeply into family dynamics, with a narrative that lingers long after you finish it. Beautyland is a winner of the American Book Award and a Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, making it a standout choice for thoughtful seasonal reading.

Do Not Follow by Surbhi Bansal — A story that will leave readers reflecting on the ties that bind us, both the ones we’re born into and the ones we create.

Joy Moody is Out of Time by Kerryn Mayne — Explores how sometimes found family can mean more than biological family, reminding us of the importance of chosen connections.

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Book Reviews

4 New books I’m *dying* to read this #Spooktober

I love thriller/suspense novels, but come October, I’m always looking for something a bit more– dark. I guess that’s why they call it “Spooktober!”

This Spooktober season, I’m really looking forward to reading the following books:

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Novel Writing

Even Google Bard has read One Bad Cat!

I asked Google’s new artificial intelligence (AI) platform, Bard, if it had read my latest book, One Bad Cat, and it turns out it has! Not only that, but Bard gave it a glowing review. Here’s what it had to say:

“Yes, I have read One Bad Cat by Mandy Webster. It is a humorous fantasy novel about a psychology professor who is turned into a cat by his female coven members. The novel follows Stephen as he tries to adjust to his new life as a cat, while also plotting revenge on his coven members.

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Memoir, Uncategorized

The apocalypse may be here, but it’s fine

I feel like I should be documenting this since I guess it’s kind of historic—even though I personally am not experiencing the level anxiety one might expect at the end of the world.

The thing is, the climate change apocalypse scientists have been warning us about for the past decade or so (or longer) is upon us, but I feel fine. Well, my asthmatic lungs don’t feel fine what with the thick smoke that has been hanging in the air all week from the wildfires in Canada—Canada! So far away from my home in central Illinois in the United States, but the fires are just that bad.

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