Domestic Thrillers BETWEEN LIES AND REVENGE with Hannah D. Sharpe

Years after the death of her brother and the theft of her heirloom jewelry, ex-con Elle is on the run … until she spots a stranger wearing a signature piece. Determined to take back what is hers, Elle stalks and befriends the woman, using her gemology skills as a ruse. Elle offers to appraise and clean the jewelry, replicating and replacing the pieces instead.

Olivia is drowning. She maxes out credit cards behind her financially-strict husband’s back in order to pay for fertility treatments, keep her blackmailing father at bay, and maintain appearances with her wealthy friends and their cultist MLM social circles. When Olivia meets Elle, she finally feels understood … and inspired.

With Elle’s expertise and Olivia’s connections, the two start a side-hustle by way of home jewelry appraisal parties. When this isn’t lucrative enough, they develop the perfect con: switching rich housewives’ gems with fakes. But their hidden truths get in the way of their success, and each other. Before their secrets bury them, they must confess their lies to one another and trust their final con will exact the revenge that’ll secure their freedom, and their lives.

Hannah D. Sharpe recently sat down with The Big Thrill to discuss her debut domestic thriller, BETWEEN LIES AND REVENGE.

Hannah D. Sharpe

Can you pinpoint a moment or incident that sparked the idea for this book?

My character, Elle, came to me before the plot. She told me how she lies to her husband, how she lies to everyone. Initially I wrote the opening of a story that was completely different, and after sitting with some feedback while working through my own personal experiences at the time, I decided to explore the concept of MLMs and how they create cultures surrounding toxic positivity and the need for community. As I continued to explore this, I found that writing this story was therapeutic for myself, and have hope it’ll help others who may have their own internal emotional struggles for seeking community.

A novel is such a major undertaking; there’s the writing of it, of course, then you’re spending months and months revising, polishing, and then promoting it. How did you know this was the book you wanted to spend the next couple of years on?

Writing about MLMs terrified me. This is how I knew I not only wanted to, but needed to continue. Additionally, the characters, Elle and Olivia, were so embedded in me that I knew I needed to tell their stories. Making sure I got this story right stuck with me, motivating me to keep going, and driving me forward like no other manuscript I’d written before.

When you first created your protagonist for this book, did you see an empty space in crime lit that you wanted to fill? What can you share about the inspiration for that character?

I found that there was an empty space in the fiction market in general surrounding MLMs and the individuals, specifically women, who participate as customers and/or sellers. Elle, one of my main characters, is the perfect character to take on the systems that MLMs have created, because she doesn’t conform to societal expectations and is quite morally ambiguous. Olivia is Elle’s perfect partner, because Olivia has been embedded deep in the MLM social circles, which have caused her emotional and financial stress. And what better way to infiltrate, than to mimic their structures?

In addition to a great read, what do you hope readers will take away from this story?

I hope readers see the story as a mirror to the complexity of trust and personal motive. I want to challenge readers to think about what they would do in the shoes of Elle and Olivia, and reflect on the moral ambiguities that each of us might face in desperate situations. More than anything, I want it to be a gripping read that keeps them thinking long after they turn the last page.

What can you share about what you’re working on next?

I am currently drafting my next domestic suspense/thriller that is centered on the unraveling of a social media influencer who believes she should live her life exactly as she portrays it online.