Someone Had to Do It

Brandi Maxwell is living the dream as an intern at prestigious New York fashion house Simon

Van Doren. Except “living the dream” looks more like scrubbing puke from couture dresses worn

by hard-partying models and putting up with microaggressions from her white colleagues. Still,

she can’t help but fangirl over Simon’s it-girl daughter, Taylor. Until one night, at a glamorous

Van Doren party, when Brandi overhears something she shouldn’t have, and her fate becomes

dangerously intertwined Taylor’s.

Model and influencer Taylor Van Doren has everything…and is this close to losing it all. Her

fashion mogul father will donate her inheritance to charity if she fails her next drug test, and he’s

about to marry someone nearly as young as Taylor, further threatening her stake in the family

fortune. But Taylor deserves the money that’s rightfully hers. And she’ll go to any lengths to get

it, even if that means sacrificing her famous father in the process.

All she needs is the perfect person to take the fall…

This discussion guide was shared and sponsored in partnership with Graydon House.

Book club questions for Someone Had to Do It by Amber Brown and Danielle Brown

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

We find out very early on that Brandi is put on probation at her internship because she does not fit in with the “culture” at Van Doren. Discuss why this excuse is a microaggression and what her supervisor actually meant by this statement.

Nate is an interesting character in both Brandi’s and Taylor’s worlds because he is sort of the halfway mark between the two. He, like Taylor, has grown up rich and famous–adjacent, but his parents are from humble beginnings and have raised him with limited access to their wealth. How do his and Taylor’s different upbringings impact the decisions they each make throughout the story?

Taylor and her friends ultimately decide to frame Brandi for the murder of Simon, saying it’d be like “killing two birds with one stone.” Why do you think Brandi was the perfect person to take the “fall” in Taylor’s eyes? Do you think race and/or class played a part in their decision? If so, in what ways?

Glover seems to be wary of Taylor from the start of the murder investigation, suspecting her as the perpetrator from the beginning. Why do you think she wasn’t initially able to convince Bierman to look into Taylor as a prime suspect or even a person of interest?

Who do you think was the true villain(s) of the story?

We finally learn that it was actually Izzy who laced Simon’s glasses with the poison. Were you surprised by this reveal? Did you think it was an interesting plot twist or were you expecting it?

What are your thoughts about the ending? Did you think Taylor would get away with her crimes? Do you think she’ll actually go to prison for the murder of Simon, or will she find a way to wield her privilege and work the system in her favor?

What did you think of Brandi and Nate’s relationship? Did you think it was a positive, tender and compassionate representation of black love?

Was there ever a point in the story where you felt like you were starting to understand Taylor’s motivations for wanting her father dead? Were you ever on her side, even briefly?

As a millennial or a Zoomer, what were some of the themes addressed in the novel that especially resonated with you and why?

Someone Had to Do It Book Club Questions PDF

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"A disturbing peek into the world of privilege. Someone Had to Do It is a tense page-turner that had me yelling out loud at the characters." –Lucinda Berry, bestselling author of The Best of Friends and The Perfect Child

"Amber and Danielle Brown’s debut is a juicy, brilliant treat of a thriller that combines sexy fashion-world glamour with salient points about privilege, racism, and the corrosive effects of extreme wealth. Somehow, Someone Had to Do It manages to be both a scathing critique of our late-stage capitalist hellscape, and the perfect mental escape from it. I couldn’t put it down!"

–Layne Fargo, author of They Never Learn

"SOMEONE HAD TO DO IT has everything. A dark and riveting page turner that has the allure of pulling off the perfect crime with an intelligent twist." –Nadine Matheson, author of THE JIGSAW MAN and THE BINDING ROOM