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Somebody Down There Likes Me
A brilliant, slyly humorous dissection of wealth, power and the tragedies even money can't fix for fans of The Secret History, The Corrections and Succession.
'Lukins' prose is supple and elegant … his doomed and flailing Gulch family are a stunning comic creation. But even as they writhe and scheme under the law's heel, Lukins builds a highly empathetic study around them, painting all the pathologies that mark our inequitable age.' Jock Serong, author of Cherrywood
'Robert Lukins is an always elegant, supremely intelligent, bitingly funny sign me up for everything he ever writes.' Kate Mildenhall, author of The Hummingbird Effect
Against the backdrop of the last decadent gasps of the twentieth century, the Gulch family have led a charmed existence in the ultra-wealthy enclave of Belle Haven, Connecticut. Now, the empire they have built is on the edge of collapse, and as the decades of fraud and criminality that lie beneath the family's incredible wealth is exposed, the Gulch children are summoned.
Kick Gulch, desperate and broke, is drawn back into the unreal world she thought she'd escaped forever.
Her brother, Lincoln, one of Belle Haven's shining stars, is revelling in its culture of power and excess, and masterminding his ascendancy.
At the head of the family are Honey and Fax, circling each other as the authorities close in. Fax is drawn out of his dream life of drug-fuelled fantasies, while Honey is willing to reshape the world to see what they have built survive.
As tensions rise and conspiracies are forced to the surface, the truth behind the disappearance of Kick's high school friend comes into question, with each of them facing the complicity of their silence.
For fans of The Secret History, The Corrections and Succession, Robert Lukins has written a brilliant, acerbic dissection of wealth, power and the tragedies even money can't fix.
'Lukins' prose is supple and elegant … his doomed and flailing Gulch family are a stunning comic creation. But even as they writhe and scheme under the law's heel, Lukins builds a highly empathetic study around them, painting all the pathologies that mark our inequitable age.' Jock Serong, author of Cherrywood
'Robert Lukins is an always elegant, supremely intelligent, bitingly funny sign me up for everything he ever writes.' Kate Mildenhall, author of The Hummingbird Effect
Against the backdrop of the last decadent gasps of the twentieth century, the Gulch family have led a charmed existence in the ultra-wealthy enclave of Belle Haven, Connecticut. Now, the empire they have built is on the edge of collapse, and as the decades of fraud and criminality that lie beneath the family's incredible wealth is exposed, the Gulch children are summoned.
Kick Gulch, desperate and broke, is drawn back into the unreal world she thought she'd escaped forever.
Her brother, Lincoln, one of Belle Haven's shining stars, is revelling in its culture of power and excess, and masterminding his ascendancy.
At the head of the family are Honey and Fax, circling each other as the authorities close in. Fax is drawn out of his dream life of drug-fuelled fantasies, while Honey is willing to reshape the world to see what they have built survive.
As tensions rise and conspiracies are forced to the surface, the truth behind the disappearance of Kick's high school friend comes into question, with each of them facing the complicity of their silence.
For fans of The Secret History, The Corrections and Succession, Robert Lukins has written a brilliant, acerbic dissection of wealth, power and the tragedies even money can't fix.
Kindle Edition
Published February 4, 2025
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295 people want to read
About the author
Robert Lukins
4 books84 followersRobert Lukins lives is a writer living in Melbourne.
His debut novel, The Everlasting Sunday, was published in 2018 and was nominated for several major literary awards.
His writing has appeared in Meanjin, Rolling Stone, Overland, The Big Issue, and other odd places.
His debut novel, The Everlasting Sunday, was published in 2018 and was nominated for several major literary awards.
His writing has appeared in Meanjin, Rolling Stone, Overland, The Big Issue, and other odd places.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
November 17, 2024
Yeah. Yep.
Read
February 9, 2025I wonder if these obnoxious characters were as fun to write as they are to read. Lukins is yet to set a novel in Australia and here takes us to Connecticut to witness a wealthy family unravelling. He passes perspective between the four of them in short sharp chapters. It felt closely related to Long Island Compromise and if you loved that, you’ll love this. The Kennedys haunt this novel in all sorts of interesting ways. There’s so much to love about a novel set in 1996 exploring the decadence and greed of the 80s and early 90s.
January 29, 2025
If you love TV shows like Succession, Somebody Down There Likes Me is right up your alley.
The ultra-wealthy Gulch family has built their Connecticut empire on decades of fraud and crime—but now, it’s all on the verge of collapse. Siblings Kick and Lincoln are summoned home by their parents, Fax and Honey, just as their world begins to unravel.
The story starts off a little slow as we get to know Kick and Lincoln. Kick has spent years rebelling against the privileged lifestyle that Lincoln fully embraces. They couldn’t be more different, but when they’re forced back into the family fold, they face a choice: let the empire crumble or find a way to rebuild—on their own terms.
This book has everything you’d expect from a story about obscene wealth—power, drugs, fame, and the high-stakes consequences that come with it. A gripping mix of drama, sharp humor, and unexpected life lessons, Somebody Down There Likes Me is a solid read with plenty of intense and entertaining moments.
#SomebodyDownThereLikesMe #NetGalley #ladysnuffy #dramabook #books
The ultra-wealthy Gulch family has built their Connecticut empire on decades of fraud and crime—but now, it’s all on the verge of collapse. Siblings Kick and Lincoln are summoned home by their parents, Fax and Honey, just as their world begins to unravel.
The story starts off a little slow as we get to know Kick and Lincoln. Kick has spent years rebelling against the privileged lifestyle that Lincoln fully embraces. They couldn’t be more different, but when they’re forced back into the family fold, they face a choice: let the empire crumble or find a way to rebuild—on their own terms.
This book has everything you’d expect from a story about obscene wealth—power, drugs, fame, and the high-stakes consequences that come with it. A gripping mix of drama, sharp humor, and unexpected life lessons, Somebody Down There Likes Me is a solid read with plenty of intense and entertaining moments.
#SomebodyDownThereLikesMe #NetGalley #ladysnuffy #dramabook #books
March 7, 2025
I’ve missed something here. I didn’t see the point; everything in this seemed so inconsequential to me. Not just the overall plot or the driving action, but even the characterisation revealed in every short chapter and the actual construction of the narrative.
December 11, 2025
that ending was so unsatisfying
September 14, 2025
A disappointingly low score for this book that I had high expectations for: with glowing praise from authors I respect (Jock Serong, Kate Mildenhall), this US set (from an Australian author - don’t we have our own dysfunctional billionaire families here?) novel was a bit of a let down. In a nutshell, the Gulch family has come together (the bizzarely named Honey and Fax, and their children Lincoln and Kick) as the feds are closing in on the family fortunes and businesses. Kick hasn’t been back since she left home, her brother Lincoln is a thoroughly contemptible character, Fax blurs his way through life with alcohol and drugs, and Honey perhaps won’t be nominated for Wife and Mother of the Year (that’s 30 years straight now). Looping back to the Chappaquiddick Kennedy tragedy on occasion, and with a missing friend of Kick’s who had some sort of relationship with Fax, by the end I couldn’t wait for them all to be hauled off to jail, so it would give the forehead wrinkles I’d amassed while reading it a bit of a break.
March 21, 2025
I enjoyed this sharp novel about a dysfunctional rich family. It’s well observed & elegantly written. What sets it apart from other ‘rich people behaving badly’ books I’ve read recently is that his characters are complex & he makes them sympathetic (if briefly) at times. Both plot & characters didn’t develop as much as I expected so it didn’t surprise or provoke me, but it was a satisfying end. The on point writing was a joy. A compelling read.
March 17, 2025
This was painful - turns out I can’t stand people like this in real life or in a fictional setting
Overall disappointed - not my usual type of book and I won’t be returning to this type of tale in a rush.
I did enjoy the multiple narrators as easy to tell what character view as there were quite a few
Overall disappointed - not my usual type of book and I won’t be returning to this type of tale in a rush.
I did enjoy the multiple narrators as easy to tell what character view as there were quite a few
March 31, 2025
I quite liked this reviewer’s blurb about this novel which I think captured the essence well: “Yet another trendy tale of feckless, all-American cruelty, following a family of late-capitalist tropes whose empire is about to fall.“ (https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...) (The reviewer was Beejay Silcox – I haven’t always agreed with her but on this occasion…)
I wanted to read it because Linda Jaivan reviewed it and said: “If you enjoyed Succession, Yellowstone or even just the legal spectacle of Gina Rinehart being sued by her own children, this may be a novel for you. If you enjoyed Succession, Yellowstone or even just the legal spectacle of Gina Rinehart being sued by her own children, this may be a novel for you.” (https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/c...)
The claustrophobic novel focuses mostly on one family – the obscenely rich Gulch family consisting of parents Fax and Honey and r=grown up children Lincoln and Kick. The story begins on a Sunday in 1996 as Kick reluctantly answers the call to return home. Honey and Fax have important news for her and her brother, or, as Fax puts it once they are all together, “Your mother and I have some shit to lay on you…” Once home, Honey tells both Kick and Lincoln: “We’ve made some mistakes that are going to be judged illegal.” Their company is about to go bust, the FBI is imminent, and jail terms are likely. Honey does not consider them to have made mistakes: “There was no useful difference between the business of a criminal and non-criminal nature,” she thinks to herself. “The two were as Good and Bad as each other, in that they were neither.”
The novel unfolds over the nine days between Kick’s return and the anticipated rap by law enforcement on the door. The novel is divided into nine parts, one for each day. Within each part, we drop in on each of the four, and learn that Kick has a dark secret of her own. Jaivan notes: “The author has made the interesting choice of having Kick and Lincoln narrate their own sections, while using a third-person voice for those of Fax and Honey. It occurred to me this might be partly because Fax’s inner voice, incoherent as it is even to himself, would sorely test both reader and writer.”
There’s a lot of very good competition in this space for this kind of narrative. Take ‘Succession’ and ‘Long Island Compromise’ for starters. Both of these set a very high bar for others and I felt that this novel was lacking. The author is clearly a good writer – perhaps the most effective part of the novel is the way he evokes Fax, the most complex of characters - drug addled a lot of the time, retreating into an internal space or into past history for much of the novel, but not completely out of it as he tries to ensure that his wife carries the can for the company’s illegal activities. But I kept asking myself “How is this book going to segue into something a bit more complex than a story about rich people behaving in toxic ways towards each other?” And it doesn’t quite manage it. Maybe I’ve read too much about wealthy people behaving badly this year after reading about the Sacklers in ‘Empire of Pain’.
One reviewer said that Lukins was “…Drawing on his own experience of meeting a billionaire and hearing his stories of growing up in an enclave not dissimilar from the fictitious Belle Haven.” (https://www.queenslandreviewerscollec...) I’m sure it’s pretty accurate but felt like he wasn’t saying anything new about the topic. I will look for other novels he has written however, because I think he writes well.
I wanted to read it because Linda Jaivan reviewed it and said: “If you enjoyed Succession, Yellowstone or even just the legal spectacle of Gina Rinehart being sued by her own children, this may be a novel for you. If you enjoyed Succession, Yellowstone or even just the legal spectacle of Gina Rinehart being sued by her own children, this may be a novel for you.” (https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/c...)
The claustrophobic novel focuses mostly on one family – the obscenely rich Gulch family consisting of parents Fax and Honey and r=grown up children Lincoln and Kick. The story begins on a Sunday in 1996 as Kick reluctantly answers the call to return home. Honey and Fax have important news for her and her brother, or, as Fax puts it once they are all together, “Your mother and I have some shit to lay on you…” Once home, Honey tells both Kick and Lincoln: “We’ve made some mistakes that are going to be judged illegal.” Their company is about to go bust, the FBI is imminent, and jail terms are likely. Honey does not consider them to have made mistakes: “There was no useful difference between the business of a criminal and non-criminal nature,” she thinks to herself. “The two were as Good and Bad as each other, in that they were neither.”
The novel unfolds over the nine days between Kick’s return and the anticipated rap by law enforcement on the door. The novel is divided into nine parts, one for each day. Within each part, we drop in on each of the four, and learn that Kick has a dark secret of her own. Jaivan notes: “The author has made the interesting choice of having Kick and Lincoln narrate their own sections, while using a third-person voice for those of Fax and Honey. It occurred to me this might be partly because Fax’s inner voice, incoherent as it is even to himself, would sorely test both reader and writer.”
There’s a lot of very good competition in this space for this kind of narrative. Take ‘Succession’ and ‘Long Island Compromise’ for starters. Both of these set a very high bar for others and I felt that this novel was lacking. The author is clearly a good writer – perhaps the most effective part of the novel is the way he evokes Fax, the most complex of characters - drug addled a lot of the time, retreating into an internal space or into past history for much of the novel, but not completely out of it as he tries to ensure that his wife carries the can for the company’s illegal activities. But I kept asking myself “How is this book going to segue into something a bit more complex than a story about rich people behaving in toxic ways towards each other?” And it doesn’t quite manage it. Maybe I’ve read too much about wealthy people behaving badly this year after reading about the Sacklers in ‘Empire of Pain’.
One reviewer said that Lukins was “…Drawing on his own experience of meeting a billionaire and hearing his stories of growing up in an enclave not dissimilar from the fictitious Belle Haven.” (https://www.queenslandreviewerscollec...) I’m sure it’s pretty accurate but felt like he wasn’t saying anything new about the topic. I will look for other novels he has written however, because I think he writes well.
April 11, 2025
As we keep hearing in the relentless coverage of the federal election campaign, there is a (worldwide) cost of living crisis, and the more perceptive reporting of it notes that the pain of it is borne inequitably by different segments of society. So what better timing could there be for a biting satire that skewers the rapacious wealthy when the authorities are about to catch up with them, eh?
Robert Lukins is a versatile author. Somebody Down There Likes Me is quite the contrast with his debut The Everlasting Sunday (2018), and Loveland (2022), by Robert Lukins because while they were very different to each other in preoccupations and setting, both were infused with a sense of dread and menace that made them unputdownable. Somebody Down There Likes Me, OTOH, features characters who are also kind-of dreading what comes next but *chuckle* I think most people will be cheering the FBI et al so that the Gulch family gets its comeuppance.
The characterisation is masterly. While the younger generation and beneficiaries of their parents' ill-gotten gains Kick and Lincoln are surprised by the news that the the FBI is on its way and that prison is in the offing, (not to mention the loss of their fortune), their parents Honey and Fax greet the news with more equanimity. Fax is sanguine because he's off his face on expensive drugs and hasn't been present in the real world for a very long time, and just as the reader is starting to wonder how exactly it is that these two have advance notice of the impending catastrophe, there's a chapter where we learn how Honey has been (a-hem) nurturing a friendship with an FBI agent.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2025/04/11/s...
Robert Lukins is a versatile author. Somebody Down There Likes Me is quite the contrast with his debut The Everlasting Sunday (2018), and Loveland (2022), by Robert Lukins because while they were very different to each other in preoccupations and setting, both were infused with a sense of dread and menace that made them unputdownable. Somebody Down There Likes Me, OTOH, features characters who are also kind-of dreading what comes next but *chuckle* I think most people will be cheering the FBI et al so that the Gulch family gets its comeuppance.
The characterisation is masterly. While the younger generation and beneficiaries of their parents' ill-gotten gains Kick and Lincoln are surprised by the news that the the FBI is on its way and that prison is in the offing, (not to mention the loss of their fortune), their parents Honey and Fax greet the news with more equanimity. Fax is sanguine because he's off his face on expensive drugs and hasn't been present in the real world for a very long time, and just as the reader is starting to wonder how exactly it is that these two have advance notice of the impending catastrophe, there's a chapter where we learn how Honey has been (a-hem) nurturing a friendship with an FBI agent.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2025/04/11/s...
January 18, 2025
I was truly hooked on reading this book and so when it made it into my hands, I pushed hard to finish my two other reads to give it space.
There’s no doubt from the get go that there is pace in this book. From the story line, to the character development to the social commentary, there was something in every chapter.
I particularly liked the change in narration between the parents and the children (adult children as they are, but are they really).
Character flaws that you’d otherwise loathe had you empathising. Moments where I was laughing out loud and yet knowing that these were not laughable moments - clever writing by the author as it makes you turn into yourself for reflection.
I really thought I was on track to give this a 5, but I tired at the end with what felt like unnecessary repetition of details to round out the characters when so much had been done in the first “5 days” of the story.
I can see the list of questions a book club would want to dissect in this book. The ending being one topic - but no spoilers.
All in all, I’d recommend this book.
Nice work R.L.
There’s no doubt from the get go that there is pace in this book. From the story line, to the character development to the social commentary, there was something in every chapter.
I particularly liked the change in narration between the parents and the children (adult children as they are, but are they really).
Character flaws that you’d otherwise loathe had you empathising. Moments where I was laughing out loud and yet knowing that these were not laughable moments - clever writing by the author as it makes you turn into yourself for reflection.
I really thought I was on track to give this a 5, but I tired at the end with what felt like unnecessary repetition of details to round out the characters when so much had been done in the first “5 days” of the story.
I can see the list of questions a book club would want to dissect in this book. The ending being one topic - but no spoilers.
All in all, I’d recommend this book.
Nice work R.L.
February 17, 2025
Robert Lukins writing has wit, incite and pace and this story of a ridiculously wealthy family on the cusp of losing it all is intoxicating. The early part of the book, in snack size chapters, introduces us to all the highly flawed and unlikeable characters whose dialogues had me laughing out loud and gasping at their lack of empathy and incite. The pace is set on 24 hour cycles heading to the final day of reckoning and how each of them is dealing with the inevitable while reflecting on how they came to be there. The pace slowed a little toward to the end but I was fully invested. Interested to see what others made of the ending!
June 8, 2025
I nearly gave up on this book several times. I finished it, but it is full of unlikeable characters who don’t seem to do much other than drink and drugs. The parents, Fax and Honey are facing arrest for financial crimes so they gather their children, Kick and Lincoln so they can forewarn them. After that not a lot happens.
March 9, 2025
"Robert Lukins’ novel Somebody Down There Likes Me shows there’s no need to eat the rich: left to their own devices, they will eat themselves..." You can read the rest of my review in the Saturday Paper: https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/c...
May 12, 2025
When one does not like the characters it makes it very problematic to enjoy the book ...and this was the case with this book.
This is the third by this author and sadly I have not enjoyed any of them.
This is the third by this author and sadly I have not enjoyed any of them.
March 11, 2025
Entertaining. Love dysfunctional families...
March 17, 2025
Wow - stunning. How obnoxious, self-obsessed and delusional are the ultra-rich? Like a better version of TV series like Succession and White Lotus. All the annoying characters but with more depth. And better dialogue. And a better plot line. Loved the short sharp chapters and the structure from all 4 family members' perspectives. It shows the impact parents can have on their children. We need more biting satire like this.
March 30, 2025
Almost really good. Lacking the guts and dialogue to be a really good family saga.
April 5, 2025
Fabulous writing in terms of characterisation and voice but I didn't care for the story.
May 30, 2025
well written story about bad people
July 10, 2025
Exact rating: 1.5/5 (rounded to 2)
August 10, 2025
3.75 stars.
I think the author tried to be edgy, but overall the book ended up feeling a little incomplete. Some of the themes would be a fab bookclub discussion, and whilst the storyline was a bit random the actual writing was great!
I would definitely read another book by this author, and would gently recommend it to a couple of my besties so we could discuss later.
I think the author tried to be edgy, but overall the book ended up feeling a little incomplete. Some of the themes would be a fab bookclub discussion, and whilst the storyline was a bit random the actual writing was great!
I would definitely read another book by this author, and would gently recommend it to a couple of my besties so we could discuss later.
May 5, 2025
Wasn’t consistent with my reading so whatever clever things *might* have been going on with form, prose and character I missed. Or, maybe it was simply dull.
I would gladly read a whole book from Lincoln’s POV. He was sickly twisted and gloriously fragile. A young man who missed his sister, grieved his not dead father and despised his indefatigably malicious mother.
If you enjoyed The Secret History, don’t read this thinking it’s remotely the same.
I would gladly read a whole book from Lincoln’s POV. He was sickly twisted and gloriously fragile. A young man who missed his sister, grieved his not dead father and despised his indefatigably malicious mother.
If you enjoyed The Secret History, don’t read this thinking it’s remotely the same.
May 13, 2025
Really couldn't hack this one. Didn't enjoy it at all.
Felt like I was reading an angsty wattpad of someone who 'feels things deeper than others do.'
Felt like I was reading an angsty wattpad of someone who 'feels things deeper than others do.'
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews