The Cave Dwellers by Christina McDowell

 They are the Washington elite, politicians, businessmen and diplomats.  Some are old money while others are new to the upper monied class.  Their children attend elite private schools and are guaranteed places at the Ivy League universities their parents are alumni of.  They have the perfect life or do they?  When one of the families experiences a break-in, murder and their house burned to the ground, the other families start to question their lives.

We see this world through the lives of several of the families and their children.  There is Bunny, only child of one of the richest families, a family that made their billions on the backs of their workers and who are about to be embroiled in multiple wrongful death lawsuits for the illnesses their chemical plants have caused.  Bunny is bored with her life and suspicious that she doesn't deserve it.  After the murder, she visits the man arrested in prison and tries to bridge the gap between them.  She is dating Billy, whose father has just been nominated for Secretary of Defense.  His father could care less that Billy is a talented musician; he is determined that Billy will continue the family tradition of military service.  Mackensie's father is a new Senator who champions women's rights in public and has affairs in private.  She is dating Marty, the only African American in their group and whose parents are both lawyers.  Then there is the son of the Russian ambassador who the rest of the group call Putin.

All of these families are poised on the brink of disaster and some of them will tip over.  Along the way, their social climbing, lack of interest in others and determination to have their own way in life is exposed.  This is a debut novel and the author is a bit heavy-handed.  Every character in this social circle is totally corrupt and unlikeable.  The point she is making, that wealth and privilege is often based on corruption is valid but would be more compelling if her characters were more well rounded.  Very few people are totally one way or the other; most of us have good and bad characteristics and we are judged by which ones we allow to rule our lives.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.