Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

Five Word Summary

Atmospheric, suspenseful, claustrophobic, twisted, enigmatic.

For

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List comes a new locked room mystery, set in a Paris apartment building in which every resident has something to hide…

Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up – to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? – he’s not there.

The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question.

The socialite – The nice guy – The alcoholic – The girl on the verge – The concierge

Everyone’s a neighbor. Everyone’s a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling.

My Thoughts

This book was a great read! We are thrust into one of those creepy situations that we can all imagine and which would honestly have me in crying like a little girl. But not our main character, Jess. She is one tough cookie, but given her foster home childhood, that is no surprise. Just the same, as the answers to questions simply raise more and questions—and things start to feel downright dangerous—Jess does crumble. But she gathers her crumbling pieces and ploughs forward, never letting up in the search for her brother who has mysteriously disappeared.

There is an entire cast of super menacing characters—the book is told via multiple points of view—each with their own story and their own demons riding them. They are all suspects and trying to guess whodunnit is a revolving door of ‘him, no … her, no …him …’ just as a good murder mystery should.

The setting is dark and moody. It’s well paced and has plenty of twists to keep you reading and guessing.

The plot is tight, with no escape left to our MC and it feels very real. If anyone has travelled, you will know how scary the thought of being on your own in a strange country can be. The chapters are snappy and the changing POVs propel the story along nicely.

I’ve been reading a few whodunnits lately and The Paris Apartment is by far the best one I’ve read in a couple of months. I will definitely be checking out the other books by Lucy Foley.

Cover

Great cover for the genre, nicely communicating the creepy atmosphere of the book. This genre doesn’t tend to have ‘gorgeous’ covers like fantasy does, but still, it’s a cover that would invite me to pick it from the shelf in a bookstore.