Not your typical mystery book – this one has lots of layers, several overlapping plots, and plenty of intrigue and misdirection. It’s the story of a young man, Ben, who is staying in a rather fancy apartment building in Paris. When we meet him, we know next to nothing about his life or why he’s there, only that he’s waiting for his sister, Jess, to arrive – and that she’s showing up at a rather inconvenient time, and he’s a little frustrated about it. But by the time Jess arrives at the apartment building Ben doesn’t seem to be there. Though he promised he’d let her in himself, he doesn’t answer the phone, nor does he seem to be in evidence when she finally makes her way into the building.
Being a fancy address, there are only a few other suites in the building and a few other tenants – an angry alcoholic whose wife is in the process of leaving him as Jess arrives, an enigmatic but attractive young British man who seems to be unconcernedly unemployed, a shy and insecure young woman who shares an apartment with a gregarious and overly-sexed female roommate, and the penthouse which is occupied by a successful businessman and his polished and remotely beautiful wife. The only other person on the property is the caretaker, who lives in the rundown shack by the gate.
As Jess spends more time in the apartment building and gets to know each of its occupants a little, more and more strange things come to light. It turns out that they each have secrets they’re hiding, and even the building itself has things to hide. Jess has to figure out, and quickly, how to navigate a new city and determine exactly what her brother was doing there, and where he’s gone. She looks for any clue she can find, and begins pulling at threads trying to figure out just what happened and how it is all connected. That Jess is a stranger in Paris, one who doesn’t speak the language, doesn’t fit in with the moneyed people at the apartment building, and can’t shake a sense of unease when she’s in her brother’s apartment, really makes the unsettling atmosphere of this book palpable.
The plot moves fairly evenly throughout the book, but it isn’t as fast-paced as some others I’ve read. It takes a while to tease out each clue, each question, each revelation. It didn’t lose me in any specific parts, but it also didn’t have me quite as on edge as some of the other thrillers I’ve read. And I wanted to know what had happened, but Jess isn’t a character I felt particularly close to or cared that much about. I wanted her to be okay, but I didn’t really invest much in her. And pretty much all of the other characters are cold, unpleasant or just generally unlikeable. I do wish there’d been a bit more to connect to in the characters, because I think that would have upped the suspense quotient significantly. But even without that, I wanted to find out what was going to happen next and couldn’t stop listening. I like Paris as a book setting, too. I’ve only been there once, so there’s a more than fair chance that the Paris of my imagination exists only there, but nonetheless it’s a place I enjoy visiting in fiction. It’s also a fantastic setting for a book with as many layers of intrigue as this one. Oh, and if you’re looking to brush up on your French swear words… that’s covered extensively in this book as well. Worth a read if you’re a fan of this kind of twisty-turny story, and if you’re a fan of atmospheric thrillers.
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. – Goodreads
Book Title: The Paris Apartment
Author: Lucy Foley
Series: No
Edition: Audiobook (Libby)
Published By: William Morrow
Released: February 22, 2022
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Family Drama, Psychological Thriller
Pages: 360
Date Read: February 17-18, 2025
Rating: 7/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.66/5 (632,053 ratings)