Title: THE PARIS APARTMENT
Author: Lucy Foley
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Read: January 2022
Expected publication: 3 March 2022
My Rating: 🌟🌟
Book Description:
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 musings:
I was very excited to get my hands on an early copy
of Lucy Foley’s latest book, because her closed door mysteries are always a joy
to read. Unfortunately I found that THE PARIS APARTMENT and I did not gel as I
had hoped.
“What’s not to love about a mystery
set in a luxury apartment block in Paris?” you ask. Good question. Paris, this wonderful romantic
old city is indeed an ideal place to host a bit of murder and intrigue. And yet
I found that I got very little sense of place from this book. Whilst the
descriptions of the apartment are atmospheric and gave me old creepy house
vibes, the rest of the story could have been set anywhere in the world and
would not have been any different. I wanted to FEEL like I was in Paris, the
city of love and romance, only to be betrayed by the city with fear and murder.
I wanted to picture the smell of coffee and croissants in smoky cafes, the
melodic chatter of Parisians milling in the streets, the feel of the ancient
city as it pressed in on me. And yet, the city felt flat. None of French charm
here. Not even creepy vibes of dark back alleys. If some Paris landmarks hadn’t
been mentioned, this could have been anywhere in the world.
Then there was the cast of
characters. In retrospect, they all blend into one big glob of unlikeable
people with few distinctive characteristics to set them apart. Again, the
French could have been any nationality, this horrible bickering family that would
have fitted into any other setting without having to change a thing. I tried to
get invested in Jess’ plight as she desperately searches for her brother, but
even she couldn’t touch my heart. The multiple POVs, instead of drawing me in,
made the book feel disjointed and stole a lot of its mystery. To be honest, I stopped
reading a few times and only persevered because this was an ARC, and I thought
the ending may redeem it. However, even though many things finally fell into
place and the story picked up pace, the final denouement seemed farfetched to
me. I really wanted to love this book, so it pains me to say that I barely made
it through until the end!
Summary:
All in all, THE PARIS APARTMENT and I weren’t a
good fit. I am finding more and more that I am not a fan of multiple POVs,
especially in mysteries. I often come away thinking that one person tapping in
the dark and struggling to get the answers would make the story more
suspenseful. So perhaps it is due to reader preferences that made me struggle
with this book, as many other readers have loved it. Saying that, will I line
up to read Foley’s next book? Most definitely. At a different time, a different
mood, it may all work out better – sadly this time the story and I just didn’t
gel.
Thank
you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for the free electronic copy of this
novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
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