Item: Lock Every Door
Rating: 4.00
Author: lessthelonely

by Riley Sager

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

One of . . .
Parade’s “Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2019" • PureWow’s “The Best Beach Reads of Summer 2019” • BookBub’s “Books That Will Make the Perfect Addition to Your Beach Bag This Summer”

The next heart-pounding thriller from New York Times bestselling author Riley Sager follows a young woman whose new job apartment sitting in one of New York’s oldest and most glamorous buildings may cost more than it pays

No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen’s new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan's most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.

As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story . . . until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.

Searching for the truth about Ingrid’s disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew's sordid past and into the secrets kept within its walls. What she discovers pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building’s hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent.

Sometimes you just want a thriller. And well, this is one hell of a soapy one.

This might be like an incredibly weird comparison but I ask you to please let me cook: this reminded me of Verity by Colleen Hoover. Hated that book. Felt like an insult to people who actually read thrillers, but this one had substance. One thing I immediately noticed is that this book has tension, Verity and a lot of other so-called "psychological thrillers" don't. The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins comes to mind. Books like the ones mentioned seem to be around for meandering throughout most of the book, one sole plot thread being tugged at throughout the whole of it - these are books written and entirely conceived around their plot twists.

I can't say that about this book, and that's a good thing.

Lemme do a more flattering comparison: if anyone here has played a Visual Novel by Kotaro Uchikoshi (writer for the Zero Escape and AI: The Somnium Files series), his stories always have some sort of mindblowing plot twist, in the sense that when it happens, you realize just how much was pointing towards the reveal. Once the reveals started coming - and I must also point out, I did predict one at least (not that I think it was that secretive) -, the narration launched into this pretty satisfying explanation of things that had happened, a lot of them you'd even think were just there for a quick cliffhanger.

I like when books respect you: each and every happening in the book is given new meaning by the end. I've also read some other reviews pointing that the big plot twist in this book is farfetched. In few words: I don't think so at all. If anything, it made tremendous amounts of sense, and it perfectly aligned with these little tidbits that keep appearing throughout the book related to its motifs and themes.

All and all, I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book so much, and after reading another book, I've already grabbed another Riley Sager book - let's hope I find it as intriguing as this one.

Lock Every Door

by Riley Sager

Reviewed by lessthelonely on Jun 20, 2023

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