The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

SYNOPSIS

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.

Synopsis from Goodreads

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PERSONAL REVIEW

I hadn't heard of this book before my book club picked it as our next read, but Lucy Foley came recommended and we were looking for an interesting, "mystery-ish"novel to indulge in. Unfortunately, this book just didn't do it for me (although some of my friends really liked it!). 

Too Many Points of View
Normally I’m a huge fan of multiple perspectives, but the Paris Apartment is actually made uninteresting because of the many POVs. The air of mystery is relatively sucked out of the story. Instead, having the story told only from Jess's point of view would’ve added the element of unease and creepiness that the author was striving for. An important element of having multiple POVs is that each character's voice should stand out as their own; that just doesn't happen in this book. Every character felt the same, which was both confusing (who am I reading about right now?) and flat (why do I care about this character?). 

Underwhelming
This could go back to having too many perspectives, but overall I found the suspense intention in this novel very underwhelming. I often fry it where I was in the story if I took a break and would have to flip a few pages back to remind myself what was happening. That said, I do think the potential for a great story was here and I see how this was a really good summer read for my book club because it was light and easy to get through.
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Overall, this wasn't my favourite book. It felt like it was simultaneously missing some elements while indulging in too many others. While the synopsis grabbed my attention, the book itself fell flat. If you liked The Paris Apartment, please comment below and tell me why! I'd love to get more perspectives on this book :) 

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FINAL RATING: 2.5/5