Rating - ⭐⭐1/2
"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."
The Paris Apartment is a standalone mystery thriller by Lucy Foley.
I knew right away not only that I was going to be skimming this because it was bland and boring, but that it was also going to be disappointing. And, I wasn't wrong, because this didn't give me anything.
Let's get into the details.
WRITING
This has a multi-pov with the chapters sectioned by characters. I wasn't the biggest fan of all of the perspectives because I felt like it detracted from Jess' perspective and the overall story. It also made the story a bit repetitive because each character kept saying that everything changed when Ben moved in.
There is also a lot calling people whores and sluts which was not necessary and was overkill.
PLOT
This was penned as a locked room mystery which I don't think was the best way to describe this book, so it was a swing and a miss from the get-go. I was expecting this story to be more than what it ended up becoming. There were a lot of missed opportunities because I feel like they were elements that could have been explored or used more/better but weren't. Hints were also given that led to nowhere.
There were some infuriating plot holes, mainly because of Jess not exploring enough. I won't say more because it will spoil it, but when you are trying to look for someone who went missing, you have to cover all of the tracks. One question I also had was just how small was this apartment complex for there to be only 5 apartments and no other neighbours?
CHARACTERS
All of the characters felt kind of one-dimensional, and they played a bit too much into their archetypes. None of them were particularly interesting to read about and Jess, as the leading main character, didn't carry the story or mystery very well. Her character wasn't fully fleshed out either because, by the end, you are left with holes in her character that were ever filled or explained.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
I preferred her other book, The Guest List, over this one even though I know a lot of people didn't like that one either. If you are looking for something similar, maybe Lock Every Door would work better for you (though I found it to be only an okay book).
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