Book Review: "Lock Every Door" by Riley Sager
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
Synopsis: 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.—Penguin Random House
Rating (out of 5): 3.75
Trigger Warnings: Violence, intimate partner violence, guns/gun violence
Review: I really enjoyed Riley Sager’s first book, Final Girls, but DNF’ed The Last Time I Lied (and I gave it two separate tries!). The premise hooked me on this one: I love the Upper West Side and old buildings, and I particularly love old buildings on the Upper West Side. As a side note—if you share this love, I recommend Rosemary’s Baby and Single White Female for your next movie night, with their settings at The Dakota and The Ansonia, respectively.
Riley Sager (whom I recently found out is a man, part of the trend of male suspense novelists using gender neutral noms de plume), can really put together a compelling premise. I was drawn in from the beginning, mostly because of the spooky atmosphere and relatively quick action. Unfortunately, there are a few weaknesses in his writing. The dialogue is less than believable, but doesn’t quite ascend to the level of camp, which could have been appealing in its own way. The other residents of the building are also directly out of central casting, no real surprises to be found among them. I also guessed a major twist on the early side—I’m no Nancy Drew, so I assume many of you will as well.
Despite these faults, I was eager to discover what Jules’ fate would be, and if she’d ever solve the mystery of the other missing apartment sitters in time to save herself. There are major, major Rosemary’s Baby vibes here, enough that I found it slightly derivative. However, like Rosemary’s Baby, what makes this successful is that we we believe Jules’ desperation and inability to discern who has her best interests in mind.
Without revealing too much, the ending devolved to the point where the action became pretty unbelievable. Even so, I never felt any desire to stop reading. Like a few of my recent mystery reviews, I absolutely recommend you read this one, but it’s not a life-changer.
TL;DR: Spooky, campy beach read, worth a read. The atmosphere and pacing will allow you to turn a blind eye to the less than stellar dialogue and outlandish twists.
If you liked this, try these:
“More Than You Know” by Beth Gutcheon
“The Woman in the Window” by A.J. Finn
“Broken Harbor” by Tana French
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