Book Review: “Lock Every Door” by Riley Sager
“Lock Every Door” by Riley Sager (2019)
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction
Page Length: 371 pages (hardcover edition)
Synopsis:
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, disturbingly 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 dark past and into the secrets kept within its walls. Her discovery that Ingrid is not the first apartment sitter to go missing at the Bartholomew 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. (Description from Goodreads)
Review:
I’ve been meaning to read one of Sager’s books for a long time. The cover of this novel caught my eye and I was very intrigued by the synopsis.
The story follows the main character, Jules, as she accepts a job to an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew a historic building where the elite live private lives. Right off the bat things don’t seem quite right. The job has incredibly strict rules, she’s being paid a large sum of money, and the building has a dark history. It’s a dark thriller and all of the what if’s pulled me immediately into story: what is the mystery behind this building?
Instead of this novel being a horror story where things are constantly popping out of corners, it’s slower paced leading to a climatic ending. It reminded me more of a gothic horor story overall with the setting of the Bartholomew. It seems like such a sinister building, but it also has beauitiful architecture.
The more the reader, along with Jules, learns more about it’s residents and history the more creepy the story becomes. I was a bit disappointed this novel was more thriller than horror, but I did enjoy the aspects of the novel. I was surprised by the big twist at the end of the novel. It went a completely different direction that I originally thought it would.
I enjoyed this suspenseful read and would be interested in reading more of Sager’s other novels.
Final Verdict:
