I have read several of Linwood Barclays previous books and really enjoyed them. Unfortunately very disappointed by this one and have tried several times to read it but just cannot 'get into it' and have given up.Sorry

I have only read one other of Linwood’s books, which I loved, but this one didn’t do it for me. It was good, but I found I was able to put it down for long periods of time and had to force myself to carry on reading it. It all gets wrapped up with no loose ends.

I found this book a bit weird to begin with and wasn't sure how enjoyable it was going to be, however it was well worth persevering as the story turned out fantastically with a twist I really didn't see coming!

It begins on a Monday, when four people board an elevator in Manhattan. Each presses the button for their floor, but the elevator climbs, non-stop, to the top where it pauses for a few seconds, before dropping. Right to the bottom of the shaft. It appears to be a horrific, random tragedy. But then, on Tuesday, it happens again. When Wednesday brings yet another catastrophe, New York, one of the most vertical cities in the world is plunged into chaos. Clearly, this is anything but random. This is a cold, calculated bid to terrorize the city. And it’s working. But what do these deadly acts of sabotage have to do with the fingerless body found on the High Line? It will be a race against time for detectives Jerry Borque and Lois Delgado to find the answers before a deadly Friday night showdown.

What a thrilling read this was, I was hooked just from reading the blurb. The most terrifying situations really are the most mundane. Take a lift, or elevator, you have no way of knowing if you will travel safely in one and now they are being targeted, chilling.

The plot has a good pace, there are times when it is really intense and full of action and others where it trundles along more. The action really is intense and you are never too sure where the danger is. The investigation is equally as thrilling and I enjoyed reading about the different strands of those involved and what their motivation was. This is very exhilarating and full of twists to get your heart racing. There are some more difficult and emotional scenes as well but Barclay offers some light humour to spark some enjoyment.
Barclay's characters are great, an eclectic mix with their flaws to keep you interested. I enjoyed getting to know them and learning about their role in events.

'Elevator Pitch' has taken an everyday occurrence and made it utterly terrifying. I guarantee you will be left breathless reading this and you will never look at a lift the same way again.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for an advance copy.

The only downside to this book is that you may never ride in an elevator again and feel entirely safe! This great story is about someone tampering with the elevators in New York City's skyscrapers. The first elevator accident seems like a terrible tragedy, the second an odd coincidence but the third sends the people of the city into blind panic.
Is it terrorists or is it a personal vendetta against Mayor Headley? Reporter Barbara Matheson has a theory but will anyone listen to her? A book that you can't put down!

This is a most exciting, if rather gruesome, read. The story pulls you along, you need to know what happens next. Some of the facts really do make you think about whether you want to take the lift in any tall building ever again!

Detective Bourque is suffering psychological problems after a case where he ducked to avoid a bullet, and the woman standing behind him, with a baby in her arms, was killed. He feels guilty, and if anything reminds him of the incident he gets a reaction similar to an asthma attack, his throat closes up and he cannot breath. He and his partner, Lois Delgado, are called out to a murder scene where a man has had his face destroyed and his finger pads cut off, so that he cannot be identified. However, the murderer dropped one finger pad, and from that the police can produce a fingerprint, with that and DNA evidence they are soon able to find out who the man is - a lift engineer. Then lift accidents start happening, and a car bomb explodes outside the building where one of the lift incidents is happening, which leads everyone to think it might be terrorism. There is a knock-on effect, every lift in New York needs to be inspected, and some older people with health problems die trying to use the stairs to return to their apartments, many floors up.

A reporter, Barbara Matheson has her own reasons for disapproving of the mayor, Richard Headley, and she is constantly calling him to account in her newspaper column. All of the lifts that are affected are in buildings associated with wealthy people who give large donations to support the mayor, so she is sure it all has something to do with him. She gets caught up in the final acts of the killer, as do Bourque and Delgado. I should have guessed who the killer was, all the clues were there!

An interesting story, and an exciting read.

Elevator Pitch was my first introduction to the work of author Linwood Barclay and I was very pleasantly surprised. With a highly original plot and believable characters, this book is crying out to be made into a movie.

Imagine your worst nightmare (well, mine anyway!), being trapped inside an out of control elevator. As you frantically stab the buttons, nothing happens. Then suddenly, from a great height within a New York skyscraper, you and your fellow passengers plummet into obliteration. Eeek, scary stuff indeed! Who is sabotaging New York's elevators and why?

What a thrilling, fast-paced read this turned out to be. Gripped from the very first chapter, it was a terrifying journey into a frighteningly plausible scenario.

Taking the stairs now seems the better option!

With my phobia of lifts, I don’t really know what possessed me to read this book. You’d think the title alone would have given me a clue! But I did and I’m very glad I did. As usual Linwood Barclay’s mastery of suspense and plot structure shine through and although I may well think twice about going into a lift alone … or indeed at all, this was a cunning storyline. Besides which the cover is brilliantly evocative.

From the beginning we are immersed in a New York facing the horror of a tragedy that introduces us to the mayor and his entourage. The mayor himself is objectionable, his son is a wuss and his bodyguard and PA both have the mayor’s back.
By the time the Wednesday dawns, the press are giving the mayor a run for his money as detectives Borque and Delgado try to make sense of what is happening.
As usual Barclay gives us a fascinating insight into human nature with a cast of characters that he draws so vibrantly, often in just a few brush strokes. He builds the tension so tightly that it is easy to imagine yourself transported to New York, city of the skyscraper where such panic surrounding the safety of the elevators is almost palpable. This is a city paralysed with fear. Barclay dips into the consequences of the elevator attacks for broader society, never letting us forget the diversity, both economic and socially of New York.
The climactic end is edge of the seat stuff and the twists he so seamlessly weaves in along the way make it a thrilling read.
The sub plots really drew me in and added to my appreciation of the storyline and the switching between the police procedure, the journalist and the mayor’s stories was appealing.
Loved it! Highly recommended.

Oh goodness. I thought I had got over that viewing, all those years ago, of the elevator/lift in Damien, but now I have read this book. No nightmares there, then!
What a chilling read. The title is very clever, and amused me. The plot was great, although the description of killings somewhat gruesome. It seemed to have a bit of many things, described as a crime thriller but with some police procedural, some quieter moments and some plain thriller. A really good read, and the latter part of the book in particular kept my attention to the detriment of everything else I should have been doing. I liked the misdirecting and the twist, and thought this book a well written, excellent thriller.
Not sure when I'll be getting in another lift, though.

The sheer volume of characters made this quite a difficult read for me, as it was sometimes hard to follow the individual stories and I had to go back and check who was who.

That said, the first third of the novel was completely gripping and, whilst it slowed in the middle it finished in a way I couldn’t see coming - so ended strongly.

Recommended, but wasn’t an easy type read for me.

I have read and enjoyed a few other titles by Linwood Barclay but I have mixed feelings about this one to be honest. It started off quite fast paced and I couldn't put it down. Somewhere part way through it lost me slightly, hopping and changing between characters. I kept forgetting who was who as there were so many "main" characters. Towards the end it began to get more interesting again and I hadn't guessed the ending, which was good. All in all a pretty good plot but I would cut out quite a lot of the chapters in the middle.

Super original this book gave me the chills! It's gory and fast paced and everything a good thriller should be.
I did some zone out at points and feel like it could of been made a little bit shorter but still really enjoyable.
I didn't guess the ending and had no idea about the huge twist so
that's a massive bonus for me.
I definitely preferred the second half of the book.
Overall this took some getting into but had me gripped when I got past the half way point.

This book was different from Linwood Barclays other books. I did not enjoy it as much.
But it does leave me very wary of getting into a lift. I have stopped reading it at the moment but would not rule out going back to it at a future time

I suppose you could say this book has its ups and downs, but it has a lot more. An excellent thriller, which starts out as a search for a serial murderer morphing into something very different. Located in high rise Manhattan, New York the author plays on everyone's fear of lifts, what happens when they go wrong? Full of intrigue and unexpected twists the story is jam packed full of thrills and high level terror. As if New York had not already had enough terror, now there is a whole new scenario to contemplate which makes you want to take the stairs all time. Recommended

I was a bit disappointed in Elevator Pitch. I think I was expecting something faster paced - maybe more elevator scenes. There are a lot of characters and its a bit hard to keep up with them. I have never read a book by this author before and although i didn't particularly enjoy this one I would definitely give this author another try.

A Chilling and intricate plot with a labyrinthine series of twists and turns.

The play on ‘elevator pitch’ was cleverly conceived and maintained as a leit motif throughout the novel. It would make a fantastic film. The characters are strong and varied, even the cameos are convincing and based on the social stereotypes that we know. There is often a sudden draft as if a window on a cold day has been opened as the writer creeps in to mess your mind up a little bit more.

A fascinating insight to a city at work and play and of course how it ascends to great heights. I will never look at a lift in the same way again.

Brilliantly written, a plot that maintains its strength from beginning to end. Definitely one to read and keep you gripped.!

This was such a gripping read. I raced through it , reading it in just over a day. I am slightly nervous now because I am going to New York next month. Believable, edge of seat stuff!

I have read many of Linwood Barclays precious books and this one is the most disappointing. Whilst the plot line was interesting the delivery felt laborious and slow and I did not warm to the characters. This is certainly not one of the authors best.

If you want a thriller with lots of layers, a large cast of characters (and perspectives), and a premise that will keep you up at night this is the book for you. If this sounds like something you'll like, skip the rest of this review and read it right now.
This book had a lot more to it than I expected; it was political, thrilling but with a dash of horror. It had a great cast of really distinctive characters and it was well written; it had a great story arc, character development and relationship arcs.
This is the first I have read from this author but I will definitely be reading more from him in the future. I found this to be very Stephen-King esque, the only difference is I loved this book and I hated the Stephen King I have read

If you have ever stepped onto a passenger lift and thought, “What if the cable broke?” you will relate fully to the core plot of Linwood Barclay’s ELEVATOR PITCH. The book begins with an actual elevator pitch; a frustrated would be script writer sneaks past security to approach the executive whom he has targeted as the prospective champion of his work, cornering her in an elevator which then proceeds to move randomly between floors before plummeting down the shaft. Over the next few days, more elevator tragedies occur and Barclay’s cast of characters, including the, possibly shady, Mayor of New York, his aide and son, a news reporter and her estranged daughter, are drawn into the events and their aftermath.

The book is as fast moving and tense as one would expect from Linwood Barclay, tightly plotted and relatable, believable characters. The events are on a larger, 1970s disaster movie-like, scale than his previous novels which I have read and it does suffer slightly in comparison with some due to the lack of focus, the multiple viewpoint character. But ELEVATOR PITCH is a thrill-ride, a claustrophobic, breathless pleasure to read.