I enjoyed this psychological thriller and the setting of the creepy, atmospheric Adder House Apartments. The one problem I had was it was soooo similar to Lock Every Door by Riley Sager.

The book also went a little off the rails for me too. It was so implausible.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book for an unbiased review.

This thriller kept me reading to the last page. Some of the warnings of danger were a bit obvious (c’mon, this isn’t just a creepy coincidence!), but the narrator was likeable and the mystery was interesting and the writing was great.
*What* was being done to the narrator was obvious but who was doing it (& why!) kept me guessing till the end. I was afraid it was going to be a bit more horror than it ended up being, which is a good thing (I can’t stand a book with harm to children, and this book only hinted at it.)

4 stars because it wasn’t ANAZING, but was a solid fun thriller.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Freya. and her young daughter, Skye find themselves without a place to settle down. Deceived by a cheating husband, who then died, Freya must sell their home and search for a new start.

At a coffee shop, she meets a man who offers an amazing apartment for a very low cost. Better yet, it's in an old mansion. Freya can't believe her luck, although the tenants there are all eerie or quirky.

Several times, we jump into the POV of an antagonist, and from this we know someone has been watching Freya and Skye, and knows quite a bit about them. We learn they are meant to be in Adder House but why?

There are also flashbacks to the early 1900's, and a mother and son's involvement in a cruel experiment testing out a child's reaction to fear. I felt like this was a weaker part of the story and could have been better incorporated.

Adder House has secrets, and is creepy for many reasons, all of which should have made Freya pack up and run after the first few occurrences. I enjoy a book with good introspection and this one did not disappoint. Perhaps in a few of the more fast-paced events, there could have been less.

I read this fast, wanting to know what was going on, who wanted them in Adder House, and why.

Others have said this, too: the ending was a bit rushed to wrap up all of the connections but overall, I enjoyed the book.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3312693605

I do not agree with the negative reviews. This book was good. I liked the twists in the book & I am not sure what questions people feel were unanswered. Some areas were no 100% closed out in detail but that was not neccessary. The plot was unique & kept you guessing & changing your mind about characters. Quick read.

This review is on Goodreads

Psychological thriller as young single mother is offered an amazing apartment for her and her daughter in London. What it comes with is hard for her to figure out, but the drama builds as we see her fear grow. Being spied upon, strange rumors about what else happened in the apartment, and unusual happenings all lead to her terror. This is interspersed with 75 year old notes from a psychology experiment, that eventually yield the secret. The writing keeps the tension up on every page, with almost no letup.

This was my first KL Slater novel and it won't be the last. This apartment followed an out of luck mom who is about to lose her home. At the last second she is given an amazing opportunity to live in an BEAUTIFUL new apartment for free along with her daughter. At first, it is more than they could dream of. While it seems like it was too good to be true, Freya and her daughter take the apartment and are amazed at everything that it has to offer. Slowly but surely things start getting spooky. Are they in the apartment alone? Why does it feel like someone is always there with them? While I found that the plot was a story already told, I was mesmerized by KL Slater's take on this psychological thriller. This was a quick, in one sitting, read that had me gribbed from beginning to end. I did feel that the end was slightly fuzzy and didn't quite answer all of my questions, but it worked.

I was quite surprised in how good this book was the author had great storytelling and the characters built up was great as well. Would read more from this author.

As a fan of K.L Slater I was excited to read her newest book.
I found the story to be engaging and I wanted to know what was going to happen next however the switching of perspectives was confusing and I didn’t like how that aspect of the book was set out.
I liked how it wrapped up and it kept me guessing throughout, but I did think it was all a little rushed at the end and could have expanded more?

Loved this book.
Was a great read from the very start.
Some parts of it were really upsetting but overall it had great back stories and most of the characters were really likeable even though you wouldn't have thought you should like them. Book was very well written and very descriptive.

This was an incredible book. It was a completely different book and had twist and turns until the final end. I enjoyed the main characters and stayed up into the night to finish the book. Another great read by this author.

She’s offered an amazing apartment in a wonderful location for an amazing price just when she needs it most. But, if it sounds too good to be true, then run! Freya doesn’t run and instead is drawn into the secrets of Adder House.

I enjoyed the book for the most part. It was a unique story. It’s biggest downfalls were it read a bit flat and there wasn’t enough suspense built up.

An interesting book. I got all the way through, but would not recommend this novel. Without spoiling the twist, the book relies on some historical occurrences that are rather silly in the context of this particular mystery, and don’t make sense either from the perspective of the villain or from the plot.

A great and, at times, uncomfortable read about a woman, Freya who having lost her husband and her home finally gets a break when she is approached in a coffee shop with an offer she cannot refuse of an amazing apartment at Adder House for her and her daughter. They move in the following week and Freya can't quite believe her luck but then strange and unexplainable things start to happen. She also starts to hear rumours of something horrible happening at Adder House so she decides to find out what.

I devoured this book in 2 days. I just had to know what happened next! I absolutely loved this book. Very well written, engaging and fast paced. I could not put it down! Nice short paragraphs also which I always like.

I would recommend if you want a book this is going to entertain you and keep you guessing!

Love love love this author and yet again she has given us a superb read. It certainly brings home that old adage, it it seems too good to be true, it probably is! The book had me gripped from the first page and I read it in one sitting. It entertained and thrilled in equal measures and the twist at the end was brilliant. I look forward to Ms Slater's next offering.

This book was very entertaining , well written . It took me a little while to get into the story line but I am glad I continued to read because I couldn't put it down .

- little to nothing happens for about 90% of the book.. honestly felt like I was reading a contemporary at some points
- this could have gone so much darker and been so much creepier but nope
- ending & epilogue was a big fat womp from me. so many questions still left unanswered, so little explained, and nothing really felt shocking or surprising. the epilogue felt like something out of a romance novel for whatever reason.
- the chapters we get from the "villain" just felt out of place and not genuine

The story, a psychological thriller, has some interesting moments, but the telling of it is uneven - sometimes rushed, sometimes too drawn out. It's a quick read, but had to many tropes, and was a bit too predictable for me. Freya was very wishy washy, and seemed more a "stock character" than a real protagonist.

This is some combination of a cozy, a mystery, and a thriller. Some moments make me want to live in the world of this book — others leave me utterly creeped out (in a fun, welcome way). I recommend this book if you like a strong narrator, a slow twist of mysteries to unravel, and more than one secret. I’ll be buying a hard copy of this particular book for my shelf!

Really liked this thriller, it was so hard to put down! Great story that kept me guessing until the end! Would definitely recommend!

I was immediately hooked by the premise of The Apartment – it struck me as an original, creepy setup that set itself apart from many of the thrillers that I’ve been picking up recently. I was looking forward to a refreshing change of pace, a unique, suspense-filled plot, and compelling characters with a mysterious background. Unfortunately, this book fell short of my expectations in every single one of these categories.

The overall tone of the book was… bland. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a thriller to be thrilling, but apparently that was too much to ask for this one. There was no air of suspense, and there were so many missed opportunities to introduce compelling characters and twists and turns that would have kept me more engaged. Overall, the tale dragged and was severely lacking in scenes that made my palms sweat and my heart pound. This was due, at least in part, to the glacial pace of the plot.

There were very few tangible plot points throughout the book, and they were separated by pages upon pages of fluff. Had the extraneous detail and unnecessary scenes been eliminated, the same story easily could have been conveyed in the form of a 50 page novella or short story. Consequently, the book read like a few disjointed scenes that were half-heartedly thrown together amidst an excessive amount of filler.

The twists and turns ranged from lackluster to nonexistent. Those that were present were easily predictable, and I foresaw every single one of them with alarming accuracy chapters before they actually occurred. The author had a habit of spoon-feeding readers information, dropping overtly obvious hints to which she continually drew attention. These hints may as well have been written in blinking, neon signs the size of a billboard. This type of reveal within thrillers aggravates me to no end – I prefer more subtle and ambiguous clues that prompt more questions than answers and allow me to arrive at my own conclusions.

Furthermore, the final reveal felt cheap, clunky, and forced. Not all of the puzzle pieces fit together perfectly, resulting in quite a few plot holes that were never addressed. Additionally, genome sequencing played a role in the concluding twist. Two weeks from now, I’ll be receiving my undergraduate degree in genetics, and I couldn’t ignore the glaring genetics inaccuracies (to avoid spoilers, I’ll keep this intentionally vague). These blunders readily could’ve been avoided with some surface-level research, and it’s disappointing that the author didn’t take the time to look into this further or consult an expert in the field.

To compound matters, I felt no investment in the characters or their backstories, which made it even more challenging to continue reading. The protagonist was frustratingly gullible, naive, and oblivious to the incessant warning signs and clues that barraged her from the outset of the book. In one sentence, she was claiming that it took a lot to unnerve her. In the next, she was flustered and beside herself over an odd note being dropped off at her daughter’s school. She failed to use her brain throughout much of the book, then proceeded to act offended when other characters called her out on this.

Ultimately, The Apartment wasn’t for me. Amidst plot holes, yawn-worthy reveals, and countless character inconsistencies, I couldn’t engage with the book. What started as an intriguing premise quickly devolved into a lackluster, trope-ridden disappointment. I was very close to DNFing this book on multiple occasions and struggled to reach the end point. In good conscience, I couldn’t recommend this to thriller aficionados or individuals who are just starting to pick up books within the genre. There are so many incredible thrillers out there, and The Apartment simply can’t compare!