Freya is at the end of her rope. She has been recently widowed by the husband who cheated and left her. She is desperately looking for an apartment she can afford for herself and her young daughter Skye. Freya makes the acquaintance of Dr. Marsden who coincidentally is looking for a tenant in his lovely large home. He explains that the apartment price is not as important to him as finding a tenant that will “fit in” with the rest of the tenants. While a little wary, Freya moves them into the beautiful old house. Right in the beginning things seem very creepy but are easily explained away by the Marsdens. Freya is suspicious but she does not want to admit she may have made a mistake. Things keep getting stranger as the book goes along. It was a good story and well laid out. I was completely surprised at the ending although I wish that it had been drawn out a little more. I did enjoy this book.

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Freya and her young daughter, Skye, just found the perfect place to live after the death of her husband. Things turn out to be too good to be true. The rent in this part of London is dirt cheap for such a posh location. Skye got into a top-notch school with a waitlist. However, things started to go wrong in their life. Skye becomes lethargic, and Freya is starting to see and hear things.

Sometimes life is scarier than any story you might read. The scary experiment that Freya and Skye are in, is quite apparent. However, I don't see a mother who has been through so much in her adolescent life to have not done anything to investigate in that length of time. The story seems to woven Freya's husband's death into something of a mystery and yet it was hardly touched upon. The experiment that was done on Freya and her daughter also do not follow the rule of those that were before them. The story was very enjoyable, but the storyline seems rushed.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this fabulous ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The apartment is a quick read that thriller lovers will devour in one or two sittings. The book follows the main character Freya as she recovers from tragedy and attempts to get her life and her daughter's life back into a positive light. While not overly thriller-like, there are several parts that are so creepy they will make your skin crawl. I held my breath through a lot of this but was sadly disappointed by the ending. It was almost "to clean".

The Apartment is a creepy slow burn thriller in which we see Frey and her young daughter, Skye, move in to a new apartment that seems too good to be true. They are in the process of flat hunting and Freya by chance meets the charming Dr Marsden who happens to be searching for new tenants for a flat he is letting out. The flat is in a large beautiful house near Kensington Palace and normally Freya wouldn't be able to afford a flat like that but she is offered it at a fantastic price and can't believe her luck. However, once they move in there they meet some odd residents and start to experience some bizarre things.
I was expecting to really enjoy this thriller but for me it was just a little to slow in pace. I was around 75% in to the book before the first bizarre event happened and then around 85% before the story started to become 'thrilling'. And then after that it felt the ending came very fast and felt rushed. So unfortunately this didn't hit the mark for me but others may enjoy the gradual build up.
I had some issues with Freya's relationship with another character, Mark. He was a builder working on a local house and she had spoken to him once in passing but then later started to think of him as reliable and sensible and someone who she could speak to about her troubles at her new apartment. It just seemed an odd way of thinking of someone who she had only very briefly spoken to. I genuinely didn't understand how he suddenly became such a big part of the story when he did.
I did really enjoy the second timeline that appears every so often of a doctor many years ago undertaking what is now a famous psychology experiment and how that became tied in to the current story of Freya and her Daughter. It was definitely a unique aspect to the book and was woven in well.
Overall the book just felt a bit average when I was hoping it would be so much more.

Sorry to say I was not enthralled with this book. Characters were underdeveloped. Plot lacked depth. Ended too abruptly. On the bright side it added another book to help me reach my 2020 reading goal!

As posted on Goodreads:

I enjoyed this very much. I thought it was a fascinating premise and I eagerly read through to the end, wondering what would happen. I thought the characterization was well done. I'm not entirely sure *everything* worked, but I still was happy I went along for the ride.

The beginning of this book had my full interest. Freya is targeted at Starbucks with an unreal deal to live in the Adder House after just losing her husband and needing to find a new home for her and her 5 year old daughter, Skye.

This book reminded me quite a bit of Lock Every Door by Riley Sager: both had quirky and specific resident who had to be approved prior to moving in, weird and unexplained things occurring in their apartments and of course both of the main characters felt like they were going crazy during their stay at their “perfect new residence”.

I felt like there was a lot of background and build up on the relationship between Freya and Skye and for the most part I enjoyed it since it was keeping me engaged in the story and kept me guessing on what was going to happen next.

It took a while for “the big reveal” to happen and once I hit the end I was just annoyed. The ending left so many questions unanswered and it all seemed so unlikely. Needless to say I wish the ending would’ve been completely different and I probably would’ve enjoyed this book more.

I enjoyed reading this book. The setting is sooo creepy. It kinda reminds me of Riley Sager's Lock Every Door because of the too good to be true plot. The ending didn't work for me. However, it was a good read. Totally page turner.

I was expecting an easy-to-read thriller but I didn't enjoy this much. While I understand that you have to suspend your disbelief for a good story, this was just too far-fetched. The main character was ridiculously naive, the dialogue was painfully bad, and the short length made it seem like it had just been churned out by the author.

This is my first K L Slater book and I really enjoyed it. I really liked the character of Freya. And Skye was adorable. I felt that I wanted to protect them. There was a good sense of paranoia in this. And the flashback were interesting.

Although I’ve only read a handful of Miss Slater’s books so far, I’ve liked them all. She’s definitely a talented writer . This book seemed a bit different than those I’ve read , as it’s more of a mystery than thriller or domestic drama? While it was good, it wasn’t my favorite out of those I’ve read. It had quite a confusing start, so it took awhile to get the story straight of who is who and how they connect. Anyhow, this is was a decent read but not great...the writing is worth 3.5 stars.

If you want an excellent K.L. Slater book, I recommend The Silent Ones or Single.

I loved the idea of this book more than I loved the book. That said, after it finally picked up I did enjoy it. There were no huge surprises. I figured it out too early for there to be any ‘wow factor.’

This was a quick moving, entertaining read. After the death of her husband, Freya is down on her luck and desperate to find an affordable place where her and her young daughter, Skye, can settle in and rebuild their lives. She can’t believe her luck when an older gentleman approaches her in a coffee shop and makes her an offer she cannot refuse. She is charmed and soon agrees to move into the fancy Adder house in the super nice neighbor and super cheap rent. (This is idiotic, folks. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Of course, warning signs start to show and Freya is desperate to discover the true history of the apartment and her hosts... ⁣
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🏢 This one gave me LOTS of Lock Every Door vibes except that book was way creepier. I mean- at one point Freya loses her shit over a bunch of flies. Never ever move to Oklahoma, darling. 😆⁣
🏢 The chapters were super short and I was able to consume this book in perfectly sized little bites. I can’t be the only one who just adores short chapters! ⁣
🏢 The ending worked, but I truly expected something more dramatic and dangerous. It fell pretty flat. ⁣
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Three and a half stars... rounded up to four! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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Thank you to Netgalley for this book in return for an honest review!

We meet Freya whose in a pinch at the beginning of the book. Her husband Lewis passed away. She's paid off all their debt and sold the house they had together. Freya and her daughter Skye need to move out ASAP and look for a new place to stay at. While at a coffee shop one day she runs into Dr. Marsden. Low and behold he has an apartment for rent (how convenient huh?). But rent is based on how much you can pay from what you make.....sounds good right? This is where things turn south.

When Freya and Skye move into Adder house strange things start to happen. Things to start moving by themselves, she starts to feel uneasy living there, and let's not forget how creepy her landlord is and the uneasiness he brings to the table. Basically Adder house is not what it seems and with a creepy name like that I wouldn't expect less. The story is filled with twists and turns and lots of tension. I was just as anxious and scared for Freya and Skye as she was. I did however want more of a backstory on Freya's husband's death; left me wanting more. I truly enjoy a good thriller and this one didn't disappoint. Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK, and Thomas and Mercer for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Everything is not as perfect as it seems...Freya, down on her luck,happens to be in a coffee shop when a mysterious guys offers her an opportunity of a lifetime. Living in a beautiful mansion for little rent? Who would turn down that opportunity. We meet The Adder house and all the "mysterious"occupants living in it. We also see the secrets that this house keeps.
I really liked where this story was going. It had me hooked in the begging and kept me engaged. What was the story behind the creepy Marsden's ? What was the story behind the people living in the house? As the story went on, I started to lose interest. There were a few twists at the end I did not expect, the secret relationships in the house, but the premise behind all the weird happenings did not cut it for me. I wish this book had a different ending.

This was quite a story! It takes place in London and Freya and her daughter Skye get the offer of a lifetime to live in a beautiful new apartment in a very posh part of London. - and it’s affordable! The novel takes off from the day they move in. This is a very fascinating read!

I did not enjoy this book. The plot was not structured well. It was a slow build with not much happening. I didn't care about the characters. There were plot holes and the chapters were weirdly structured. The ending was extremely rushed and the reasoning fro Freya's turmoil did not make any sense. Quite frankly, The Apartment was a let down.

-I received a digital ARC copy thanks to NetGalley, all thoughts and opinions are my own-

Rating 3.5 stars

This story was a wild ride from start to finish. The story follows our main character Freya, who has just recently become a single mother due to her husband passing away. Though they had been separated for 18 months due to his infidelity. Freya has to move out with her daughter Skye and is approached with a deal she cannot pass up. She moves into an apartment in Adder House which seems to be a deal too good to be true.

They are living in a beautiful apartment in a wealthy part of London for merely £500 a month. But soon things start to take a turn and Freya believes her and her daughter are in danger.

This story had quite the plot twist that I was not expecting. I fully believed that Lily was there to help Freya and Skye but that was not the case. I also believed that Audrey and Dr. Marsden were the culprits of the strange activities but was also surprised to find the truth. Although they aren’t really the “good” guys since they knew fully well what Lily was doing that didn’t know the extent of it.

I felt that this story could’ve been better. I felt it was longer than what was needed. I would have liked to see more of Freya exploring the house in full and slowly putting the pieces together but still keeping Lily as the one to lay it all out for her.

I enjoyed the plot twist a lot, although maybe could’ve done without the chapters in Lily’s perspective (which you don’t know is hers until the end) because even though it made you question who it was I felt that they could’ve gone into more detail or didn’t use it at all

Overall I rated this store 3.5 stars, I found myself when I was reading not able to put it down and wanting to just continue. I enjoyed the plot twist but would’ve liked a few changes.

Thanks again to NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC copy of this!

I've loved KL Slater's other books so I was really excited about reading "The Apartment." Unfortunately, after a promising start, it rapidly went downhill, quickly becoming mundane before descending into an ending that was nothing short of ridiculous. I can't go into details about why without spoilers, but let's just say that few characters motives made sense.

On the upside it was a quick read and I did want to know what happened next, so I finished it within a couple of hours.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

A young woman, widowed by the death of her estranged husband and left with serious money worries, is offered a 'bargain' deal on a very nice flat in a fancy area of London by an older man she meets in a Starbucks. What could possibly go wrong?

I got a copy of this from Netgalley in return for an honest review. Perhaps they might consider this one a bit TOO honest.

I read this thinking that it was probably a brave first novel, maybe one from a self-published author who was putting in more energy and enthusiasm than talent. I was gobsmacked to discover that K L Slater is a very successful 'bestselling' author with a big back catalogue.

I read a lot of mystery and crime novels and this just didn't push my buttons at all. So little happened and it all felt very 'obvious'. True, I didn't spot the twist, but I'm not sure I even cared by that stage. The entire thing felt a bit flat. There was mild peril but not enough intrigue. And the back-story of the historic abuse of a young boy seemed like a tired plot-device designed to try to pull a rather ragged story together.

It's a quick read and one that won't challenge the average reader and will probably bore those with a history in the genre. Many - including me - will find the delivery of the story in first-person-present tense deeply annoying.