A brilliantly crafted book which has you on the edge of your seat from the very first page.
Jess has come to Paris to see her brother Ben who when she arrived at his apartment immediately realised that something is not right.
Little would she believe what she has walked into and if she is possibly in danger and more importantly what has happened to Ben.
You are kept guessing all the way through and there are many twists and turns before a conclusion is met.
Absolutely brilliant

I've been felling pretty blasé about what I have been reading recently. Not this one though!. Sheer enjoyment from the opening chapter.

This is a very skilfully plotted novel. Mind you if you have read her previous novels you begin to understand her misdirection. That's not a criticism it's a comment.

What I particularly like is the way she introduces just enough of a character or the storyline to leave you on edge before you jump character again.

I did feel it sagged a little in the middle but then continued at a rollicking pace.

I hope we see more of Jess. She has the potential to be a female Jack Reacher character.

I’d previously read The Hunting Party and didn’t get on with the writing style but, after hearing so many rave reviews of the new Lucy Foley novel, I thought I’d give it a second chance. I really wish I hadn’t, as this was almost a DNF for me!

The Paris Apartment focuses largely on Jess who has travelled to Paris to escape her life in England and to meet up with her brother, Ben, who is working as a journalist in the city. On her arrival, however, Ben is missing and it quickly becomes apparent that something has happened to him and that all is not as it seems within his apartment building.

The story is told in a series of short chapters from alternating perspectives and each character living in the building adds a new view of Ben and what may have happened to him.

The characters speak directly to the reader in a very conversational style; however, none of them were particularly likeable and they felt quite one-dimensional, with no substantial differences in voice or personality (beyond a few cliches here and there).

There were a lot of repetitive descriptions – Sophie’s Hermes silk scarf and shining black bob or Ben’s charming smile – as well as a lot of commentary on how people smell or how the character telling the story could ‘smell someone’s sweat’, which was really off-putting.

There was also far too much bad language. I’m no prude but it was jarring how often someone was called a ‘whore’ or something far worse in each chapter.

By the end, I had guessed the twist but couldn’t really bring myself to care about any of the characters, what had happened or who was responsible. Not a story for me!

It's no secret I am a huge fan of The Guest List & was so excited I got to read this before it's released! I can happily say that this is up there with The Guest List as I absolutely loved it!

Lucy has such a brilliant way of writing a mystery that grips you from the very first page. There's a lot of characters but they're in no way confusing & their chapters are clearly separated which I always appreciate, as it helps the book flow so much easier. I enjoyed learning some new French phrases too!

The setting of the apartment block creates a really claustrophobic atmosphere & this really helped to build tension. The cave & the hidden staircases really gave me the creeps. There's lots of dark & mysterious secrets weaved throughout this story & honestly I thought it all worked brilliantly!

I loved how all the characters in this had their own secrets & how they all had clever links to each other! There's so many twists & surprises in this & I didn't see any of them coming! I was really glad I had Liv to read this with so we could discuss our shock together at what had happened 😂! I thought the book ended perfectly well too. Jess is a brilliant main character & I love her determination to find out what hapened her brother!

Not just a ‘whodunnit’ but a ‘whodounwhat’ as well

The story is gradually revealed through the eyes of the various characters. It took me a little while to get into but lured me in by giving intriguing insights as the story led me down various paths. No spoilers but as I reached the end of the book I still wasn’t sure who I thought had done what and definitely wasn’t expecting the final denouement. Well worth a read.

I was given this book from the author via netgalley only for the pleasure of reading and leaving an honest review should I choose to.

A fantastic read, gripping from start to finish, full of twists and impossible to second guess. Brilliantly written.

Loved travelling to Paris with the help of this book. Loved how some of the characters were created, others didn't touch me that much, but I loved all the plot twists in the book, some of them I didn't expect them. Still, I loved how it touched some topics, one of them like the dream of becoming a dancer but it's not that easy and you may end up living your dream maybe only half of it because of some other circumstances.

Thanks to Lucy and NetGalley for allowing me to read The Paris Apartment before the publication date.

Jess Hadley is Ben’s half-sister. As children, they were placed in the care system.
Ben went on to receive all the benefits of being adopted by the Daniels and is now a journalist living in Paris.
Jess was not so fortunate and growing up in the care system, has become something of a rough diamond.
When her latest boss’s behaviour goes too far, Jess takes money from the till and heads to Paris where she calls Ben for directions to his apartment.
When Jess arrives an hour later, Ben is nowhere to be seen. As the hours pass and no-one can tell her where Ben is, she gains access to his apartment in the upmarket building.
The various residents are at best cold if not outrightly hostile to Jess. Even Nick Miller, who is Ben’s friend and had arranged for him to get the apartment, is superficially helpful. As Jess does not speak French, Nick eventually takes her to the police to report that Ben is missing.
Can they find Ben?

The style of narrative which Lucy uses, alternating between each character, makes this a very easy read, albeit with some very dark events.
It allows the reader to form an opinion of the characters, although your opinion of them may well change as the story progresses and their secrets are revealed.
.

Jess hasn’t had the best start in life, and when yet another thing goes wrong she decides it’s time to get away for a bit. She’s going to go to Paris to stay with her half brother Ben in his fancy apartment while the dust settles. However when Jess arrives at the Paris apartment - Ben isn’t there - and when he doesn’t show up the next day Jess decides to talk to his neighbours to find out exactly where her brother has vanished to. The inhabitants of this particular apartment block are a real mix - there’s Sophie - a 50 something woman who embodies Parisian class. Mimi - who is very strange & her outgoing flatmate Camille. There’s Antoine the aggressive drunk who’s wife has just walked out & Nick her brother’s uni friend. Not to mention the all seeing concierge. Yet not one of these neighbours have seen Ben…or have they?
Love Lucy Foley and this book was no exception. Tense, twisty & exciting. I really enjoyed the strange characters in this story & trying to unravel it all.

Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for the eARC of The Paris Apartment

The Paris Apartment is a modern day suspense thriller with a whodunnit narrated by a bunch of questionable characters.
The setting of the novel starts as soon as open the book, Jess arrives her her brothers apartment to find him missing. Every neighbour has a story to tell and a secret to hide.
The writing keeps the reader engaged and the characters all have a story and mystery of their own. Every character keeps the story running and engages the reader to keep on delving into the pages. This is by no means fast paced but the search for the answers keep the pages turning.

This one was a little slower than I like for my usual thriller type. It started off powerful and I was itching to find out what happened to Ben.

Though all the characters (including the main) were awful. There was not one element of any of them that made you feel anything other than distaste. I did like how the story unfolded and linked together, and I did really like the multiple POV chapters as this made it easy to fly through the book.

The ending was a little different to what I was expecting too - originally I thought I'd sussed out the 'killer' but I did enjoy the little flip to the story as the ending was being revealed.

I actually rated this 3.5 stars for the positive reasons mentioned. I just wish it was a little creepier more tense. Maybe more of the scenes regarding what happened to Ben would have added to this!

Jess Is broke and unemployed. She needs a fresh start. So, she decides to contact her half brother Ben who is a journalist and currently residing 12 Rue des Amants in Paris. He offers for her to stay with him and when she agrees he not that ecstatic. But might bring them a bit closer together after what has happened in the family’s past.
But when she arrives in Paris it is turbulent, there is fighting and riots going on in the capital city. When she arrives at the apartment, she first can’t believe that he could afford a place is this well-established place and when she presses the bell there is no answer. She sees the concierge and follows her. When she gets to Ben’s apartment there is no sign of him. Where is her brother Ben? All his belongings are here but he is nowhere to be seen. She decides to wait at the flat believing that he is gone on a trip and that he will be back. But when she stays at the flat weird things start to happen and she thinks she is being followed.
Thank you, Harper Collins, for a copy of The Paris apartment from Lucy Foley. This is another intriguing story from the author. I enjoyed the premise of the story of missing Ben and the occupants of the apartment block where he lived. The mystery of each one of them and finding out what each of them are hiding and the descriptions of Paris and the night life. It was very realistic. The only criticism I have is because of the several POV’s, I thought it went slightly off course of the main plot and I personally got a bit lost towards the end. 4 stars from me.

Lucy Foley returns with a psychological crime drama set in a Paris experiencing turbulence and riots, and an eerie, shadowy and sinister old apartment building, a wealthy location at which British journalist, Ben Daniels, resides. His half sister, Jess Hadley, has arrived in Paris, broke and unemployed, after having to leave her Brighton rather quickly, to stay with him, but on arrival finds him missing from his home at Bienvenue au 12 Rue des Amants. After picking his locks, she enters, alarm bells start ringing in her head, she is expected, and there are some worrying signs that leave her feeling unsettled, could something have happened to him? The problem is that she doesn't know Ben that well, the two of them having grown up apart and having lived wildly differing lives, Jess being shunted from care homes and foster parents, whilst Ben was taken in by a wealthy family and lived a far more privileged life.

She wonders how Ben could possibly afford his home, only to discover he got it through his friend from Cambridge University, Nick Miller, a nice guy who has his own apartment in the building. With his photograph of himself and Ben in Amsterdam, Nick offers to help Jess find him, a welcome offer, given everyone else is far more hostile and unforthcoming when it comes to information. This includes the aloof socialite, Sophie, always perfectly dressed, married to Jacques Meunier, a wine merchant, living in the penthouse, and the alcoholic Antoine with his simmering air of violence, whose wife, Dominique, has left him. Then there is the young over protected student, Mimi, living with her friend Camille and the long serving concierge who watches everyone closely. As a determined Jess delves into her brother's life and the residents of the apartment building, a web of intrigue and secrets begins to emerge where nothing and no-one is as they seem.

As danger begins to lurk ever closer to Jess, is there anyone she can trust at all? One of my favourite aspects of the novel is the character of Jess, a born survivor, who respects no boundaries of convention as she snoops without fear, imbued with traits and a hard life that have given her a resilience that underpins her abilities to find out what happened to Ben, irrespective of the obstacles thrown in her path. There is an air of dread and menace in this story of twists and turns, touching on issues and themes of exploitation, abuse of women, sources of wealth, a sibling relationship and a dysfunctional blended family. Once again, Foley writes a riveting crime drama, set in Paris, with great characters that will keep your interest from beginning to end, needing to know what happened to Ben as seen through the eyes of Jess. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

First off, the cover is beautiful. Such a clever design!!

The book itself was a great thriller. I found it a little hard to get into but isnt that often the case when youre only being told 1/4 of the story!

The switching perspectives worked so well and the twists that just started coming half way through the book and didnt stop until the final page. Whhheeeewww. Every time I thought I had it figured out, something else happened.

The book explores some horrible themes but overall its a great read and such a pageturner.

To be honest I didn't enjoy this as much as Lucy Foley's previous novels; and yet the premise is very similar. An isolated group in a single location, but although the tension is there, the questions - who is to be trusted, who is the 'villain', what is going on - it didn't 'grip' me, engage me as 'The Hunting Party" and 'The Guest List' did.

With thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC.

I have enjoyed Lucy Foley’s previous novels, but I found that ‘The Paris Apartment’ had too many characters, and too many far fetched plot twists. I enjoyed the depiction of Paris, but generally was disappointed by this offering

I was so excited to be approved to read The Paris Apartment as I loved The Guest List & The Hunting Party, and WOW I was not disappointed. I think this may be my favourite out of the three of Lucy Foley’s books that I have read! I loved the Paris setting and the dropping in of the French language throughout the book- I think it was written in a way where it was still easy to understand even if you’ve had no experience of the French language.

It was gripping, almost a “whodunnit” even though you had no idea what had been “done” and I was kept guessing until the end. Although Jess annoyed me to begin with, her perseverance to find out what happened to her brother paid off and I ended up loving her as a character. Each character was completely different and enough detail was given to understand why they were the way they were.

I can’t wait for this book to come out for others to read so that I can discuss!

Jess visits her brother Ben in Paris but Ben is missing. Jess is not the type of girl to just accept a bad situation so get ready for a rollercoaster ride to a surprising and exciting conclusion.

A good thriller with lots of twists and turns, loved the setting and character's with multiple POV. A very enjoyable read.
Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for this review copy.

This is the first book I have read by Lucy Foley, and after hearing good things about this author I was really looking forward to reading it.
It is a dark story of family, secrets and lies. I travel to France often so I quite enjoyed the setting, she captured the ambiance of Paris perfectly. The plot has several unreliable narrators, and although it is a slow burn their stories all come together in a satisfying ending.
I will be seeking out further books by this author.