I generally love LucyFoley’s books and was delighted when I got this copy to review. Overall I did enjoy it but very unusually it took me ages to read. I felt the pace was slower than usual and most of the twists were well signposted - except the last one - I didn’t guess that. I’m sure I’m in the minority with my feelings about this book but not every book is for everyone and I’ll still reach for her books as soon as they are released.

Starts slowly, very slowly. I nearly gave up on it more than once. In the end I'm glad I didn't. A good, although not very realistic one, well told once it got into it's stride.

I would only recommend it to people who like a slow long build up.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion

Jess Hadley needs to escape her dead end job in Brighton. On a whim she heads off to Paris to stay with her half-brother Ben. When Jess gets to Paris her brother has disappeared. Things in Ben's apartment are just a little bit off kilter and the rest of the tenants in the apartment block are acting strangely. When Jess combines these with a voicemail from her brother she is convinced something sinister has happened to Ben and begins to investigate his disappearance.

This is very much a mystery story. You feel as if you are completing a jigsaw by trying to piece together lots of tiny bits of information. We meet the tenants of the luxury apartment block, however they all have secrets. The building itself is also full of secrets with hidden staircases and locked attics.

The description of the luxury apartment building initially makes you think of opulence but as the story progresses we begin to see the dark, seedy and sinister nature of the building. You get a claustrophobic feeling. This is in contrast to the descriptions of Paris where narrow alleyways lead to large open spaces, vibrant crowds and expensive shops.

All of your assumptions are turned on their head at the halfway mark and from that moment on it's a breathtaking ride until the finale. Lots of secrets are revealed after quite a bit of misdirection and a very satisfying ending.

I found this book really slow for at least the first 50% but then it did twist and pick up and sort of redeemed itself with the ending.
Definitely not Lucy Foley best novel.
The format of the book was confusing and at times I struggled with the timeline.

THE PARIS APARTMENT 📚
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Welcome to No.12 rue des Amants
A beautiful old apartment block, far from the glittering lights of the Eiffel Tower and the bustling banks of the Seine.
Where nothing goes unseen.
And everyone has a story to unlock.
The watchful concierge
The scorned lover
The prying journalist
The naïve student
The unwanted guest.
Something terrible happened here last night.
A mystery lies behind the door of apartment three. Only you – and the killer – hold the key…
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I was kindly given the opportunity to read this by @netgalley and was so excited to try it after really enjoying The Guest List. It did take me a while to get into but I think a lot of that was because I was reading it in really short bursts. It didn’t take long for me to really get into it and then I couldn’t put it down! It follows the same kind of style as Lucy Foleys other books with each chapter being read from a different perspective which I really enjoy as it leaves you in suspense wanting to know more as you only ever get small teasers. I didn’t expect the ending but it was a really lovely one considering the rest of the tone of the book. This book inspired me to get The Hunting Party too as both books of hers I’ve read I’ve really enjoyed. Definitely recommend!
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

While this was creepy, atmospheric and dark this book didn’t live up to Lucy Foley’s normal work.

Jess is down on her luck and goes to stay with her brother Ben in Paris. Everything is planned yet when she turns up despite speaking to him earlier in the day he is not there.

Soon the menacing apartment tenants all seem to be hiding something and seem to close ranks.

A bit far fetched and certainly not her best work.

4 Stars from me

With it being a similarly small cast in a tight location, I was expecting something along the lines of the The Hunting Party but The Paris Apartment holds its own and is a completely different storyline.

I loved the building the apartments were set in with all of its nooks and crannies and aged splendour.

Jess and her brother were both good characters - in fact everyone described in the apartments in particular were quite interesting.

So much murky backstory and so much mystery and suspense. The story reveals itself layer by layer which I enjoyed and overall I found this to be a good read.

3.5 *
The first half of the book is a bit slow but at around the halfway point there is a major plot twist which makes you see the story in an entirely different light. I then couldn't put it down as I wanted to know how everything fitted together!
However after reading'The Hunting Party' and 'The Guest List' this one is probably my least favourite. Not because it isn't any good, it's just that I didn't really have any empathy with the characters although I did admire Jess for not giving up on her brother.
This would be a great holiday read as once the twists kick in it is difficult to put down!

I am so glad that several years ago, Lucy Foley switched from writing romance to thrillers, as each one she has published so far has been extraordinary. The Paris Apartment is no exception and will have readers up all night, turning the pages. The setting, an apartment on luxurious Rue des Amants, is beautifully evoked, with the apartment engendering a sense of claustrophia and darkness in the midst of the City of Light. Jess Hadley is unaware of quite how much menace the apartment harbours when she arrives, surprised to find that her journalist brother Ben who had invited her is missing. Any of his apartment neighbours could be suspects: the ever-watchful concierge, the rather naïve girl preoccupied with Ben, the trophy wife, perhaps even the shifty policemen…. Bit by bit, individual secrets leach from the dark, undisturbed corners of the building and it becomes clear that this will be no ordinary investigation….
Having thoroughly convinced her readers with atmospheric thrillers set in the Scottish Highlands and a remote island off the coast of Ireland, Lucy Foley does it again with The Paris Apartment. Superbly written and hugely enjoyable right to the end! I wish to thank the publishers and NetGalley for the free ARC I was kindly provided in exchange for posting this honest, unbiased review.

I didn't love this book because I just don't think enough happens throughout the course of the whole thing. She gets there, she looks for Ben, can't find him, and repeat. I did like the ending of the book, but I felt it was far too repetitive a storyline for far too long.

Jess is really excited to visit her half brother Ben in a beautiful old apartment block in Paris. But he has gone missing and there are blood stains in Ben's apartment. Jess starts to investigate, yet inhabitants remain quiet; obviously all keep secrets, even though nothing goes unseen in this house. Is Jess as unwanted guest in danger too?
A mystery lies behind the door of apartment three.

The story is compelling and told from multiple perspectives, however a bit confusing, messy and slow. Also, from my point of view, too predictable. The characters are pretty dark and not very likeable. So much is going on but descriptions are shallow and two-dimensional.

3,5/5

I loved this book! There was so much going on and so many hidden secrets all set in the one building. I couldn't figure out what had happened and literally couldn't put it down for the last third of the book. Very well written and enjoyable

Lucy Foley has done it again. A suspenseful mystery with plenty of twists and turns!

Jess turns up at her brother Ben's apartment in Paris. Ben is nowhere to be seen despite just speaking with her a few hours later. Looking for answers on his disappearance she starts to uncover secrets about his neighbours!


Great book, I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend! Lucy Foley has a certain style about her work and I really enjoy her writing and suspensefulness!

Overall a really solid novel. It took time to get into though and I nearly didn’t bother! I’m glad I did as it redeems itself well, a good creepy read overall.

I enjoyed this book which had plenty of intrigue and a real sense of creepy suspension. However I did find it a little slow going and hard to get into until quite near the end. Jess the main character was also a little unlikable! The ending is pretty good though, with a twist I didn’t guess!

My thanks to Netgalley for my copy of The Paris Apartment. I found this book intriguing but very slow going until at leat two thirds of the way through when I was rewarded for my patience with twists and turns I could never have forseen. There were a few inconsistencies along the way which, as ever, would have been spotted by a good, old-fashioned proof reader but they didn't affect the actual story, just a lack of attention to detail.

I liked this book. The story was good and gripping but I found it was put together in a bit of a confusing, messy manner. Told from multiple perspectives, a crime has been committed. Ben has gone missing and his sister Jess is worried. He has been living in Paris when Jess his half sister arrives to stay with him. So she’s shocked to discover he’s not there and his apartment has blood stains in it. The apartment block and its inhabitants all have something to hide. But what? There were some good storylines but I found the characters quite two dimensional - Jess for example is constantly stunned that everyone around her is speaking French... in Paris. But I’m sure lots of people will enjoy reading it. I liked the Hunting Party so I would definitely look forward to Foley’s next book.

Lucy Foley continues to get better and better. Every book has been great but this one is a tour de force. Both creepy in its description of the apartment itself and the unnerving energy that its rather strange inhabitants bring to it the story also has the feel of the terror of Jess who has arrived in Paris to find her brother missing from the apartment he has been renting from an old friend. Jess doesn't know who she can trust or if any on the residents are actually helping or hindering her search for Ben. The story takes a turn I had not predicted but it totally works and the denouement is very satisfying!!

A decision to visit her brother unexpectedly involves a mystery. He said he'd be at home waiting but where has he gone? It doesn't feel right, the pieces don't fit together, what are the residents hiding?
Follow the clues and the characters as clues reveal their true intent.
I didn't figure it out and the ending left me astounded.

I really enjoyed this atmospheric mystery from Lucy Foley. She creates a marvellous setting with the house in Paris and the tension builds from the very beginning.
Jess travels to Paris and has arranged to stay with her half brother in his apartment as she has nowhere else to go. When she arrives, her brother is missing but there is a mysterious stain on the floor. As she tries to find out what has happened to her brother, she meets the other inhabitants of the house, all of whom seem to be hiding something.
The story is told from multiple points of view which gives us some insight into the other inhabitants of the house while building up the mystery. The plot is full of twists and turns, some of which you can see coming and others which come completely out of the blue. Nothing in the house in Rue Amants is quite what it first appears.
I had a couple of reservations about the ending and how the story was all tied up but they didn’t really spoil my enjoyment of the story. It’s a great novel and anyone who enjoyed The Guest List should certainly enjoy this.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.