I felt this was quite different to the previous novels from this author,.I felt a greater air of menace right from the start which I hadn’t before.The setting in Paris was realistically presented and credible as were the characters. The build up of tension as the story unfolded was heightened by the short chapters. Overall,I enjoyed this but not as much as her previous works.

This is the third Lucy Foley book I’ve read and one of the best. A psychological suspense, set against the Paris riots in 2019 that follows Jess Daniels to France after an invitation from her brother. But when she arrives at 12 Rue des Amants, he’s not there. Told mainly from Jess’ point of view there are other residents whose stories are interspersed with hers. The concierge, Mimi, Nick and Sophie, all with their shadowy pasts and all hiding secrets.

Not speaking French, Jess struggles to make herself understood, especially by the police and she begins to question how well does she really know Ben? The apartment is a character within the book, hiding many secrets within its layers and walls. I didn’t inhale this book as I did her others, it was one to sample, savour and delight in. There are too many flavours to get your teeth into and it took a lot longer for me to enjoy this thrilling read.

The book is saturated a sense of menace and fizzes with tension from the off. The plot points include complex characters and that essential locked-room feeling. The juxtaposition between the rioting outside, and the mystery within the very fabric of this grand old building is clever. Jess must filter through the deeply layered lives of each character to determine who knows what. By the three quarters mark, it was plain to see there were several who had motives. The journey Foley takes us on will decide who we can or can’t trust, but each character appears unreliable until the bitter end. The narrative is based on finding Ben, a man I found a little too seductive, and the focus not only of Jess’ investigation, but of many characters’ desires.

Foley is the master of page-turning thrillers and this one is no exception. Beautifully written and painstakingly researched, you will find yourself in France, visualising each landmarks, hearing each accent and enjoying the uniqueness of the setting. For those who enjoy atmospheric mysteries, this is definitely a book for you.

Thank you to the author, Lucy Foley, Netgalley and the publisher, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, HarperCollins for the privilege of reading an early copy of this book.

This was my first book by Lucy Foley and I assumed that it would be good based on the success of her previous novels. But I have mixed feelings. I liked the setting of the creepy old house divided into apartments with the plush penthouse at the top and the less well cared for apartments beneath. The premise and the storyline were good and moved at a fairly fast pace, which kept the pages turning.

But there were things I didn't like too. Much of the novel is told in first person narrative, dialogue and reflection. Very early on, the main character Jess is trying to access the building and thinks to herself something like 'come on Ben, I'm freezing my tits off here'. I was disappointed in the use of this expression in someone who was thinking to themselves. I found it unnecessarily coarse and it set the tone of the novel for me. I know if is popular fiction not great literature, but it's not for me. I also didn't like the french phrases dropped into the narrative - I thought it was a bit forced in an attempt to add some frenchness to the setting.

One of the characters I thought was particularly well thought out and interesting and that was the concierge. I especially liked her back story and the way her story was left at the end of the book.

In summary, I liked this book but didn't love it. It's a pretty easy read - but is full of dark themes, so perhaps shouldn't be an easy read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

An easy to read thriller with lots of twists and turns. Loved the Paris backdrop to all the messy going ons of a rich family who are visited by a couple of British amateur sleuths wanting to know the mystery behind all that wealth

It was a quick and easy read with some great twists. If you suspend all your disbelief. it was rather enjoyable. The Paris location was rather interesting, but the vibe wasn’t there.

I really wanted to love this having had mixed feelings about the author's previous book 'The Guest List' - but sadly was left feeling exactly the same. Once again Lucy Foley delivered a clever closed room who-dunnit with a big, unexpected twist at the end. But, once again it was the (small) cast of characters that disappointed. Whilst diverse, the residents of 'The Paris Apartment' were all more weird than flawed and as such I didn't like or connect with any of them which meant I didn't really care who'd dunnit it. I did want to know why though!

I really enjoyed this! It kept me engaged and, whilst I guessed the connection between Mimi and the concierge, I didn't guess the final twist at all! An enjoyable read.

Lucy Foley has done it again. This is a cracker of a book, and if you're anything like me then you will still be trying to work it all out right up to the last minute.
This is the story of a girl called Jess who goes to stay with her brother Ben in his Paris Apartment. But when she gets there he isn't there and no one will tell her anything.
It follows Jess' viewpoint as well as those of the other residents in the apartment building and the concierge.
This truly is a story of mystery and intrigue. You get the feeling that something has happened to Ben from the outset, but you never actually know what happened till the end. If you like a thriller and a read which has you guessing right up to the end then I highly recommend this.

The Paris Apartment, Lucy Foley (416 pages)
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Psychological Suspense
Rating: 4 stars

The Paris Apartment is the latest standalone thriller from bestselling author Lucy Foley. This is the second book I’ve ready by the author, the first being The Guest List.
The plot follows Jess Daniels after she receives an invitation to stay with her half-brother at his apartment in Paris. Only when she arrives her brother is not there and Jess starts to suspect something terrible has happened.

The story is told mainly by Jess interspersed by various chapters by a range of characters who live in the apartment block. There is a large cast of shadowy and unreliable characters including; Sophie in the Penthouse, Mimi on the 4th floor, Nick on the 2nd floor and the Concierge. Each character has their own secrets and motivations. Overall, the book is permeated with a sense of foreboding, unease and uncertainty as the plot moves towards the conclusion. There is a twist around the 50% mark which I didn’t see coming and added a whole new light to what came before.

I’ve seen other reviews mention the ending as being farfetched and unbelievable. For me, I enjoyed the ending and the final twist. It’s not really the kind of ending that I think people would have been able to guess but its satisfying and wraps things up nicely.

Overall, I’d recommend this book to fans of Lucy Foley or anyone who enjoys atmospheric and twisty mysteries.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an an early copy of this book. Review posted to Goodreads and will post to Amazon when available.

An absolute page turner with great pacing and twists and turns. I love the way that Lucy Foley effortlessly slips between POVs and each character is distinct. The building itself is a character, You can almost smell the Gitanes smoked within its elegant walls, In my opinion, Foley improves with each book. The characters in this book are more well rounded and often unlikeable, adding to the intrigue and the general sense that any one of them could be guilty; but of what crime? Where is Ben Daniels? What was he investigating? It’s all laid out so well from his step-sister, Jess’s perspective. A cracking read, evidenced by the fact that I write this review at midnight, just as I’ve raced to the end. No, it’s not realistic - it’s a thriller - and you come to Lucy Foley hoping for a bit of glamour and improbable intrigue. I loved it.

This is the third of Lucy Foley's books that I've read. This had similarties with her previous books but was also a welcome departure into a new realm - and that doesn't just refer to its Paris location.

As the name suggests, this book in set around a Paris apartment block and the mysterious disappearance of Jess's brother, Ben. We meet the inhabitants of the apartment block and, like Jess, need to decide who can be trusted. As the story unfolds the mystery deepens and the fate of Ben becomes more concerning, the twists keep coming.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read and provided plenty of tension and mystery. If you liked Lucy Foley's previous books, you'll enjoy this new thriller.

Thank you @NetGalley and @HarperCollinsUK for a digital reviewer copy of this much anticipated book by Lucy Foley in exchange for an honest review. The Hunting Party had me on the edge of my seat with the whodunnit aspect and plot twists so I was ecstatic when I found my request for this copy was accepted; it did not disappoint!

Publication Date: 03/03/2022

Rating: 3.5/5

Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Mystery and Thriller

Tropes: unsympathetic, unlikeable characters

When Jess arrives at her half-brother Benjamin Daniel’s apartment in Paris, she finds he has mysteriously disappeared without a trace. The apartment is spotless, almost too clean, the keys to his moped and wallet are both left behind and yet there are no signs of a break-in. After enquiring with his suspicious and creepy neighbours, Jess finds that she isn’t being told the whole truth and there is more to the story; she embarks on a quest to find out where he is….or worse, if something has happened to him and if so what?

For me, Lucy Foley will always deliver atmospheric thrillers which are page-turners and this one is exception. I was able to commit to this one from the very first page and I found myself wanting to read on to find out what happened to Benjamin Daniels. Every character is painted to perfection, in each respective narrative, you can visualise them, hear their accents and tones within the words on the page and it is remarkable and definitely no easy feat but one in which Foley is triumphant. Not any single character has a motive to hurt Ben and so you are kept guessing until the very end of the book. The plot twist at the end gave me goosebumps and I did not see it coming! Set against the backdrop of the Paris riots in 2019, there is a bubbling tension which runs parallel to the mounting tension in the apartment building where are central characters are based. As Jess’s investigation takes her across the City of Light, you also find references to landmarks and a beautiful description of the location which helps the reader immerse themselves further into the depths of the book.

Although I did enjoy the read a lot, unfortunately there was something slightly unbelievable about Benjamin’s appeal and charm. Perhaps more character background would have made this a five-star read but otherwise, there were a few moments which did throw me off as I found I could not relate or comprehend why characters were feeling the way they were and so I was lost at those points.

Nonetheless, it is a captivating read, compellingly written and undeniable in its ability to deliver a story you will not forget. Foley fans are likely to enjoy it!

Really enjoyed this one. A girl turns up to visit her brother in an exclusive apartment block in Paris only to find he has disappeared. As she tries to find him we learn about the other residents there and the events which led to his disappearance. Interesting characters and an intriguing plot. Recommended.

'The Paris Apartment' is Foley's best book by far! Welcome to 12 Rue des Amants, where tensions seeps through the cracks and mystery shimmers in the hallways. This book has all the hallmarks of a brilliant mystery and for once Agatha Christie won't be rolling in her grave with all the comparisons to her work. 'The Paris Apartment' takes all the classic crime plot points (grand house, locked room, superb complex characters) and brings it bang upto date!

When Jess calls her brother Ben staying she needs a place to stay, she flies out of England and crosses the Channel to live in a grand old apartment block in the middle of Paris. But when she arrives, she finds the apartment empty and Ben is missing. As an anglophile she struggles to make herself heard with the police and when she begins to ask her neighbours about Ben she suspects there is something very weird going on. Plus, does she really know Ben at all?

This book is all about the characters and the apartment block is its own character as well. I had the pleasure of staying in an apartment like this one in Paris and Foley's description is on point when it comes to this aspect! You know by now that in a Foley book that each character will be hiding their own secrets and this is certainly the case, Jess included. But that is part of the fun of reading her books, waiting for the big reveals and twist in the narrative. It helps to build up the tension. This isn't a face paced book though, it lingers on descriptions of the building and characters to paint a vivid image in the reader's mind. I can't really say much more as I don't want this to contain spoilers! I thoroughly was entertained when reading this book. Yes, Foley now has a definite type of book now but in this case it doesn't matter as it was a thrilling read!

A cracker of a thriller! Very clever with lots of twists and turns. Every chapter has something that makes you just want to carry on a little bit further… highly recommend!

I had two shots at reading this book as I have enjoyed previous books by Lucy Foley. Unfortunately , I just couldn’t get interested in this one. The characters were just odd and stereotyped and I didn’t care what happened to Ben . Not the best.

I enjoyed this book, it was a very odd story but one that I got into and liked. Some great twists and interesting characters.

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley was one of my favourite reads of the last few years, with its clever twist on the whodunnit formula that left you wondering not only about the identity of the killer, but also the victim.

So I was excited to receive an advanced copy of Foley’s new thriller, The Paris Apartment.

It’s a story about Jess and her quest to discover what has happened to her brother, Ben, a journalist, who she discovers is missing when she unexpectedly arrives at the Paris apartment he’d recently moved into.

The apartment is occupied by a weird and wonderful cast of characters all with an apparent motive to do Ben harm.

The question is – what have they done with him? And why?

I really wanted to love this book. The Hunting Party in particular was a real page-turning that I struggled to put down.

By contrast, I’m afraid to say that I found The Paris Apartment hard going. It failed to grip me and there were parts where I had to force myself to carry on reading.

It’s not that this is a bad book or that the story doesn’t work. It does. There’s a good mystery at its heart and it resolves satisfactorily, but I simply didn’t connect with the characters.

In particular, there wasn’t enough about Ben for me to care about him.

I didn’t care that he was missing. I didn’t care what had happened to him. And I didn’t care why.

Likewise, I found the protagonist, Jess not particularly likeable or sympathetic.

And although it’s a great location for a mystery thriller, I never felt I was there, living it and experiencing it for myself.

It felt like there was a missed opportunity to make the apartment a character in its own right.

In the Hunting Party, Foley does an amazing job of scene-setting around the Highland lodge cut off in the snow on New Year’s Eve. That same level of scene-setting was missing in this book, I’m sad to say.

That said, I think Foley’s fans will enjoy this book.

But unfortunately, when you set such high standards, it can be extremely difficult to match those heights in subsequent books. Such is the case with The Paris Apartment, although still a four-star read.

Mysterious and dark - this book kept me turning the pages. I loved the cast of characters and the fact that the building played such an important part in the story. There were so many twists and turns, and I loved that you never quite knew who you could trust.

Jess travels to Paris to live with her brother Ben and flee from her former life. However, when she arrives in Paris she is surprised to find Ben is missing. As Jess investigates Ben's disappearance she stumbles upon a bunch of suspicious characters that live in the same apartment block as Ben. Who can she trust?

A thriller that keeps the pages turning, with lots of twists and turns.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.