I am wearing my "I Am An Outlier" hat AGAIN.

What could possibly go wrong with a full-cast audiobook set in Paris that received many laudatory reviews from GR reviewers?

I wish I could say "très bien" to this book but I can't.

Lucy Foley's "The Paris Apartment" simply lacked the suspense and excitement that I was seeking.

First and foremost, I am being kind when I say that this book was very, very, very slow burn.

When the main protagonist arrives at her brother's Paris apartment, it seemed to take her forever to determine that her brother's absence might indicate that something was amiss.

I also felt the author's characterizations were superficial. The book simply featured too many characters for any depth.

This 12.5-hour audiobook easily could have been 7.5 hours.

This was a full-cast audiobook (my favorite!) and all of the narrators did a superb job.

Sadly, my favorite part of the book was the author's acknowledgments at the end of the book. The author seemed very sincere and I liked the way she graciously thanked everyone. It's too bad that I could not give this author's book a higher rating.

I received this audiobook from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

(4.5)
This was such a fun book! Trying to sort out all the details and figuring out who did what and when. This locked room mystery/thriller was a great read.
Jess is looking for a fresh start. She’s just left her job under less than spectacular circumstances and is now broke and all alone. When she calls her half-brother Ben he doesn’t sound entirely thrilled that she wants to come and crash with him for a little while but he doesn’t tell her not to come. She is sure things will be better in Paris. However, when she arrives at his apartment, he’s not there. The apartment is gorgeous though and she wonders how he can afford it.
Jess can’t find Ben anywhere and the longer he's gone the more she digs into his disappearance. She’s running into more and more questions! His neighbors are a motley crew - the alcoholic, the socialite, the nice guy, the concierge, and the girl on the verge - and not what one might call friendly. It looks like Jess’s Paris escape is turning into one giant question mark.
Now, it looks like everyone is a suspect and everyone has a secret they aren’t keen to share.
This book was so good! The story might not have been perfect but the enjoyment I found reading this book sure made it a perfect experience!
I definitely recommend you give this a chance if you are a mystery/thriller fan. This was fantastic!

First a note on the audiobook. It was a full cast recording, each POV narrated by a different person. I think the best way to experience stories with characters that speak other languages or with different accents is to have it read to me and this was no exception. Largely this was a fantastic production. I felt that the only mild downside was one British narrator that really could not do the French characters but your mileage will vary on whether that sort of thing bothers you. It didn't bother me overly.

Now the story. This was a slight departure from Foley's previous novels that I have read: The Guest List and The Hunting Party. It does still have the trappings of a locked room mystery but isn't such a straight forward whodunnit and there are scenes that take place outside the titular apartment. I think it's great that the author is trying new things but I actually adore locked room mysteries so I would have been happy either way.

What remains the same is the large cast of complex and often dysfunctional characters all of whom have secrets and reasons to be involved in this mystery. I really liked Jess, our MC. She's scrappy and reckless and has no regard for others possessions' or personal space and has way to low a risk appetite. What I liked about this story is I understood why she was investigating on her own and why she did do the reckless things she did. It made sense for the situation and character.

Other things I liked:

The atmosphere was tense throughout with each chapter answering a question but creating another which kept the pages turning.
The appartment itself was this creepy, eccentric building full of secrets.
Many of the twists and turns were surprising to me and a lot of fun
While there were some points where I felt stakes were kind of raised and not followed through on, this did allow the novel to feel more grounded in reality.

There wasn't really anything I strongly disliked in the book but a few little nitpicks:

I'm not French but I felt some of the French characters felt a little bit cliche and Paris as a city itself felt somewhat underutilized. This could have happened in any major city with only minor changes.
People didn't always behave in a way that really made sense to me. You catch someone snooping around and your reaction is to invite them in? I guess I'm just built different.

All in all though a very fun and engaging read and much looking forward to Foley's next one.

The Paris Apartment, address no. 12 rue des Amants – as beautiful and luxurious as it is eerie and sinister.

When Jess arrives at the apartment building, from London, to stay with her brother Ben, he is nowhere to be found. And, when he fails to materialise, and she starts questioning the neighbours, instead of displaying concern, they are not only unhelpful, dismissive, and unfriendly, but acting suspiciously as well. What are they hiding? And where is Ben? Jess will go to any lengths to find out.

12 rue des Amants was made up of five residential apartments, a street level gated entrance and courtyard, an attic maid’s quarters and rooftop garden terrace, and a basement/cellar known as ‘the cave’ (French pronunciation ‘cave’ rhymes with ‘ave’).

The occupants were as follows:

The Penthouse – Sophisticated and snobby Sophie, and her husband Jacques.
Fourth Floor – Sheltered, nervous Mimi, and her party girl flatmate Camille.
Third Floor – Journalist Ben Daniel’s, Jess’ brother, now missing.
Second Floor – Nick, Ben’s friend from his University days.
First Floor – Hostile, intimidating Antoine, whose wife Dominique has just left him.
Ground Floor – The Concierge lives in a garden shed type structure in the courtyard (known as the Loge), and relishes spying on everyone.

Every element of The Paris Apartment was woven together seamlessly, complete with an ominous atmosphere, and unique setting. I require more thrillers to be set in Paris, but only if they’re as amazing as this one of course. Even though Jess could obviously come and go as she pleased (and there were parts set around Paris) the book had a locked room feel. Jess was bound to the apartment complex by her determination and love for her brother, her only family. It’s also clear from the first chapter in her POV that she’s left London in a hurry due to an ‘incident’, and that she is ‘on the run’, ‘out of options’, unemployed, low on cash, with nowhere else to go – therefore she’s effectively trapped and bound to The Paris Apartment.

All the narrators were dysfunctional, reclusive, haunted by their past, and as goes with the territory – secretive and unreliable. Even though Ben barely made an appearance he was clearly the driving focus of the novel – every character was utterly consumed and obsessed by him. Those who are familiar with my reviews know I’m a sucker for a creepy gothic setting, and The Paris Apartment delivered on all counts, with its hidden second spiral staircase, dumb waiter, cranky elevator, dark cavernous basement, ivy-covered attic structure accessed via rickety ladder, and the roof garden with its flimsy iron railing. Even the timed lights activated by the press of a button, that plunged character’s into darkness at various points, freaked me out!

The audio enhanced the written material, and I commend all the narrators – Mimi’s voice in particular was perfection. A fun and foreboding listen. If you can get your hands on the audiobook then I highly recommend it. Not that I wouldn’t award the print versions 5 stars, but the audio was something special.

I’d like to thank Netgalley, Harper Collins UK Audio, and Lucy Foley for the audio-ARC.

UK, AUS, NZ Publication Date: 3rd March, 2022.

US Publication Date: 22nd February, 2022.

Lucy Foley does it again. I liked The Hunting Party, I loved The Guest List - I’ve fallen somewhere in the middle with The Paris Apartment.

This isn’t a isolated location mystery like the others. We do have a cast of suspicious characters, but the scale of the story takes us away from the apartment quite a bit and actually I think that is to the books detriment as the strongest elements are rooted in that place.

The scope is also bigger with themes of exploitation and privilege being front and centre.

The audiobook was a little hard to digest at the start. Sometimes multiple POVs don’t work as well on audio when you have short snappy chapters. But after a bit, getting used to the narrator for each character helped.

A solid 4.5 stars for me.

I’m glad I read this book as an audio book it gave it an added push. This book is bonkers with many twists and turns. Some which add to the plot some which are just red herrings. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable mystery.

The narrators do an excellent job. I definitely prefer multiple narrators to put on voices.
What a good book this was. I was transfixed.
When Jess arrives at her brother Ben’s flat in Paris he doesn’t answer the door and in fact doesn’t show up at all. She spends the next few days doing a spot of amateur detective work trying to discover what has happened to him. We don’t know who to trust. In fact, everyone is a bit dodgy in that house full of secrets.
Loved the end. It was totally unexpected.

Ahh!

Yes I own Lucy Foley's other books.....no, I have not read them yet but this one is GREAT.
The audiobook is a full cast narration, which I LOVE in books with multiple POVs - it makes it much easier to immerse yourself in the story, get to know the characters and be tricked when it comes to mysteries (my mind says that it's because you are switching to someone else talking so don't have time to switch off and think about all the clues you have....but that could just be me!).

The Paris Apartment has the early twist that adds-to the story, the close-to-end twist that you can guess, and then WHAM of an ending to bring it all together. I loved it. I was so caught up in the story, and flew through it.

Yes, there is a whole big plop of suspend-your-disbelief at the start, but we find out something about Jess' family later on that makes it a lot more believable...so it comes together and honestly the way it played me deserves 5 stars. Never rolled my eyes in annoyance once (which happens a lot in thrillers/mysteries!) but could have done without some of the sex scenes in my ears....

Thank you @netgalley and @harperaudio for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. 🔥

Jess needs a change of scenery so she goes to crash with her brother. Only, when she arrives in the apartment where he stays at in Paris, he is missing... 😟

I have previously read The Guest List and The Hunting Party by the same author, and really enjoyed them, so I really wanted to read The Paris Apartment as well. 🤩
Where I found her previous 2 books to be quite similar (the same characters, just with other names and in another setting), I thought this was quite different again. 😃

The twists and surprises just kept on coming. 🤯
I even shouted "NO" out loud while listening to the audiobook a couple of times. 😅

I listened to the audiobook for this, and I am so glad I did.😍
Foley always writes her mysteries from the perspective of a whole cast of characters, and I am really bad with names.😬
Thanks to the audiobook, which was narrated by a full cast, I could keep the characters straight.🧐
And since this book takes place in Paris, some of the actors adapted a French accent, which immerses the reader even more into the story.😎

Absolutely a recommendation from me! 💙💙

Dark and thrilling, this is a clever mystery with 6 points of view and 6 fantastic narrators, all with different accents and personalities. Lucy Foley's writing is so deliciously atmospheric I felt like I was actually in this creepy old apartment building and could feel the faded silk wallpaper, hear the boards creaking and smell the mustiness of the attic. The story is complex and twisty and every time I thought I knew what was going on, something would happen that changed everything! I started listening to the audiobook but also enjoyed going back and reading it to see all the clues I had missed the first time around. I liked Lucy Foley's last 2 books but absolutely loved this one, it's her best book yet!

I do want to commend the audiobook - when I saw the list of people narrating I was afraid it wouldn't work because it was too much. But it actually was great to listen to!
The plot for me was only okay, I must say I had it figured out. BUT the audiobook was great fun!
I enjoyed this more than the authors previous two releases.

Ok. Would I recommend it to customers? Well I wouldn't dissuade them. People love her. I''m just definitely not one of them.

Go see my review of the Guest List on my site Novellives. I don't know that it can be accessed here anymore.

A lot of the same problems plague The Paris Apartment. Foley beats the dead horse like noones business. Characters repeat things in their innnarative over and over and over again. They make the most insane decisions.

I mean seriously. You Break into your brothers apartment and find all his stuff, a cat with blood on it but no brother? What do you do? Swipe money from his wallet (because you would've asked if he was there), decide the cat must have gotten a mouse and get involved with stranger neighbor drama when you JUST BROKE INTO THE APT. WTF?

Then you got to sleep and when your brother is still not there in the morning? You get breakfast 🙄.

That is just the surface of the level of stupidity in this book.

Number twelve Rue Des Amants, an old French house, now a little rundown and a little creepy, but once luxurious – split into five apartments. One vast apartment per floor! Ben Daniels, a journalist, is the newest tenant to the building having recently moved into the apartment on the third floor. Moving from England to Paris and arranged for him by Nick (the nice guy), an old university friend who has lived on the second floor since moving to Paris himself after leaving his failing start-up company behind in America.

The first floor is occupied by Antoine (the drunk), whose wife has recently left him. The fourth floor holds Mimi (a girl on the verge) and her flatmate Camille – young and beautiful. The penthouse is retained by the wealthy Meuniers. Sophisticated and snooty Sophie (the socialite) and her husband Jacques, a refined wine merchant. And then there is The Concierge (a concierge), an ageing woman who lives in a dilapidated lodge at the back of the building and has been there for years, invisible but always lurking in the background and always watching.

Back in England, Jess is having some trouble at work and needs to make a speedy retreat. She calls her brother, Ben, and begrudgingly, he agrees to let her stay with him in his Paris apartment. But, when Jess arrives, her brother is nowhere to be found! As Ben’s sudden disappearance is beginning to look more and more worrying and less and less is adding up – Jess begins to ask questions but finds the other residents less than friendly or helpful for that matter.

Not being able to speak much French (not wanting the funky music to do the talking), and not knowing another person in Paris, Jess doesn’t know who to turn to, or who to trust. Everyone around her seems hostile and she feels like she is being watched- and is that noise in the background of Ben’s final voice message to her? Despite the uphill battle, Jess is determined to find out the truth, but in doing so, she may be in more danger than she realises. There are many dark secrets at stake and people willing to do whatever it takes to keep those secrets from being brought into the light.

“What the actual fuck?”
-Jess Daniels

I was lucky enough to be gifted the audiobook to listen to and once I hit play, I just couldn’t stop listening! I was done within a day and was quite sad when it finished. I loved the writing (as I always do with Lucy Foley) It was an immersive slow burn, filled with suspense and so much fun to read – well, listen to. On that note, the narrators were absolutely excellent and really added to the Parisian vibe with accents and translations scattered throughout the book. I know authors have their books translated into many different languages – and I’m not quite sure how they will manage to translate this one to French – with the French translations already within the story. Anyway, I digress – the narrators; Clare Corbett, Daphne Kouma, Julia Winwood, Sope Dirisu, Sofia Zervudachi and Charlie Ansom were awesome! Highly recommend the audiobook for this one!! The book was mainly narrated by Jess but had multiple POVs – mainly the residents of the building and little snippets from Ben himself. The book held major Agatha Christie vibes for me and I definitely got the feel of Riley Sager’s Lock Every Door too.

This is the third Lucy Foley book that I’ve read, and I previously loved her other two books; The Hunting Party and The Guest List. I’d been hoping that I would get this book after requesting it on Netgalley and actually let out a little whoop when I saw the email confirming it was available on my account, so I am really very grateful to the author and Harper Collins UK for my gifted copy to review via Netgalley. Due to be released 3rd March 2022 – one not to be missed!

Five awesome whodunit stars 💫

I received an advanced review audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this one. Very fast paced, had me biting my nails as I listened – I had to hear how it would end. The characters were well rounded and the narrative felt believable. Gave me chills. Solid five

I enjoyed a lot Lucy Foley's "The Guest List" and did not like ""The Hunting Party", but could not pass by her new release without reading it. It sounds so intriguing and definitely twisty. And eventually it was - amazing setting place (Paris), suspicious characters, dark story and a twisty ending, that I never knew was coming.
At the same time, when I finished the book, I did not know how to feel about the whole story, maybe it was because I loved the Guest List that much or maybe because of the twists in the end, but overall it is a great read and I would give it a 3.5 and 4 stars in total.
I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an audiobook in exchange for honest review!

This had potential but I just couldn't get into the full cast narration of a story about a woman going to her half-brother's Paris apartment only to find him missing. What happened to Ben?? Are his neighbors friends or foes?? We slowly unravel the mystery of where/what happened to Ben over the course of this book, told from multiple POVs. I was optimistic for an edge of your seat thriller but honestly I was bored more than I was thrilled. A miss for me unfortunately. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy!

My third book by Lucy Foley. Maybe the most complex one and I like that all the things were reveling one by one at the end. I was glad the main character went on after all happened there. What happend in Paris stay in Paris? I think I read this somewhere. There were many characters, many neigbours, with many secrets and a mystery to solve. Unfortunately I could not attach to any but any way a nice slow burning mystery.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins Audio for this ALC.

...this is a joke right? this book is so bad it's just bad. no subtlety (with characters telling us exactly what they are like in the first few lines of their being introduced: eg. 'i don't like change', 'i remember things'). also, puah-lease. i am done with french characters by english speaking authors. just stop it okay. whoever decided that the narrators for the audiobook should speak with a fake french accent should be be fired (joking of course). but really, i absolutely hate it when a film is set in a non-english speaking country (but is made by and for an english audience) and they will have the (often english) actors speak in an affected english (they are meant to be speaking in their native tongue, the english bit requires our suspension of disbelief but why then add a silly accent?!). anyway, this is a trashy 'thriller' and i do not have the patience for it.

Lucy Foley has returned! I was up all night guessing to the very end of this book. It was impossible for me to put it down. The characters are so memorable that you will remember them long after the novel is finished. You become completely engrossed in Jess Hadley's story. 4 out of 5 stars

So I’ve tried to read this authors other books and for some reason never quite got the hype. This one though! This book had me hooked from the beginning and I absolutely needed to know what was going to happen. I loved the different perspectives from all the characters. The French theme amazing as well. Love love loved this!