Book: Lock Every Door
Author: Riley Sager
Genre: Mystery; Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis (Goodreads)
No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen's new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan's most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.
As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly, disturbingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story—until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.
Searching for the truth about Ingrid's disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew's dark past and into the secrets kept within its walls. Her discovery that Ingrid is not the first apartment sitter to go missing at the Bartholomew pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building's hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent.
My Review:
In the beginning I thought this is gonna be another 5 star read but the ending twist did not live up to my expectations and I ended up giving it 4 stars. This book was very compelling and intense. I thought I figured out every enigmatic twist in the story but I could not be more wrong about it. So unpredictable end! I could never have guessed what really was going on, it was so thrilling. The ending twist, though was great, did not impress me so much. Lock Every Door revolves around a mysterious and ghastly, gothic style building named Bartholomew. Some say it is haunted by its history; some say this weird talk is nothing but useless gossip. Among such people is Jules Larson who is recently laid off from her job and cheated on by her boyfriend on the same day. She is in desperate need of money and some place to live in. Constantly haunted by her own past, when a position of apartment sitter opens in Bartholomew, she jumps at the opportunity and gets the job with handsome salary. Everything seems too good to be true but ignoring such an opportunity is out of question for a desperate, homeless, almost penniless girl like Jules. Not a day passes when everything seems suspicious; mysterious and distant behavior of residents, impossible and prickling rules, and also everything else about the building gives her spine-tingling feeling that something is off. And then some very unexpected and frightening things happen with other apartment sitters. What is wrong with the building? Is it really haunted by its gloomy past? Would it be possible that Jules is right about history repeating itself? Or something entirely unseen and uncertain could be the source of all mishaps? I really appreciate the way Riley Sager created suspense in this story, and how everything started falling into pieces on its own. At first, I felt scary about what I thought was happening, but the ending was so unexpected. I could never have foreseen it. This is definitely not my last book of Riley Sager as I’m going to read all his books. Highly recommended!
My Favorite Lines:
“Never take anything you haven’t earned, my father used to say. You always end up paying for it one way or another.”
“One time is an anomaly. Two times is a coincidence. Three times is proof.”
“Every so often, life offers you a reset button. When it does, you need to press it as hard as you can.”
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