Imagine being offered $12,000 to live in one of New York City’s most iconic buildings. It would be too hard to pass up, but of course there’s always a catch. This is the premise of Riley Sager‘s thriller, Lock Every Door.
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 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 sordid past and into the secrets kept within its walls. What she discovers 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.
The allure of Lock Every Door lies in its plot and captivating setting—the Bartholomew. As I turned the first few pages, it was obvious the building itself would serve as an intrinsic character within the story, casting an omnipresent shadow over our protagonist, Jules Larsen. As the book moved along, I couldn’t not help but feel drawn into this opulent structure that harbors both splendor and menace.
Riley Sager continues to show his storytelling prowess in Lock Every Door with his uncanny ability to craft suspenseful plots. The author skillfully combines elements from the thriller and horror genres with a dash of psychological drama to create something uniquely mesmerizing. While Lock Every Door is not the first thriller based in a mysterious NYC building, Sager was able to craft a tale that is truly unique and original.
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager is a gripping tale filled with suspense, mystery, and unexpected twists. The fast-paced novel is a unique blend of suspenseful storytelling with a rich atmospheric setting that had me hooked until very end.
Lock Every Door is available at bookstores everywhere with an audiobook, narrated by Dylan Moore, available at Libro.fm.
