The Paris Apartment: Thrilling and Unputdownable

Last updated on July 2nd, 2024 at 11:05 am

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley is the latest novel I’ve read.

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What makes this book remarkable to me are two things:

• it is the first mystery book that piqued my interest after so long a time; and
• the only one, after countless others, that managed to get me out of a long reading funk.

In and of itself, it is a great whodunit book that entertains and is well worth everyone’s time.

What’s It About?

The story revolves around Jess and the mysterious disappearance of her brother, Ben, who lives in a swanky Paris apartment.

Trying to leave an ugly past in England behind, twenty-eight-year-old Jess, asks her half-brother, Ben, to let her crash at his Paris apartment while she sorts herself out. She arrives in the posh apartment with no Ben in sight, a slinky cat with traces of blood on its body, curious-looking apartment floors smelling of bleach, and a bizarre bunch of neighbors who are either hostile or indifferent and everything in between. The pricey apartment by itself raises questions considering Ben’s humble means.

At any rate, Jess couldn’t get hold of Ben and no one seemed to want to help. The only clues her missing brother left are their last interrupted phone conversation in which he sounded afraid and a mysterious calling card among his belongings. Jess then realized that before she can find herself, she had to locate her absent brother first.

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My Review

What I Liked

Writing

I love the style of writing in this book. It was elegant in its simplicity and directness. The words were measured, and nothing was superfluous or wasted. The precision of the prose made it an easy read and had me flipping the pages.

Plot

The plot moved along at a steady pace, nothing dragged. The events were interesting, intriguing and engaging, and the build-up to the climax was good such that I was invested in knowing how everything pans out. I particularly liked how the author gradually revealed each of the character’s personalities and stories along the way.

Also, even though I managed to piece up some answers to the mystery more than midway through the book, still the author kept me guessing most of the time.

Characters

Jess is the main character in the story. She isn’t the most complex or most fleshed-out main character in the history of storytelling, but what little of her background story the author gives us when added to her actions in the book would make you admire her. She’s loyal, tenacious, and strong. Her devotion to a brother she didn’t always see and who failed her at some point in the past is admirable. Her courage to face unknown danger for a cause is the same. It would have been nice to know how her problems back home get resolved, but since that wasn’t the main point of the book, then knowing how she fared in the end was, I guess, enough.

Sophie, one of the secondary characters and one of the occupants of the apartment complex, is another character I found interesting. I didn’t exactly like her, but I found her multi-layered enough to mention here. Her character came off cold and aloof at the start, but she was surprising in the end.

Setting

I like the setting of the novel: the fancy apartment in Paris that is shrouded in mystery beyond its elegant facade. It was mysterious enough to pique my curiosity and get to the bottom of things.

The story is a little atmospheric which I also liked because it added to the eerie vibe that I think the author was going for.

And, of course, I love that this book was set in Paris, one of my favorite cities in Europe (maybe even my favorite on a good day). It was nice to be transported back to Paris of snakelike subway train tunnels and cobbled streets beside bustling outdoor cafés.

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As to what I didn’t like about the book, I really couldn’t think of anything. This book, for me, checked the pertinent boxes.

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Final Thoughts

In summary, The Paris Apartment is a great whodunit book. It’s well-written, excellently plotted, and engaging. I recommend it to those who would like to read a mystery novel they could get lost in and would keep them guessing.

Get the book here

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Happy reading!

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