Arriving in the dark days of February, Lucy Foley’s The Paris Apartment nevertheless feels like the most entertaining sort of summer thriller, a fast-paced, twisty bit of escapism that mixes compelling, messy characters, deft narrative red herrings, shifting perspectives, and a few genuine surprises to create a story that’ll keep you up reading well into the night ... Short, snappy chapters and Foley’s propulsive prose make The Paris Apartment an easy title to get swept up in ... The character’s voices are distinct and strong, and though none of them—even supposed heroine Jess—are tremendously likable as people, it doesn’t mean they’re not a heck of a lot of fun to read about.
The Paris Apartment is cleverly and intricately plotted, told from several different points of view and occasionally moving forward and backward chronologically. This gives readers just enough clues to allow them to try to solve the mystery while continually pulling the rug out from under them so they remain off-balanced and surprised. The book takes a classic formula but makes it feel fresh and modern using contemporary storytelling techniques, ensuring that readers will come away from it eagerly awaiting Foley’s next fiendishly clever puzzle of a mystery.
Lucy Foley...is back with another page-turning thriller...in which the story and its characters are as unique and beguiling as the city itself ... Foley gives readers a relatable heroine in Jess, one whose shoes we can step in and whose missteps are as important as her breakthroughs. In fact, all of Foley's characters are believable, each distinct without breaking into stereotypes ... Foley also keeps readers on their toes with a fast-paced story in which she does a stellar job of juggling the past and the present with multiple narratives without getting bogged down. You can feel the urgency in her prose. As with any good thriller, the breadcrumbs Foley skillfully drops are there for Jess and the reader to find. But do they lead us in the right direction? That depends. Throw in our own assumptions, some twists and turns along the way, and suspects and scenarios abound. As does a thrilling read.
A juicy beach read ... The pages were most definitely written to be turned quickly ... Lucy Foley keeps you guessing with multiple first person narrators and short chapters designed to leave you hanging ... [A] twisted tale ... Fans of whodunits may very well sleuth it out before the denouement, but that doesn’t make the journey any less enjoyable.
Exceedingly clever ... What’s especially interesting about the novel, apart from the deft characterizations and the overall feeling of dread, is the way Foley is cagey about exactly what kind of story this is ... The author keeps Jess and the reader guessing right up to the end. A fine suspenser from a writer who consistently delivers the goods.
[A] well-paced, suspenseful locked-room mystery with shifting points of view, though the eventual solution to the puzzle is not as satisfying as in her earlier books ... Foley’s fans, especially those willing to suspend their disbelief about some of the more unlikely plot twists, will enjoy.
Well-paced ... Amid plenty of red herrings and distinctive characters, each shifty in their own way, the relentlessly bleak plot builds to an uplifting twist ending that feels neither pat nor overly rosy. Foley reliably entertains.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay[/caption]
