Name: Elizabeth Scott's review of The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
Item: The Paris Apartment
Rating: 4
Author: Elizabeth Scott

Lucy Foley

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List comes a new locked room mystery, set in a Paris apartment building in which every resident has something to hide... Jess needs a fresh start. She's broke and alone, and she's just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn't sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn't say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up - to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? - he's not there. The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother's situation, and the more questions she has. Ben's neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it's starting to look like it's Ben's future that's in question. The socialite - The nice guy - The alcoholic - The girl on the verge - The concierge Everyone's a neighbor. Everyone's a suspect. And everyone knows something they're not telling.

The Paris Apartment

Daniel Lindquist

this is France and screwing is, like, a thing of national pride

bruh he mustve set the building on fire or smth because what is going on 

Jiya

Benjamin Daniels. After he came her, everything changed. 

Benjamin Daniels. He destroyed everything.

Ashlyn Barrett

So you see, this is what happened. Three nights ago Ben died and we buried him. Didn't we?

La voix du sang est la blus forte. The voice of blood is the strongest. 

Invisible had been safe, if occasionally lonely. But I had forgotten how exciting it could feel to be seen. 

I could not explain that I simply wanted someone to love. Wholehearted, unreserved, requited. 

It could have ended so differently. If I hadn't been such a coward. Because the truth is, I was looking. That was the point. I knew exactly what I was doing. It was so close. Just not close enough. 

I read somewhere that sixty percent of us can't go more than ten minutes without lying. Little slippages: to make ourselves sound better, more attractive, to others. 

I only hope she knows what she is doing. Climbing so high, so quickly: it only makes for further to fall. 

There’s this expression in french. Être bien dans sa peau. To feel good in your own skin. 

Soleil de plomb, for when the sun feels as heavy as lead. 

Clueless is dangerous, it makes you vulnerable. 

I’ve never let a closed door stay closed for long: I suppose you could say that’s my main problem in life. 

Amanda Autumn Berrey

Is he turned on by what’s happening on stage? Am I?

Maybe she snapped in a fit of jealous rage because Ben was sleeping with someone else

“It’s just . . . most people here are friends of Camille. No one really knows Mimi. She— how do you say it in English?— keeps herself to herself. Kind of intense. A bit—” He makes a gesture that I take to mean: “cuckoo.”

“Hey, Mimi. I like you too much for that.” I got it, then. Not here; not like this: not for the first time. The first time between us had to be special. Perfect.

meunier (mønje, jεR) masculine noun: miller Miller = Meunier. He gave me a translation of his surname.

They’re a family. They’re a family. And this isn’t Ben’s apartment: not really. Right now I’m sitting here inside someone’s family home. Why on earth didn’t Ben tell me this? Did it not seem important? Did he somehow not know?

Fat in this country is seen as a sign of weakness, even of stupidity. The thought gave me a nasty sort of pleasure.

A few things. Nick isnt to be trusted. She has no idea what Nick told the officer because of the language barrier. Ben was speaking in English in the voicemail so the officer has no idea what the voicemail said. And Nick is now the sole contact of the investigation. Nick must be involved in the disappearance

“Did he take it seriously?” He nods. “Yes, eventually. I think the voicenote clinched it.” He says, his voice hoarse. He still looks pale and sickened by what he just heard, on the voicenote. “And don’t worry— I’ve given myself as a contact, not you. As soon as I hear anything I’ll let you know.”

Elizabeth Scott

honestly my fav of foley’s mysteries that i’ve read so far. the more complex mystery worked so well and her talent at tying characters together in surprising ways holds up in a different framework. wish i knew french

Clara Gauthier

Tried listening to this book on 2 separate occasions and it was so boring. I got 1/3 of the way through the first time and half way through this time and I’m putting it down. Maybe it’s a super great book but I couldn’t get into it. 

Lacee Foutch 

I'm being generous with this rating bc the plot was interesting. The narration, execution, POV's, etc?? .... not so much. I kinda expected more out of this book but my biggest issues were: 

Tsu 💙

I'm being generous with this rating bc the plot was interesting. The narration, execution, POV's, etc?? .... not so much. I kinda expected more out of this book but my biggest issues were: 

It's too damn long, get to the point. 

The changes in POV's could've been better executed, you don't need them to be so short. 

A lot of the information was so unnecessary and redundant. 

Not every chapter needs to end in a goddam "cliffhanger."

It was unnecessarily complicated and mostly predictable and the plot Twists didn't hit as they should.

Great as an audiobook, hearing all the different characters in their short chapters. Classic LF mystery, good surprise at the end that I didn’t see coming at all. Also, love how Paris as a city is used to create tension and mood - juxtaposition between the surface-level reputation of beauty and romance vs. the gritty, dark, riotous reality. Obviously the concierge is the best character and I love her ending. I think this was better than the guest list purely based on the fact that I don’t remember what happened in that book and I donated it. 

Coley T

Carmen Malca

I found the story development to be a little underwhelming. The alternating points-of-view interfered with the pace of the story. That really made it very difficult for me to become invested in the story at the beginning. I understand why the POV switch was necessary but I wish it was interwoven better with the pace of the story and its development. I personally would have liked to see more of a character deep dive for people in the story - fleshing out the characters a bit more to give us better insight into their lives, what makes them the way they are. Especially with the character of Mimi. That felt like a missed opportunity. There could have been more of a buildup with her character leading to the big plot twist/reveal in the book. There’s mention of some incident at school but not the details. It was hinted that it could somehow tie into her actions in the present, or her overall character, but that didn’t go anywhere. Also, what really happened with Theo and how he managed to get away from the police wasn’t mentioned. The way the book ended felt a bit rushed and it didn’t feel as satisfying as the author probably intended.

Devika M

First half of the book was riveting, it got slower towards the end. Surprising ending but I wasn’t jumping out of my seat. 

Robin Collura

i read this blog post that ranked the one lucy foley book i'd read, the guest list, as the WORST of her books, so i decided to give another one of her stories a go. i was bored and looking for something thrilling and engaging, and this def fit the bill. i think i understand foley's MO a lot better now, and i can now confidently say i do enjoy her works! they are fun, quick reads for me for entertainment, though i wouldn't say i gain a lot in terms of these books' depth. they def deal with serious/heavy topics, particularly around class and gender, but in ways that service the plot as opposed to the character (not to say that these things are JUST plot devices, but... they kind of are lol, it just doesn't feel AS grimy as when a man does it bc there is still SOME depth to the core characters, at least). i did still think some bits of this were quite cliche, like when jess first arrives at ben's living place and she thinks someone is about to attack her but the guy's just holding an iphone lmfao come oN. i do think that in comparison to the guest list, the ending of this book wrapped up a bit nicer for me, and with a bit more of a moral to the story, as well, which i like. i did see common themes among the two foley works i've read that it seems foley likes to touch upon — [SPOILERS] age gap romantic relationships, mothers with dead children, etc. [END SPOILERS] — so i wonder if i kept reading her works, whether or not these themes would continue to show up haha. i will v likely keep reading her books, so i guess i will find out soon!

lucia

Entertaining listen! And I was not expecting how everything would shake out in the end.

Caroline Piephoff

I enjoyed this book along with all the plot twists, Lucy Foley really knows how to do a classic whodunit type of book and keep the reader engaged

0cchi

Rebecca Hurd

Not my favorite Lucy Foley book, the main character just annoyed the heck out of me!! She was written to be a street smart girl from the foster system and yet she found herself in the dumbest situation that she should of seen coming!! Could’ve been better!!

The story is intelligently told through the perspective of many characters.  I am not a fan of this approach because it confuses me. However, Lucy Foley has done an incredible job in using this style of writing to tell a story. Despite providing various perspectives, I still did not foresee the ending untill the last couple of chapters. 

Story is set in Paris and that has its own charm cleverly painted by the author. 

MereCivilian

The story is intelligently told through the perspective of many characters.  I am not a fan of this approach because it confuses me. However, Lucy Foley has done an incredible job in using this style of writing to tell a story. Despite providing various perspectives, I still did not foresee the ending untill the last couple of chapters. 

Story is set in Paris and that has its own charm cleverly painted by the author. 

A highly recommended read. 

Bria

This was okay. The mystery was consistent however the personality of the characters was a bit wishy washy. 

nuha ✨️

Elisavet Rozaki 

Initially I was hooked, but the climax turned out to be quite underwhelming.

buny

love me a cast of characters w their distinct voices everytime the pov switches mwaaaah 🤌 probs one of my fav mystery/thriller book now!! surprising bc i always have some kinda qualms w them bc its my fav genre but i had none here. loved the claustrophobic environment of the apartment, the intrigue of what every resident was hiding and what on earth ben was scooping around for !!!!!

Boringggggg I can’t believe so many liked this book. I liked The Guest List and it was very clever, this one just fell completely flat. The twist at the end wasn’t anything shocking at all. From the third chapter I was like aight I just wanna know what happened so I can move on. Cmon Lucy. 

Madeleine Winterich

Heather

Enjoyed this one. I got hunting party and guest list on kindle to read of hers also. 

I go between 1-2 kindle books and 3 paperbacks all depends on mode 

Can do a book week if nothing gets in way or one a month is why planning

An easy and enjoyable read. Could have had more intrigue and action earlier. It all came together in the final 1/3 of the book. great ending though! 

Aims

Syahla Aurel

And now the beauty of this place feels like so much colorful wrapping hiding something evil inside.

Honestly, I expected more from this book because The Guest List was a very enjoyable book with a great plot twist, but this one was meh. It should be targeted as a crime book instead of mystery-thriller.

Tbh it’s not worth the hype. I like the twist but overall it was just an okay story.

Pimvi

It was not interesting at all. The story was boring, which was tried to be exciting with illogical twists. It had nothing to do with Paris except for a few French words that came up in conversation.

Shidehdeishidi

Kenzi Linton

The amount of times I gasped out loud, mouth dropped open in surprise — this book has so many plot twists and I highly recommend it. Granted, I chose not to rate it 5 stars due to some scenes being a bit too provocative for my taste, but it truly was a great book. I have a couple of Lucy Foley’s books on my to be read list, however this is the first book I have read by her after picking it out for my Book of the Month. It took me quite a few chapters before I really got into it which is why it was a longer read for me, but as soon as the first plot twist hit, I couldn’t stop reading.

This threw me for a loop the whole time. I never knew what was happening. I would have liked it to be a tad shorted but I still enjoyed it! 

Elizabeth Scott &
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

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Elizabeth Scott &
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley