Took a while to get going but when it did it was v good as all authors books are. Would recommend and look forward to next one.

The book starts promising, but is then let down by implausibility.
The main characters are Barbara Matheson, a journalist, who is trying to dig up dirt on the mayor, Headley; her daughter who was basically brought up by Barbara's parent and who resents her for this. There is also a detective who suffers from asthma attacks brought on by feelings of guilt and who is conveniently cured by another shock at a critical moment.
Barbara and her daughter are believable characters. The mayor's character is all over the place.
Regarding the plot: somebody has tampered with elevators (lifts) so that they a) suddenly drop killing the occupants or b) the doors open so that some people step into the empty lift shaft and are then killed by the lift descending on top of them. This second one does not make sense at all once you get a bit further along in the book and it is explained how a) is done, but I suppose it makes for a nice effect.
The journalist and the detective independently try to get to the bottom of this.
The denouement comes at the top of a newly built skyscraper during the inauguration party. It is all very thrilling, but the motive simply does not make any sense whatsoever. Why would anybody go to all that effort at revenge and kill people who are completely uninvolved and not known to either party just to get back at somebody?
I would recommend buying this book if you can get it very cheap and have run out of anything better. I am really getting annoyed with all these celebrity endorsements. I bet they never read the book.

His books grip you from the start. Brilliant. Read it through the night.. many thanks to the publisher for letting me read this advanced reader copy in return for my honest review

Another fast paced thriller from Linwood Barclay, and another novel that didn’t fail to impress me and keep me hooked!! A terrifying concept that keeps us all hovered over the edge of a lift before we step in, and eager to run out after a short journey. Definitely made my holiday to New York slightly uncomfortable travelling to the top of the Empire State Building!

I really enjoyed this - though maybe not the best book to read when you're staying in a tall hotel with a lot of floors (and long lift/elevator journeys!). That was at the end of last year, not recently, and it's taken me a while to write this review. I found Elevator Pitch to be very chilling and gripping, as expected from Linwood Barclay.

This was a gripping, thouroughly enjoyable read, fast paced from start to finish and so difficult to put down!

A fast paced thriller set to keep you on the edge of your seat. Location vertical New York where a series of elevator incidents set the place on edge with things circling round Mayor Headley whose business and personal life collide in the unfolding of the storyline.
Barclays short chapters add to the intensity of the book.

This didn't have the usual fast-paced suspense I've come to expect from Linwood Barclay, although it did crank up after a slow start. It's certainly a creepy and disturbing plot and might make you think twice about getting into an elevator again!

This was very slow to start with and I struggled to keep it reading.
But it was worth persevering as it certainly started moving faster the more pages that were read.
Linwood Barclay has certainly written better books.

Not the most exciting Linwood Barclay book I have read but it certainly increased in speed, much like the elevators! It was rather a slow burner to start with various threads drawing the tale together. I have never been a fan of elevators and this has confirmed my aversion. The characters are well drawn with all of them showing a likeable side as well as an unpleasant side.
Three and a half stars for me!
Many thanks to Netgalley/Linwood Barclay/HQ for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was my first Linwood Barclay book and it will not be my last

I couldn’t stop turning the pages it’s such a clever plot

Highly recommended

Elevators all over Manhattan are malfunctioning and it's becoming a serious and deadly crisis. The Mayor, a reporter and two detectives are trying to find out what is happening and why, but their own stories are also intertwined. Decent thriller from reliable author.

This book gripped me early on and didn't let go. The tension starts early in this book and continues until the last page.

Elevator Pitch is a creepy and disturbingly plausible thriller that keeps the reader hooked until the very end. There are several interwoven storylines throughout the book and twists to keep you guessing as you try to figure out what's really going on.

I've read several page turners by Linwood Barclay and this doesn't disappoint.

I have read several books by this author but I’m sorry to say I hated this, I got to 30% and I just couldn’t get to grips with any of it, the plot, the characters. So I DNF.

It all begins on a Monday, when four people board an elevator in a Manhattan office tower. Each presses a button for their floor, but the elevator proceeds, nonstop, to the top. Once there, it stops for a few seconds, and then plummets.

Right to the bottom of the shaft.

What a beginning to a book. Was expecting great things and was not disappointed. Would be great as part of series as loved the main characters. Something a bit quirky with a hint of mystery and suspense. I love thrillers in general and this did not disappoint. Great characterisation, In found myself fully invested in the outcome. Love to hate characters and there was plenty of that here. Wasn't expecting the ending and love to be kept guessing. highly recommend.

I have enjoyed many of this author’s books in the past – he has a knack of finding an interesting plot and weaving it into a good story line.

Elevator Pitch certainly introduces another unique idea – the evil manipulation of New York’s lifts, bringing that city of skyscrapers to a standstill and its citizens to a state of fear. However, the development of the plot falls far short of Barclay’s usual standard.

The characters are underdeveloped and lacking in appeal, and the story line is just weird. Perhaps the theme was a bit too “out there” and so its development became increasingly bizarre. Whatever the reason, I read the book with an increasing sense of disappointment.

Elevator Pitch starts with an accident in New York. An elevator falls and people are killed. But when there is another accident in an elevator, it seems like maybe it wasn’t an accident after all. Mayor Richard Headley is suddenly under a lot of pressure to find out what’s happening. After all, New York is a vertical city and it cannot run without elevators (or as we call them in the UK, a good old lift). Barbara is a journalist with a serious bone to pick with the mayor. The elevator disaster is a perfect opportunity for her to stick it to him in her column, as she does on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, Detective Jerry Bourque and his partner begin investigating a body found with no fingertips and a face beaten so much it is unrecognisable. Is the body connected to what’s happening to the elevators? Quite possibly! But Jerry has his own problems to deal with, like stress induced panic attacks he is trying to hide from his partner.

This is a straight thriller, but there are a lot of character driven side stories within the main story. Barbara and her problems with her daughter, the mayor and his son, and Bourque with his anxiety issues. And although there are all these different things going on, they entwine very well together into the story. It’s very well written and all the main characters stand up to each other, for me there was no main person or story that dominated.

I did enjoy this book and I liked the characters. I could see some of them coming back together in another book in the future. Particularly Barbara and her daughter, and the detectives. This was an edge of the seat thriller, and I was most definitely guessing right up to the end who the bad guy would be and whether things would turn out okay in the end or not. And that’s all I want from a thriller really. I’ve never read a Linwood Barclay book before, but I can see why he’s popular. I would definitely choose one of his books again.

This is an enjoyable thriller with a steady plot which really picks up towards the end. I thought I had guessed who was the culprit, but I got caught out by the red herrings. I really enjoyed the characterisation of this novel - they were just ordinary people going about their everyday lives when they are plunged into an extraordinary situation. I enjoyed the ending which had kept me guessing. This book makes me think twice about getting into a lift.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

This is my first Linwood Barclay and it won't be my last. I very much enjoyed this story. I liked the premise of using elevators to invoke fear in a big 'tall' city.

Not being a New Yorker (or American)I had no concept of how heavily elevators are relied on in the US. I avoid them at all costs and after reading this I'm never getting in one again! The concept is brilliant, what would happen if someone could control the elevator at will? Will it plummet to the bottom or will there be one there at all when the doors open? Fast paced and thrilling this is a great read but it is quite easy to work out who the bad guy is.