Disclaimer: I received and Arc of the Audiobook from HarperCollins UK Audio, HarperCollins in exchange for a review. All thoughts are my own, and the Arc didn't get approved until after I received my physical copy.

Plot
Jess goes to Paris to stay with her brother in his fancy apartment. However, when she gets there Ben is missing. She soon learns that everyone in the building is holding secrets, and she tries to uncover what happened to her brother.

Thoughts
Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars

I liked the first half of the book, but as with most thrillers the plot twists became too convoluted and ridiculous the more I read. Overall, I liked Lucy Foley's writing - I haven't read her previous books - but the plot was seriously lacking for me.

Audiobook
The audiobook had a full cast, which was interesting. However, the narrator for Mimi was awful. Also, NetGalley audiobooks have issues where anything over 2x speed just skips words and is unlistenable, even when reading along with the physical book. I normally listen to audiobooks on 2.5 - 3.2x speed, so I feel like that may have affected my experience with the audiobook.

Jess flees London to arrive at her brother Ben’s apartment in Paris only to discover his missing and she cannot contact him or get into the apartment. The neighbours in the building and hostile and unhelpful so Jess ends up breaking into the apartment to see if she can figure out what happened. Upon breaking into his apartment she discovers he isn’t in there, but she does find his phone, keys and wallet are still there. So what the hell happened in that apartment? Does Ben’s job as a journalist have something to do with his disappearance? What on earth are the neighbours hiding?!

I really enjoyed the guest list by this author and I found this one to be just as enjoyable and suspenseful. Lucy certainly has a knack for keeping me glued to the pages with unease at what I’m going to hide out next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an audiobook for this one, definitely recommend it!

The Paris Apartment is gripping. I needed that thrilling page turner to pull me out of the reading slump and I most certainly regained that feeling of wanting to reach for the book as soon as I open my eyes.
At first, I thought it a bit repetitive that there’s a university connection between some characters but in the end I thought it clever that Foley intertwines that reoccurring theme throughout her stories.

The Paris Apartment is especially excellent as an audiobook because of the vast cast of characters, each given their own voice. I found that it allows readers to familiarise themselves with everyone involved. For me, it also meant that I was able to follow the story better, due to each individual voice and accent. All in all, I think Foley did a great job at setting up this book to be as easy to follow as possible while remaining gripping and tense until the end. It wasn’t full of crazy twists and turns but it was a solid mystery with a satisfying ending.

3.75/5 rounded up to 4 stars.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins Audio for this audiobook copy of The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I will be reviewing both the book and audiobook.

This book is about a girl who travels to France to visit her elder brother, it is hinted that she is escaping to France , Paris, after a event in her workplace. When she arrives in France she discovers her brother missing and has been is living in a very grand but very strange block of apartments among a even stranger bunch of neighbours. The story that follows is her trying to discover what happened to her brother. The book is wrote in the first person and you hear from a number of the characters throughout.


“Welcome to No.12 rue des Amants.           
A beautiful old apartment block, far from the glittering lights of the Eiffel Tower and the bustling banks of the Seine.
Where nothing goes unseen, and everyone has a story to unlock.
The watchful concierge
The scorned lover
The prying journalist
The naïve student
The unwanted guest
There was a murder here last night.
A mystery lies behind the door of apartment three.
Who holds the key?”

Instant Chills

Having read all of Lucy’s previous books I was very excited to read this. I feel her writing has echos of Agatha Christie with a modern twist, this book was very much like that from page one.

Lucy’s description of the apartment block was amazing it instantly created a creepy unease and tension, I could see it clear in my mind it completely jumped off the page and gave me dark Nancy Drew vibes with the secret staircases, the cave, the maid quarters and ivy covered walls. This is before even the story properly takes off it created tension and suspense it made me want to keep reading and reading. Furthermore I loved the descriptions of the fashion, food and wine. They were very well done I could picture them and almost taste the buttery flakey croissant.

The book is not only a mystery/thriller but it also a book that highlights a lot of important issues in society- the class system, powerful men, corruption, consent , violence against women, mental health- the issues are embed in the story and for me add to the book it takes the book from good easy read thriller to something a little smarter and interesting

The main story for me stared well but as it went on failed to live up to the early tension created, parts were fairly obvious and I guessed early on what was going on. However as all with all Lucy’s books there was a twist in tale and it picked up pace at the end. Also without any spoilers I thought the ending was the perfect revenge.

Character wise there wasn’t really any characters I liked if am honest but while listening to audiobook I found I liked them more they seemed more real speaking.
To begin with I felt some of the characters were a bit underdeveloped and portrayed very stereotypical (Camille, Sophie, Jaq) As the book went on I found myself warming to some characters and as their back story was given they started to develop well, I found this was very much case with Sophie.
However I felt both Ben and Jess were very underdeveloped , both came across as unlikable and in Jess’s case quite stupid she missed the obvious more than once. I have found this in Lucy’s previous works particularly The Guest List a lot of they characters were very unlikable tho I did feel some of the characters in this albeit unlikable did develop better and had more a backstory just not Jess and Ben. Although to be fair to Ben we never heard much from him only really about what others thought of him.
Jess I found to very annoying, she was walked into danger open eyed, jumped at anything and as previously said came across quite stupid. Another point was while I get she didn’t have money the comments about the designer clothes etc didn’t ring true she would have known many of the brands she acted oblivious to, also this was brand blindness was not consistent. I liked her chapters the least. My favourite character was the cat, who was the one who really saved the day more than once.

The sign of good book for me is when I have to switch between the book and audiobook as I can’t be away from it this was very much the case with this I was dying to finish it to find what happened, did I guess right and of course couldn’t wait to the foley twist. I think I prefer the book in terms of the story telling and creating tension , that being said I found the audiobook was well paced ,was easy to follow and easy to pick up where you left off. I liked the characters better in the audiobook as I felt the narrators were directly talking to you so it for me it gave the characters extra depth. I liked how there was multiple narrators ,one for each character. Some of the narrators were better than others at acting and doing voices but in the most part they were all good, I liked Mimi’s narration the best this how she sounded in my head while I was reading. As I say I switched between the two so I could do things about he house, work etc while listening this book was ideal for that as it was easy to follow, would be good in the car.

All in all I enjoyed both the book and audio version, the book worked better for me. Fans of Lucy’s work won’t be disappointed with this book as well any readers who like their mysteries with a bit more bite , it’s a great third novel. With a twist in its tale this book and audiobook was thrilling, twisty and dark with a political undercurrent that raised it from 3.5 stars to 4. In fact let’s call it a 4.5 the bonus stars for the cat.

Oh, I was looking for this book for so long! I love Lucy Foley's stories and I have huge expectations after her previous ones.

The Paris Apartment seems to be much more complicated than the stories I have read before. Many people are hiding something, there are many difficult situations and past which is coming back most unexpectedly.

I found it quite different, but in a good manner, because we moved to the city, where some crimes are harder to cover. We have a family connection, big businesses, and life where people did not suddenly disappear.

I like the way how the author describes the characters, the emotions, and the motif of all these. I was surprised and did not see it coming, which is an advantage of course.

I have it as an audiobook but I will prefer to read it in the paper version, cause Lucy's stories are so complex that I feel better having it physically than just listening in the afternoon traffic.

Jess arrives in Paris to stay with her half brother, only to be greeted by the rude inhabitants and an empty apartment. She has no choice but to stay and attempt to find her missing brother.

Fantastic narrators, brilliant voice acting!

I found this novel was a lot slower than Foleys previous novels but still a good room through the streets of Paris.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

2.5

I was once a big fan of mystery novels, but it's not my focus anymore. This is my first book by Lucy Foley and I was mostly interested because of the setting: Paris. This intense city seems to always be the stage of a great love story or unforgivable crimes.

This was an amusing read, but I felt it was way longer than it should. I understand she wanted to create the whole atmosphere and the mystery surrounding all the characters, but at 50% I was getting tired of the plot – that seemed to be going nowhere.

Everyone is allowed to write a long book, but not everyone should do it. Of course I wouldn't know how the edition process of this book went, but I often notice how, with thriller authors, the more popular they get, the more it seems like they books get less touched by an editor's hand. The results are usually not great. But again, this is just a perception and I haven't read Foley's other works.

The characters were okay, but sometimes they felt too manufactured, too cliché. As if I was reading a game of Clue, where the characters are always the same. It was only a matter of finding out if the big bad wolf was Miss Scarlett or Professor Plum.

And I couldn't help but question many of her choices. There is this scene, around 75%, where one of them simply guesses a very hard computer password correctly. It felt lazy and it pulled me out of the tense atmosphere the author was trying to create. This happened more times during my read.

It's not terrible and I'm sure many people will enjoy, but I wouldn't go with high hopes – I'm afraid you'll be just disappointed as I was.

I enjoyed this. The main character was interesting but I think it dragged a bit towards the end. I enjoyed the main mystery and there was some enjoyable twists also.

The varying perspectives were interesting and helped with the flow of the book.

Jess needs a fresh start. On the spur of the moment she goes to visit her brother in Paris. When she arrives her brother isn’t home and she finds herself discovering the suspicious circumstances behind his disappearance.

Owhhh I’m so disappointed ☹️
I absolutely loved loved loved The Guest List and The Hunting Party and was so excited about this new release, but it really fell flat for me.

There’s plenty of untrustworthy characters and suspense. The book starts with the bang of a murder but then the author seems to slam the breaks on and the rest of the book is a slog.
The big reveal at the end is definitely shocking and unexpected but for me made no sense and came out of nowhere making it quite unbelievable.

I’m also sick of reading negative portrayals of foster children. It added nothing to the story but to paint Jess as an automatic failure because she was fostered as a child.

Not for me unfortunately.

It was an enjoyable enough thriller, a bit hard to get to grips with all the characters at first, but ok when you get into it. It dragged on a bit but overall it was an alright read and I enjoyed the storyline.

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

A mind boggling thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat!!! I thoroughly enjoyed the different POV’s and the audibook truly brought this story to life with the Parisian accents.

Jess travels to Paris after fleeing from trouble back home in London to stay with her brother. However .. when she arrives her brother is no where to be found.

The other occupants in his building are very suspicious ..

Jess must now find out where her brother is … or what has happened to him ..

This book will have you second guessing everyone’s true intentions .. you won’t see the twists before they come.

Highly recommend this! I thoroughly enjoy Lucy Foley’s writing and this book lived up the expectations!!

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

Jess needs to leave in a hurry. Ben, her brother doesn't sound particularly thrilled with her coming, however promises to be there to greet her at the gates..

Something isn't right. Even from the gates she can feel her presence is unwanted. Finally in the apartment, Jess has definitely walked into more than she bargained for... and where is her brother?

Even though this is a slow build it reads so much fastest. Short snappy chapters from multiple characters create an amazing sense of atmosphere with a dark and menicing undertone.

The book itself is an effortless read, a stunning display of talent. My attention well and truly captured. The array of red herrings and slight misconceptions of truths bring the intensity of the book to life.

I absolutely loved the inclusion of French phrases, each one creating its own little bit of tension.

Gradually you piece together the true extent of the night Ben went missing, every seedy secret. Every dirty penny... And then there's the killer truth.

If you haven’t read it I'd definitely recommend grabbing yourself a copy.

Audio narration was brilliant, definitely added to the story. Narrator was clear and well spoken adding great definition to each character.

Lucy Foley is an auto-read author for me, as I loved The Guest List so much and it was one of the reasons I decided the mystery/thriller genre was for me! The Hunting Party was similarly enjoyable, and I feel like my expectations for this were a little too high.

The Paris Apartment follows her signature multiple POVs but is different in the relationships between characters and the structure in terms of we know who’s missing from the beginning. I enjoyed the Parisian setting, but the characters weren’t super intriguing to me, and while there were ‘twists’ I didn’t find them especially shocking. Perhaps this is because this story relied heavily on flashbacks to build characters, and it would have been more thrilling to be more in the moment.

The book starts so strong and the mystery seems quite sinister, but as it moves along it loses steam and for the last third of the book my reactions were usually “Oh, okay, fair enough.” Not a terrible book by any means - I think a lot of people will enjoy this- but it didn’t go as far as I thought it would, and I wasn’t invested in the characters as I have been with Foley’s other work. The audiobook narration was, however, fantastic - I loved the multiple voice actors and felt they really captured the characters and feel of Foley’s writing, and it made it a lot easier to follow so many perspectives having a full cast rather than a single narrator.

Really enjoyable to have a different sort of thriller.
More a family drama with a dead body thrown in.
I liked the different points of view chapters which kept it fresh and engaging and the couple of twists I didn't see coming.
Some parts a little predictable which I actually liked.
A slow burn, good read
Thank you for the audio to read and review

Unfortunately I didn’t get on too great with this book. I loved The Guest List and The Hunting Party so I thought I’d really enjoy this one too but I think ultimately it was a bit too complicated which made it confusing.

4.5 stars: Jess and Ben were orphaned at a young age. Their mother overdosed and Jess was the one to find her. Ben was adopted by a London couple who gave him everything he needed, including the best education that money could buy. A graduate of Cambridge, Ben is still trying to find his way to a sensational journalistic career. He is living in Paris. Jess wasn’t so lucky. She was bounced around from foster home to foster home, but she’s a survivor. She recently lost her job and is homeless. She reaches out to Ben after not seeing him for many years and he agrees to let Jess crash at his place until she finds a job and another place to live. When she arrives at his apartment, he is not there. She is able to get in but is worried. Where is he? He texted her the day before saying he would be there. As Jess digs deeper into the residents at Bienvenue au 12, Rue des Amants she finds that the neighbors are none too happy to see her. Jess is determined and tough and won’t give up until she finds out the truth and what has happened to her brother.

This is my first Lucy Foley novel and now I know what everyone is talking about. Her writing is excellent, it flows naturally and is so descriptive that I could feel the creepy atmosphere of the apartment building. My one issue was the large cast of characters. Because I was listening to this book, it took me a bit to get my head wrapped around all of them. Once I did, the story took off for me. There were secretive, quirky and helpful residents that kept me guessing as to what they knew about Ben's disappearance. There were several twists, and I found this book to be fast paced. I do not want to give anything else away, but to say that the ending left me satisfied. The audiobook was narrated by a full cast including: Clare Corbett, Daphne Kouma, Julia Winwood, Sope Dirisu, Sofia Zervudachi, and Charlie Anson. It made it feel like a full performance that I completely enjoyed.

Lucy Foley has done it again! When Jess takes a spontaneous trip to Paris to visit her older brother, Ben, she is surprised to find him missing. As Jess gets to know his neighbors she realizes his disappearance may be more sinister than she originally thought. Told from the perspectives of the residents of the Paris apartment building, Lucy weaves an intricate tale of mystery and intrigue.

I loved the Guest List and Hunting Party so had high expectations for this novel and Lucy did not disappoint. The audiobook version was brilliant- I often struggle to follow listening along to multiple character perspectives but there were separate narrators for each character which really helped to keep up! I definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoyed her previous books along with any mystery or thriller fans!

This was my first audio book but not my first Lucy Foley book and let me just say upfront that I am a big fan.The Paris Apartment did not disappoint although because it is a story told from
multiple points of view, it was perhaps not the easiest foray into the audio genre. The premise is simple - Jess a young Brit has travelled to Paris to stay with her brother but when she arrives, he is nowhere to be found. Jess is given a less than welcoming reception by the other residents of the apartment complex and the quest to locate / find out what has happened to her brother is full of twists and turns. Some are anticipated but many leave the reader stunned as they are totally unexpected/ unforeseen. This was a terrific “listen” and I would recommend it to any mystery fan. Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for the advance review audio book.

This was different to the other two Lucy Foley books I've read but I loved it all the same. The dysfunctional residents of this Paris Apartment building all have something to hide. The revelations are fast and shocking and the characters are largely unlikeable which I love in a thriller. 

The book was fast paced and I finished it in one sitting. For Lucy Foley is now an autobuy author for me.

There was plenty in this book that I enjoyed and some I didn’t.

Lucy Foley is a very good storyteller and appeals to a wide audience of readers. I am one of them.

Jess is going to stay with her half brother in Paris, fresh start for her.
Things don’t go to plan as you would expect or there wouldn’t be much of a story to tell.
Turning up in Bens apartment is suspect and eerie and darn right problematic. Where is Ben?
And how come he can afford such a luxurious place to live on his money?

12 ru Des Amants Is divided up into several apartments.

The people she encounters when trying to find out where Ben is or if anyone had seen him or knows where he’s gone and when he’s coming back, have no answers.
It’s all very very weird and very oddly strange.
Something doesn’t feel right.

The author has woven a great storyline for us readers, there are lots of characters to keep up with, so that was a job.

Mostly, it wasn’t always clear which part of the timeline I was in. Past? Present?
So I had to keep track of that myself. I think that needs to be addressed as it got confusing at times.

If you are looking for a book that draws you in right away, this isn’t it. It’s more of an ‘easing’ in until you touch base and gradually get on firm footing with what you are reading.

I much preferred reading this in format than audio.
I had to give up part way through audio as one of the females voice was very monotone and irritated me. The others though were spot on and I loved the one who took the French accent!

I stuck with it, and I’m glad I did, with all its faults and some irritation I did enjoy it.

I think it would take a patient reader to enjoy this, someone who doesn’t expect excitement right away.