This was an incredible and fast-paced thriller by Chris Pavone. He does a remarkable job describing a crazy and scary night downtown while perfectly shaping his characters. A superb tale!

Fantastic! This is my first book by Chris Pavone. It will not be last. Without giving anything away, or repeating the about blurb, I’ll tell you what I loved. The setting, first of all is one of my favorites. I lived in NY back in the early 2000’s and loved it. I especially loved the old style buildings (the one in the book is made up) he was always describing. (Think the Dakota, my favorite) This story has three main narrators, all very likable, all with flaws. Pretty big ones and still good. The book is basically set within a day but goes back to show us their lives leading up to this day. I really enjoyed the suspenseful aspects of the book and wanted to find out more, so I rushed through this one. The writing is exceptional, I can’t believe I’ve never read any of his other books. I will be correcting that soon.

Chicky Diaz has spent decades standing at the entrance of the Bohemia Apartments, greeting the rich and powerful with a smile. But tonight, on the streets of New York City, tensions are rising, secrets are unravelling and for the first time in thirty years, Chicky is carrying a gun.

Because before the night is over, someone is going to die.

Inside the Bohemia, the elite live in their own world. Emily Longworth is trapped in a marriage she cannot escape. Julian Sonnenberg is facing his own mortality.

Meanwhile, below stairs, the staff – Black, Latino, unseen – have their struggles, their fears, their fight for justice. As protests rage outside and the city teeters on the edge, Chicky stands at the intersection of it all, caught in a web of intrigue, corruption and murder.

A tense and timely thriller exploring:

✔️ Power and privilege – The stark divide between wealth and survival

✔️ Justice and morality – Who gets to live safely, and who does not?

✔️ Secrets and suspense – A high-stakes story with a ticking clock

Fast-paced, razor-sharp and utterly unputdownable, The Doorman is Chris Pavone’s most ambitious book yet.

A must-read for thriller lovers and anyone fascinated by the unseen forces shaping the city that never sleeps.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

A fast-paced thriller set in New York. Full of suspense, the tension leaps off the page. An exciting read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This thriller had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Highly recommended

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After reading Two Nights in Lisbon, I became a fan of Pavone and have read all of his wonderful thrillers. I like his intelligent plots and brilliant women characters. The Doorman felt like a departure in the sense that the thrilling element was restrained yet present in a rather understated and suspenseful manner that finally (of course!) explodes. I loved the setting of this very political, topical and extremely witty novel which marries the personal and individual stories with the greater picture in a most convincing way. There are three main characters and I was invested in all three. I have only been once personally to New York but my virtual knowledge of this great city has been (despite the myriad films and novels I love set there) been further widened in a delightful way. I found myself visualising and exploring further via my tablet, other princely residential buildings, art venues, bed linen companies!!!
The story line does not disappoint... how does it feel being married to an arms manufacturer? how do inequalities (racial, sexual, medical) feel at and feed action at different levels in the city? who is taking advantage of whom?
I totally recommend this fun, intelligent, slow-burner of a very urban thriller. Memorable too. I finished reading it three weeks ago but only now can I put fingers to keyboard (injury!) and I still remember all elements of plot and character. No spoilers from me: judge by yourself.

I’ve long been a fan of Chris Pavone’s. It started with The Expats, and I’ve since worked through all of Pavone’s books.

The Doorman is precise, objective, almost clinically detached, even as it delves into the sides of its characters almost any normal human would prefer remain hidden. It has quite the cast, and while some are on the surface love-to-hate stereotypes, Pavone’s never errs into cliche. It’s perhaps a truism that how people treat service staff is an insight into the kind of person they are. It certainly seems true of the residents of The Bohemia.

There is an attention to detail throughout that lifts this book out of genre fiction and into plain, good, modern literature. An expose of appetites, tastes, prejudices and - even among the richest - frustrated ambitions.

This is a book I will be rereading, as well as gifting to friends on its release. It stuck with me for a long time after the final page. 5 well-deserved stars.

i love when a book poses me with so many discussion points even if that discussion has to happen within myself,ha. and this hard look on a snippet of certain peoples world does just that. it leaves me with such an unease towards certain people and a feeling of both despair and fraught feelings about how our world is as so many things could run parallel with things we experience in our current world. dark things. a world where good people are hurt or turn to desperation. and how some of the worse people who shouldnt be respected at all have to be because of the wealth they bring and steer with. and steer all they do.
at the base of all this is the doorman. you always think what doormen and woman must see. they literally must hold the crumbs of so many peoples lives. they know secrets. they know snippets we will never see. and they provide a stability too, a sense of safety. well thats what you hope anyway.
this book gives us a few characters in focus. and they are all going through their own things. we are revealed these throughout and i love some of the unwrapping's of these characters. i do like a book where we get to see and know a group of people. and i like how we get to see the doorman eyeline of all he prevails.
but Chicky faces a fraught crisis in this book. and his answer after a shooting and the dark follow up brings him to bringing a gun to work. not only bringing it, but bring it with a plan in mind. because before the end of this shift someone will die.
this book is a whole lot deeper than i couldve imagine going in and it was just so good. the details given in such a readable way were done just so well. and i thank Chris for making such huge issues like he covered digestible with the plot hes dished out. and dished out he has because its a feast for the reader.
i really enjoyed this book.

A page turner with echoes of Bonfire of the Vanities updated to fold in topical arguments about race, gender, medical debt and DEI. Chicky, the doorman at the Bohemia, sees all and knows more but he's got his own problems. Emily is married to Whit, a loathsome master of the universe. Julian is a gentle art dealer who is facing mortality. These three are entwined in ways that I won't spoil because there are some surprises. This moves back and forth in time to tell their stories and culminating in a night of violence on the streets and at the Bohemia. I liked the sly commentary on the New York art scene. The smaller characters (including Whit) such as Mrs Frumm leap off the page. The atmospherics at the Bohemia, the street, the school and so on make this a very New York novel that contrasts the world of the privileged with everyone else. Pavonne is a great storyteller who kept me guessing. And the end was a real wow. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a terrific read.

Chicky Diaz is the doorman at the Bohemia, a historic, elegant apartment complex on Central Park West. (Think of the Dakota.) He is the epitome of strength, calm and class – assisting the wealthy inhabitants of the Bohemia with their everyday needs. Emily Longworth is the pedigreed wife of Whit Longworth, a multi-billionaire and all-around jerk. Julian Sonnenberg is a successful art dealer who is neglected by his busy wife, forgotten by his adult children, and concerned about the ticking timebomb in his chest. Throughout the building and on the streets of New York City are a myriad of working class people struggling to make ends meet and dealing with racial and socioeconomic injustice on a daily basis. Tonight, on the streets and at the door of the Bohemia, tensions will run high.

In The Doorman, Chris Pavone allows the reader to peer through the keyhole into the stories of several different characters, their past and present lives and their secrets. While they all lead wildly different lives, their paths intersect, with repercussions for all of them. By examining the lives of these characters we come to understand the ways in which they impact each other, for better or worse. I found myself pondering questions of social injustice, racial division and economic inequality, even while thoroughly immersed in an enjoyable narrative. Pavone displays a deep understanding of human nature and relationships in his writing. There were passages I read and reread because the honesty and truth of it just landed with me. I haven’t been so engrossed in a novel since I read Birnham Wood. Loved every page of it and I recommend you read it. All the stars.

Chicky Diaz is the doorman at the Bohemia, a grand historic building on the Upper West side in New York. The book is about a night of violence at the Bohemia, and all the incidents with Chicky and the residents leading up to the invasion, and its aftermath.
The writing is great, there are so many good characters, I loved Chicky, and the other doormen, and Emily. The plot is great, with several different strands, all making sense and coming together at the end.
I've enjoyed Chris Pavone's other books, but this one is the best yet.
Highly recommended.