The Paris Apartment

Product Information

New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door, An Unwanted Guest is the acclaimed 2018 mystery-thriller from Shari Lapena. The book is set in a remote and romantic inn, the dream spot for a romantic weekend getaway. 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. Allie Reynolds’ Shiver follows a group of professional snowboarders who travel to the French Alps for a summer of high-pressured events and competitions. The nature of the athletes leads to a hyper-competitive environment where each of them attempts to outdo the other, with potentially deadly consequences. I loved the weird connection between irritating occupants who exactly know where the hell is Ben and they have no intention to share their knowledge with his step sister!

Many thanks to Forever Publishing / Grand Central Publishing, NetGalley, and author Kelly Bowen for the opportunity to read this appealing book in advance of its April 20, 2021 publication. Ben is supposed to be there. She just heard from him. It's late at night, where could he have gone to and why wouldn't he tell her? In the present, Aurelia Leclaire inherits an apartment in Paris when her grandmother Estelle passes away. An apartment that has been closed up since 1943 and which is full of priceless art. What Lia discovers in the apartment makes her question if she ever really knew her grandmother. With the help of an art appraiser Gabriel Seymour, she learns the provenance of the paintings and her grandmother's role in the French resistance.Well researched and compelling, the switch from past to present is done seamlessly giving the reader some light-hearted moments in between the more heart-wrenching and suspenseful ones. There are a couple of romantic scenes in the novel but they are not the main focus; rather they serve to add another dimension to the characters making me care deeply about each person's fate. There is no way to read the story without feeling a range of emotions, from surprise to fear to relief to grief and thankfully, also to joy. While the author is known for her historical romances, this is her first foray into historical fiction and in my opinion, it's a resounding success. I loved the riveting mystery about missing step brother Ben who vanished into thin air and the last place he’s seen his apartment. Narrator: Clare Corbett, Daphne Kouma, Julia Winwood, Sope Dirisu, Sofia Zervudachi & Charlie Anson The Paris Apartment is a spellbinding and enthralling work of historical fiction. I’ve read a couple other novels inspired by an actual secret, untouched apartment from WWII, and this was a unique twist completely different from the other novels. The historical detail is phenomenal, and the characters are richly drawn. I’m talking around this one because I don’t want to give away the heart of the story. Wow I have been missing out!!!! I have never read Ms. Foley’s novels so this was a wonderful surprise for me.

Y'all, this book was so much fun!! I listened to the audiobook and as it is a multiple-POV story, there are various narrators for the different roles; making it a freaking blast to listen to! Option 2: Tighten the Events -- If Bowen felt the need to keep both narrative threads, I would have advised her to shorten the time span she was covering in both threads. There is much in her plots that was work that she could have kept in her preparation file folders, work that an author needs to do but that readers don't need to read. Had Bowen dropped us right into the middle of the Paris Ritz and the mission, she could have deepened the tension and provided much more detail. The same goes for her parallel tale in today's France, dropping the poor romance and focusing, instead, on the much more compelling mystery she'd concocted for her contemporary characters. In the Paris Apartment, the balance is completely wrong. It tries to keep all its secrets so close to it’s chest so that you have entirely no clue what’s going on or why anyone is doing anything for the majority of the book. The story that’s provided is barely enough to keep it moving forward. i also like the hooky tagline—your typical breakfast-club round-up of character types, with a nice little endrhyme:

Diaries & Calendars

as someone who values what little sleep i can scrape together, the above is what is known as a ringing endorsement. The two-paragraph version: Jess arrives to stay with her half-brother Ben at his apartment in Paris, but Ben is missing. She explores the building which has an extensive wine cellar and meets the various other residents of the building.