Author: Riley Sager
Pages: 381 pages
Published: July 2nd 2019 by Dutton
Source: Library - April's Library Haul
Amazon link
GoodReads Description: "No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen's new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan's most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.
As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly, disturbingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story—until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.
Searching for the truth about Ingrid's disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew's dark past and into the secrets kept within its walls. Her discovery that Ingrid is not the first apartment sitter to go missing at the Bartholomew pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building's hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent. "
Entertaining ride through creepy atmosphere!
Jules is desperate. She's had a run of bad luck lately and is jobless, boyfriend-less, and sleeping on her best friend's couch. Man, she could use a break. She answers an ad and ends up with a dream job landing in her lap. Apartment sitting - Upper West Side - for 3 months and $12,000!
Not to mention it is the setting of her favorite novel - Heart of a Dreamer - a fluffy YA romance that defined her childhood as she read it with her long, lost sister. I really liked this aspect of the book. But...
"Never confuse fiction with reality. No good ever comes of it."
The first red flag comes with the rules...
No visitors, not leaving (at night), no talking to the other residents of the building... And the red flags just keep flying.
I get everybody's references to this book when they read The Apartment by KL Slater now! There are a lot of similarities... And it's funny because I still liked this book for the same reason I liked that one - the setting was really well done! I feel like I got to see this cool old apartment building in New York, visit Central Park, etc. It was very atmospheric! And the creepy factor was also way amped up! Jules is looking over her shoulder, hearing things, checking locked doors... And you could taste the tension! I loved it!
So... bottom line: I loved the setting and the atmosphere in this novel. I loved that the apartment building was associated with the book she loved as a kid. And I loved a potential romance brewing. I didn't necessarily like the naïveté of the MC and felt the ending was maybe a little... complicated?
Anyways, still a solid entertaining and enthralling read! Page-turner for sure! Captivating setting that was at the same time eery and tension-building!
MY RATING:
Characters: 3-4
Story: 4
Overall: 4 stars
Thank you so much to my local library!! (April's Library Haul)
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