“One hell of a suspense novel.” —Stephen KingThe New York Times bestselling author of A Noise Downstairs and No Time for Goodbye returns with an edge-of-your-seat thriller that does for elevators what Psycho did for showers and Jaws did for the beach—a heart-pounding tale in which a series of disasters paralyzes New York City with fear.It all begins on a Monday, when four people board an elevator … disasters paralyzes New York City with fear.
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, non-stop, to the top. Once there, it stops for a few seconds, and then plummets.
Right to the bottom of the shaft.
It appears to be a horrific, random tragedy. But then, on Tuesday, it happens again, in a different Manhattan skyscraper. And when Wednesday brings yet another high-rise catastrophe, one of the most vertical cities in the world—and the nation’s capital of media, finance, and entertainment—is plunged into chaos.
Clearly, this is anything but random. This is a cold, calculated bid to terrorize the city. And it’s working. Fearing for their lives, thousands of men and women working in offices across the city refuse to leave their homes. Commerce has slowed to a trickle. Emergency calls to the top floors of apartment buildings go unanswered.
Who is behind this? Why are they doing it? What do these deadly acts of sabotage have to do with the fingerless body found on the High Line? Two seasoned New York detectives and a straight-shooting journalist must race against time to find the answers before the city’s newest, and tallest, residential tower has its ribbon-cutting on Thursday.
With each diabolical twist, Linwood Barclay ratchets up the suspense, building to a shattering finale. Pulsating with tension, Elevator Pitch is a riveting tale of psychological suspense that is all too plausible . . . and will chill readers to the bone.
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After reading Barclay’s latest, I’m sticking with the stairs. So easy to imagine someone messing with the elevators in a high rise building. Plenty of twists and turns that will take you by surprise. A great read.
The story started off a bit slow but then weaved all these mini subplots into the main story. This is my first book by Linwood Barclay and will not be my last. So fast paced with a not-predictible ending! The best kind of ending!
Maybe if you are a big fan of cross word puzzles you would tolerate this book. Otherwise, you may be like me and wonder how it ever got published.
(3 1/2 stars)
S L O W B U R N.
Like super slow. The last 75 pages really turned it into a suspenseful thriller.
The start of the book reminded me of CSI: NY and then the final chapters reminded me of Batman: The Dark Knight.
It’s not twisted per se (there is one part that I really did not see coming), but seriously the last 75 pages are page turning.
Most of it I found pretty predictable and by like page 275 I found myself thinking about the other books I could’ve been reading.
I didn’t hate it and I didn’t love it. Just ‘meh’ for me! A definite #fillerthriller
Thank you TLC Book Tours and for my copy!
Too political. I usually like his books. This one, not so much.
It COULD have been a great book with its very unique terrorist type theme; but I have literally NEVER read a book with so much over use of the F bombs! It was almost comical, as if the author was trying to see if he could outdo himself from one page to the next! The ONLY other book I’ve ever read, or movie I’ve seen, that had this much bad language; was American Sniper. THEY almost had reason to. There was no reason at all for this book to have ANY, let alone 4-5 per page! I’m sorry I purchased it, even sorrier I read it through to the end. Would not admit that I did; let alone recommend it. Two thumbs DOWN.
Malfunctioning, crashing-to-the-ground elevators two days in a row, a third elevator crash the following day, and then a dead man who is an elevator-repair person with finger tips sawed off and his face mutilated is what the New York police have to deal with.
What is the connection between the dead elevator repair person and the elevator malfunctions? Is there a connection or is this just a coincidence?
You can’t go into any buildings in New York City without needing an elevator, and these incidents along with the mayor’s order to shut down every elevator in New York City crippled the city and had everyone in a panic.
Along with all these tragedies, there are numerous side stories going on with the mayor’s office being investigated by a journalist and bombs being set off in New York City and other parts of the country.
ELEVATOR PITCH had a lot of characters’ stories that randomly fit into the story line, and all these incidents put together increased the book’s suspense.
And…just when you thought it was all over, it wasn’t. The ending is edge-of-your-seat.
ELEVATOR PITCH will not be for anyone who already has a fear of being in an elevator or even a New York City cab, but the book will be for those readers who enjoy intrigue, suspense, twists, surprises, revealed secrets, and shady characters. 4/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
If you die in an elevator, be sure to push the Up button. – Sam Levenson
I’ve read quite a few Linwood Barclay books in the past and have enjoyed them. This wasn’t my favorite of his but definitely kept my interest and was worth reading.
People are dying in elevators in New York City, the world’s most vertical city. At first it seems like accidents but the police and other agencies quickly figure out there is someone behind these so called “accidents.”
Pandemonium quickly hits and everyone from the Mayor on down needs this person found immediately.
I loved the basic premise of this story but there were all kinds of interlocking side stories that took away from the main momentum of the book, I felt.
Okay, I wanted more elevator carnage. (I slow down at car wrecks too.) Sorry, it’s just who I am. My favorite genre is horror.
But I do recommend the book if you aren’t looking for tons of blood and gore.
I received this book from William Morrow Books through Edelweiss in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.
I received an ARC of Elavator Pitch from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.
Wow, I dont think I want to be riding around on elavator’s anytime in the near future. This was my first time reading a book by Linwood Barclay, and I would have to say it was well written, action packed and had me turning the pages to see what was going to happen next. I truly disliked the Mayor in this book, but he did try to redeem himself some by the end of the book. I dont enjoy elavators in the first place nor esclators so after this book I like them even less. I would definitely recommend this book to those that enjoy thrillers.
I really enjoyed Barclay’s last book A NOISE DOWNSTAIRS and he did not disappoint with his newest one ELEVATOR PITCH. You may never look at elevators the same way again.
New York City, a truly “vertical city”, is paralyzed when random elevators inexplicably plummet to the ground. But are they truly random? And are these elevator “mishaps” connected to the recent bombings in public places?
I was kept guessing as to who was behind these plots to terrorize the city. The story revolves around a mayor seeking reelection, two New York City detectives, and a journalist who pulls no punches.
This book was definitely hard to put down. With many chapters ending with cliff hangers I had to read just one more chapter…just one more…just one more. Suspenseful. Tense. Fast paced. Excellently written.
Thank you to William Morrow Books for an advance e-copy. Opinions are my own.
Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay is a thrilling edge of your seat contemporary suspense that will have your heart racing. It is set in New York City where the clock is ticking down as the residents are thrown into panic and turmoil.
The novel is concerned with politics and agendas – the problem with agendas is that people suffer.
The novel is about fathers – their influence for good or bad.
As the murder count rises, the reader tries to piece together the action and predict the guilty one. Once again I failed but fell for the red herrings along the way.
Love motivates action – for good or evil, as people want to equal the score.
We live in the present but beware of the past rising up to haunt us.
Family is important. We all want to know our roots.
Linwood Barclay has created an eclectic mix of characters in this fast paced thriller in the city that never sleeps. I instinctively warmed to some but not others. I could not spot the perpetrator, see if you can. One thing is certain – I will not be in a hurry to take any elevator any time soon!
Elevator Pitch was my first book by Linwood Barclay but it will not be my last. It was marvellous. I shall be hunting out more by him. I think Elevator Pitch would make a marvellous movie.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
4.5 stars
Even if it’s my first book by the author it won’t be the last. I am always looking out to see why other readers are liking or disliking some books or authors and Linwood Barclay is a well-known name that i needed to read.
I must admit that i am not a fan of the elevators and this book was a bit of a trigger for me but from the first page i just couldn’t put it down.
In all the big cities, there are accidents and murders to be solved, people can get into a panic from anything and there’s no wonder why everything in this book seemed so real and that could or have been happening in real life already.
I enjoyed the story overall, the characters and the journalist, the way they tried to get the truth out from everyone and how they wanted to keep the city safe.
Looking forward to more books by the author.
ARC received from Harper Collins Australia for an honest review
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in an elevator…
Linwood Barclay is one of those authors that has been on my radar for a few years, however I just haven’t gotten around to reading any of his book (there are a few of them sitting on my Kindle waiting for me!)
I am glad I have rectified that matter now, starting with Elevator Pitch.
I am on a bit of a thriller/crime story reading spree at the moment, and this book had me hooked from the get go. I was kept wondering whodunnit. Each time I thought I had an inkling of what was going on – nope, I was wrong!
Wonderfully flawed characters made this story come to life. I could relate to bits and pieces from a few of the characters in little ways.
Secrets and lies all come out as the investigation continues. This story had me anxiously turning each page, needing to know what would happen next and who the bad guys were.
I am definitely going to be moving more of his works up my TBR