THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLEROne of . . . Parade’s “Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2019” • PureWow’s “The Best Beach Reads of Summer 2019” • BookBub’s “Books That Will Make the Perfect Addition to Your Beach Bag This Summer”The next heart-pounding thriller from New York Times bestselling author Riley Sager follows a young woman whose new job apartment sitting in one of New York’s oldest … next heart-pounding thriller from New York Times bestselling author Riley Sager follows a young woman whose new job apartment sitting in one of New York’s oldest and most glamorous buildings may cost more than it pays
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 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 sordid past and into the secrets kept within its walls. What she discovers 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.
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I had previously read Final Girls and The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager. I wasn’t that impressed with those books, but I feel a loyalty to Riley Sager since I had read his previous books. When I heard about Lock Every Door by Riley Sager, the synopsis sounded interesting enough, so I decided to give it a try. I’m really glad I did because I feel that it’s Sager’s best book yet, and it was really good!
Jules has just lost her job and walked in on her boyfriend cheating on her. Almost penniless and practically homeless, when she comes across a wanted ad advertising a job for an apartment complex called the Bartholomew, a place for the very rich and wealthy, Jules jumps at the chance. The apartment is lush, and the pay is $1000 a week. Sure, there are some strange rules, but it’s easy money. However, when apartment sitters start vanishing in the middle of the night, Jules feels as if something evil is going on at the Bartholomew. Jules decides to find out the truth despite putting herself in danger. Will she succeed or will she become another missing apartment sitter?
I really enjoyed the plot of Lock Every Door, and I found it fairly original. Riley Sager does a fantastic job at making this book feel as if something like this could happen in real life. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear about something like this in the news. Even though the action doesn’t really take place until almost the end of the book, I still found myself grossly immersed in this book. I also was playing detective alongside Jules the whole time. I did figure out some of what was going on, but there were still some plot twists that I never predicted. The story flows very well and never feels rushed anywhere. At no point did this book lose my attention. I was heavily invested in finishing Lock Every Door as soon as possible. Every question I had was answered by the end of the book although there was one mystery that I would have liked to know more about, but even this mystery is touched upon at the end of the book.
I enjoyed reading about every character in Lock Every Door from even the minor characters to the major ones. Jules was a fantastic main character. She was fairly relatable. Actually, I would go as far as to say that she’s the most relatable character in a book that I’ve read. I could sympathize with her financial struggles and her desperation when it came to making money. It was the same with the character of Ingrid. I could also relate to her struggle for money. My heart went out to all of the apartment sitters because I knew what they were feeling when it came to money. I felt like Nick was a bit predictable and cliched as the hunky neighbor, but he was still written well. Greta was my favorite character. She was definitely interesting, that’s for sure! My favorite scenes always involved Greta.
Trigger warnings for Lock Every Door include profanity, sexual references (though not many and not graphic), violence (not graphic), death, kidnapping, murder, drinking, and some drug references.
All in all, Lock Every Door is a thrilling read that ticks all the right boxes to make it fantastic! With such a interesting plot and a fantastic cast of characters, this is one book not to miss. I would definitely recommend Lock Every Door by Riley Sager to those who crave a great mystery as well as those that love thrillers.
-Description-
Jules, an orphan with a few friends, is in need of a place to stay and some cash when she come across an ad for an apartment sitter that pays a heck of a lot of money. When she gets to the building it seems as thought things are too good to be true.
-Thoughts-
1. I felt the characters were not very realistic. Of course I’m suspicious of all of them as soon as I start the book…it’s a thriller after all. But did I really care about Jules or any of the outlying characters? No. Not really.
2. The writing was good. Interesting. An easy read. I would say it’s a page turner. I wanted to get to the end just to find out. But I am not really into books where I can simply read the description and then the last 2 chapters to understand be entire thing….it masks the whole book feel like filler.
-Rating-
In the end it was just ok. It’s a fine summer read.
-Similar Recommended Reads-
The Silent Patient
The Perfect Couple
If you like suspense and a little bit of a creep factor, read this book! It was so good! Once I got into it, which was pretty quick, I didn’t want to put it down. The story itself is great and I love this author’s style of writing. There was never a part that seemed slow to me. Towards the end I was on the edge if my seat. Very good book!
Loved this psychological thriller! Couldn’t put it down! A totally fun- to- read page- turner with an ending you won’t see coming! Things are not what they seem to be! Highly recommend!
Could not put it down.
I pride myself on figuring out how “thrillers” will end. This book was amazing and took such a turn I was left mouth agape!!!
Just WOW. This book had me hooked from page one. I was trying the entire time to figure out what was going on, everything felt so wrong from the beginning and not in a million years I would have guessed that ending. The story got darker and darker as it went on and the ending was very intense. I couldn’t stop thinking about this book while I wasn’t reading it. It’s definitely one of my favorite books of the year.
Fact paced and a page turner!! Not what I expected. If it’s too good to be true; it usually means trouble…
This book was so good it deserves ten stars!! It had me in tears. Literally took an aspirin after reading it. Simply unbelievably good!!
It was awesome!
Blimey, this was bloody brilliant one of my favourite reads this year.
Eerie and Atmospheric from the onset, this had such an air of intrigue and a spooky mysterious vibe.
The Bartholomew, one of Manhattan’s high-profile and exclusive apartment complexes,
Shrouded in secrecy and obscurity.
The residents here value their privacy more than most.
Enter Jules who life has thrown a curveball, she’s jobless, newly single, homeless and broke so when a too good to be true job offer practically lands in her lap not only providing her with temporary accommodation but much-needed funds to get her back on her feet how can she say no.
It’s really is simple all shes got to do is be discreet and follow a few easy rules while she’s at it.
Apartment sitting in the swish Bartholomew is an actual dream come true.
But almost from the start, Jules senses something amiss in her temporary new home and when her newly made friend fellow sitter Ingrid vanishes into the night without as much as a cheerio Jules sense of unease intensifies.
When she starts to dig deeper into the very foundations of the Bartholomew Jules starts to uncover much more than she could ever imagine.
So this managed to grab my attention almost instantly and I read right through the night this really was a page-turner and i was on a sprint to the finish.
There’s also the added mystery of Jane: Jule’s sister vanishing as a teenager, this tragic occurrence somewhat explaining Jules utter tenacity when it comes to her missing new friend.
Told from Two time-frames; a countdown in days until we arrive at the present and the now time.
I was totally transfixed and invested here as this played out till its shocking conclusion.
My jaw was practically touching the floor by the time this finally came to a close.
Bloody brilliant from start to finish, loved every minute.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of Lock Every Door.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
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Jules, recently unemployed and unattached, takes a job apartment sitting in the one of Manhattan’s wealthiest and renowned buildings. There are rules to this, no visitors, no speaking to the residents and you must stay in the apartment every night. But for Jules, who has only her best friend Chloe, this is a dream job that pays $1200. Chloe has heard stories about the building. Murders and deaths, but Jules moves in anyway. When Jules meets Ingrid, another apartment sitter, and tells her that she is frightened of the building, Jules laughs it off as paranoia and loneliness. But then, Ingrid disappears… I read this book wondering if this was a supernatural story of some sort, but rest assured, it is not. As Jules researches the history of the building and searches for Ingrid, she doesn’t quite know who to trust. She realizes that no one is looking for Ingrid. I didn’t expect what the building itself represented or how far people would go to preserve that legacy.
Lock Every Door felt a little like a trip inside a Hitchcock story. It has a haunting atmosphere and a steadily rising tension that kept me turning those pages to see where it would all go. It’s a slow burn story, and so many seemingly innocuous things happen that it’s easy to slip into a comfortable, easy feeling. Then, we go back to present day and Jules’ circumstances snap us back into that feeling of unease, of guessing what led to those circumstances. Now, here’s where I tell you that I’m hard to get. I usually see the big reveal coming at least in part. Not this time. Not even an inkling. And I hate to admit it, but there were hints. It’s one of those hindsight things. It was all crystal clear once I knew the secret. There were so many way this one could have gone, and I thought I had guessed all of them. Nope, that reveal sneaked right up on me. I love it when that happens! All in all, this one is another great read from Riley Sager. It’s atmospheric, filled with creepy characters, and the more you read, the faster you want to read.
I’m sure it comes as no surprise that Lock Every Door by Riley Sager is getting a giant 5 stars from me.
I pretty much new what was going on, but I never saw the ending coming.
Sager did such a phenomenal job of giving Jules characteristics that are relatable and that feel genuine. Alone in the world, Jules loses the last of what she has when her job and boyfriend are ripped away. Her struggle to to get to the top is a fascinating and creepy tale.
I have to admit, staying at The Bartholomew piqued my interest, and I wanted to sign up too… at first.
I think what I loved most about Jules is that even when she had next to nothing, she was still loving, and giving. I can’t say I’d have done the same thing in a few of the situations she found herself in- but I’d like to hope I could be that gracious.
I guess this book kind of gave me an idea of how an addict might feel. I read in hardcover instead of on kindle, so it wasn’t as easily accessible. (I read on my iPhone, using the kindle app- so it’s always right there). I found myself craving the book, thinking about the story, characters, and when I’d get my next fix. I just needed to read one more chapter, one more page, even one more sentence would have sufficed for a short while. This book was an enthralling story and completely consumed me.
Riley Sager is a master of the written word, and the king of thrillers. I hope there will be many books to follow Lock Every Door, because I need more.
I have enjoyed all of Riley Sager’s books. Like the others, this is a page turner with a very broken main character. Jules is lighter than the other heroines, but she still has a lot of baggage that cause her to make some poor decisions.
If you like dark, eerie thrillers, with a touch of urban legend, this book might be what you’re looking for! This is my first Riley Sager novel and I’m totally impressed!
If an opportunity seems to good to be true, it probably is. It’s so tempting to jump at something that sounds so good. Rush into a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But after reading this book, you might think twice!!!
Jules is currently crashing on Chloe’s couch, her best friend…and she’s at the lowest point of her life. She’s sunk so low that she’s eating in the same spot she’s sleeping. Her employer downsized, which meant she lost her job. She came home early, interrupting her boyfriend, on the sofa, having sex with someone else. Not a good day!!
But then the chance of a lifetime falls in Jules lap…at the exact time she needs it. She gets the opportunity to apartment sit, at the notorious Bartholomew, filled with the rich and famous, and she gets paid for it! It’s like a dream come true. So this opportunity, even if Chloe thinks it’s too good to be true, is exactly what she needs to get her back on her feet.
Yes, there are a lot of rules…and yes, they are a bit strange, but she can’t afford to turn down this easy money. She meets Ingrid, another apartment sitter, who tells her things about the Bartholomew…right before she disappears. Then Chloe sends her an article about strange things that have taken place there. Jules starts to dig into the dark past of the mysterious building. I was shocked at the final twist…never saw that one coming!!!
I was drawn in immediately and want to read Riley Sager’s other books!
My Rating: 4 ’s
Published: July 2nd 2019 by Dutton
Pages: 384
Excerpts:
“One time is an anomaly. Two times is a coincidence. Three times is proof.”
4.5 Stars
I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from the book considering I had never read anything by the author before. I requested it from the publisher based on a recommendation from a Booktuber named booksandlala. It was a thriller and sounded like it would be right up my alley. I am happy to report that it was just as great as I suspected it might be. Although, I think this book would read better as a movie in order to capitalize on all the pulse-pounding moments within the pages. The only thing it didn’t do was scare me. Maybe that was because I was reading it and not seeing it.
I did a lot of speculating of what might be going on as I read along and wondered if it all might be a but more paranormal than I thought it was. It wasn’t but I could see that happening. I kept imagining the grandfather of Nick Bartholomew jumping off the roof of the building and wondering if Nick was an incarnation of his grandfather or was indeed the grandfather who was akin to Dorien Gray. Like I said, speculating.
Jules Larsen needed money fast. She had discovered her boyfriend and roommate screwing another girl on their bed and left immediately. The job of an apartment sitter came available and she knew she had to check it out. The money was out of this world and she needed that more than anything. So she took a chance and got the gig. It seemed so simple. Apartment sitting. But there were rules. She couldn’t have visitors and she couldn’t spend a night away from the building. No harm, no fowl, right? Seemed on the up and up. But it so wasn’t.
The farther I got into the story the more I realized how screwed this girl really was and the same with every apartment sitter in the building. I have to admit I didn’t see what was coming although I did speculate as I said earlier, unsuccessfully of course.
This book keeps you guessing and really had me snowed. Some film producer needs to pick this up and make it into a movie. ASAP!
Highly recommended.
I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.
Riley Sager knocks it out of the park again with yet another fantastic mystery thriller!
Lock Every Door is a gem: Fast-paced, crisp writing, stellar character development. Riley Sager’s best book yet!
Lock Every Door is Riley Sager’s best book yet. Unrelentingly eerie and supremely stylish, this book had me in its grip from the first page until its shockingly twisted conclusion.