Book Review Of The Paris Apartment By Lucy Foley

Do you know what strikes one first whenever they pick a Lucy Foley book? 

The erratic, eccentric, multiple POVs that are put forth. A riveting mystery about a missing half brother who has vanished and the other occupants who stay around the apartment he was last visible at.

Jess, the pivotal character, is one of the primary ones focused on in the book The Paris Apartment. I liked the way her character has been built and portrayed to incorporate and showcase not only recklessness but also resilience.

Amidst slowly building tension, a creepy kind of a build-up and diverse POVs this one is an intriguing read, I agree. However, having read much better and crisper work by Lucy Foley in the past aka The Hunting Party, I’d say I was frankly kind of disappointed with this one. 

First and foremost, I simply could not register with the way the characters were cynical even antsy, jumpy and fidgety to the point of crazy sometimes. Not to forget the deja-vu feeling I kept encountering throughout as along the way into the read, many a time I strongly felt that I had ‘been there, done that..’

I mean agree there is turbulence in this psychological crime, there is drama. Still, that captivating factor, was somewhat missing, for me at least. The mystery is centred around a dysfunctional family, the different POVs though give the story a good multi-vintage and spectrum, yet somewhere for me, this one fell a bit flat, in spite of the build-up and climax towards the end. Maybe, others might find this spin at the end more interesting than I, hopefully.

It somewhere gets a bit slow too, towards the middle and a little overwhelming sometimes, reading and sifting through the multiple POVs. Agree the thrill part has been worked upon well in the plot but still I feel that somewhere going on the repeated pathways that have been visited before is not the ideal best always as there always looms a grave risk of repetitive notions coursing through one’s writing.

On the plus side though, there was a hook-like quality in this one as you surely cannot put it down till the end, I’d say. The strangely uncanny characters, an even murkier storyline and the fact that the set-up is perfect for an indulgently thrilling kind of read will go a long way towards putting this one on the TBRs of many.

An absorbing, promising thriller, this one also boasts of a compulsive kind of a read which will surely make you want to get back to it until you have completely finished it. It starts on a different level, yet the way Lucy Foley has managed to build upon each and every element to scale the story is what is a high point of the book The Paris Apartment.

Related:

• Book Review of Shut Eye By Abhinav Bhatnagar
• Book Review: Of Closets and Skeletons and Other Crime Stories by Kaivalya Ramnath

Good suspense, with short engaging chapters, a flowy sort of content this one surely boasts of a good narrative as well as a brilliant execution.

Overall, The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley is a good psychological mystery, I’d say, albeit not exactly what I had in mind. My expectations were somewhat higher, with works like The Hunting Party by her. Nevertheless, no worries. A good title this one is.

So, hope you guys liked my book review of The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley. Do let us know in the comments below what other books you’d like us to review for you. We, here at Booxoul, India’s best book review and lifestyle website are here to get you the best from the field of entertainment, lifestyle, food, travel, tech and gadgets as well as all things bookish.

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