Paromjit's Reviews > The Paris Apartment

Lucy Foley returns with a psychological crime drama set in a Paris experiencing turbulence and riots, and an eerie, shadowy and sinister old apartment building, a wealthy location at which British journalist, Ben Daniels, resides. His half sister, Jess Hadley, has arrived in Paris, broke and unemployed, after having to leave Brighton rather quickly, to stay with him, but on arrival finds him missing from his home at Bienvenue au 12 Rue des Amants. After picking his locks, she enters, alarm bells start ringing in her head, she is expected, and there are some worrying signs that leave her feeling unsettled, could something have happened to him? The problem is that she doesn't know Ben that well, the two of them having grown up apart and having lived wildly differing lives, Jess being shunted from care homes and foster parents, whilst Ben was taken in by a wealthy family and lived a far more privileged life.

She wonders how Ben could possibly afford his home, only to discover he got it through his friend from Cambridge University, Nick Miller, a nice guy who has his own apartment in the building. With his photograph of himself and Ben in Amsterdam, Nick offers to help Jess find him, a welcome offer, given everyone else is far more hostile and unforthcoming when it comes to information. This includes the aloof socialite, Sophie, always perfectly dressed, married to Jacques Meunier, a wine merchant, living in the penthouse, and the alcoholic Antoine with his simmering air of violence, whose wife, Dominique, has left him. Then there is the young over protected student, Mimi, living with her friend Camille and the long serving concierge who watches everyone closely. As a determined Jess delves into her brother's life and the residents of the apartment building, a web of intrigue and secrets begins to emerge where nothing and no-one is as they seem.

As danger begins to lurk ever closer to Jess, is there anyone she can trust at all? One of my favourite aspects of the novel is the character of Jess, a born survivor, who respects no boundaries of convention as she snoops without fear, imbued with traits and a hard life that have given her a resilience that underpins her abilities to find out what happened to Ben, irrespective of the obstacles thrown in her path. There is an air of dread and menace in this story of twists and turns, touching on issues and themes of exploitation, abuse of women, sources of wealth, a sibling relationship and a dysfunctional blended family. Once again, Foley writes a riveting crime drama, set in Paris, with great characters that will keep your interest from beginning to end, needing to know what happened to Ben as seen through the eyes of Jess. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.