Helpful Score: 1
For anyone who loves Paris, just the title is enticing. As I read this book, I could see and feel the tired old apartment building around me. It has a life of its own, as many old apartment building in Paris do. I'm hooked!
Jess and Ben were orphaned at young ages when their mother overdosed. Ben gets adopted by a rich couple in England, so he attends best schools and has many opportunities in life. Jess is bounced from foster home to foster home, toughening her up for a disappointing life. When Jess quickly leaves her last job in London, she knows she needs a new start so contacts brother Ben for help. He agrees to let her crash at his Paris apartment until she can find a job and get her own place. All going well, texting each other right up till Jess arrives and Ben is nowhere to be found. The mystery starts!
Ben's apartment is gratis of Nick, his friend who's family owns the apartment building. Jess finds the other tenants to be a strange bunch, all tight lipped about where Ben is. Story builds as each character shares their POV and Jess is more confused and intrigued.
I found the story a bit slow in some parts, and even felt some events could have been eliminated, but when the real mystery is revealed, the pace quickens. I enjoyed the drawn out ending! (No spoilers here.)
Jess and Ben were orphaned at young ages when their mother overdosed. Ben gets adopted by a rich couple in England, so he attends best schools and has many opportunities in life. Jess is bounced from foster home to foster home, toughening her up for a disappointing life. When Jess quickly leaves her last job in London, she knows she needs a new start so contacts brother Ben for help. He agrees to let her crash at his Paris apartment until she can find a job and get her own place. All going well, texting each other right up till Jess arrives and Ben is nowhere to be found. The mystery starts!
Ben's apartment is gratis of Nick, his friend who's family owns the apartment building. Jess finds the other tenants to be a strange bunch, all tight lipped about where Ben is. Story builds as each character shares their POV and Jess is more confused and intrigued.
I found the story a bit slow in some parts, and even felt some events could have been eliminated, but when the real mystery is revealed, the pace quickens. I enjoyed the drawn out ending! (No spoilers here.)
Helpful Score: 1
Jess is broke and alone, and she's just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn't sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn't say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up to; to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother's situation, and the more questions she has. Ben's neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it's starting to look like it's Ben's future that's in question. Everyone's a neighbor. Everyone's a suspect. And everyone knows something they're not telling. This is a very interesting book with short chapters, different POV's and plenty of secrets. The characters are unreliable and suspicious. The twisty plot is entertaining and fast-paced. The apartment is a great atmosphere for a creepy disappearance. If you like unreliable, mysterious narrators then you will love this book. I look forward to Lucy Foley's next book.
