Lock Every Door by Riley Sager - Book Review

4 Star Rating

If you were offered a three-month stay in a luxury apartment with $12,000 compensation, would you take it? What if it meant leaving behind your friends and family for good?

***Spoilers Below***

Down on her luck after her parents committed suicide and her sister mysteriously vanished, Jules is one of the lucky 200 apartment sitters at the Bartholomew who is trying to change her life. In this harrowing tale, we follow Jules as she gets to know the current residents of the massive apartment building. When it's clear that other apartment sitters have been leaving abruptly and downright disappearing in the middle of the night, Jules takes it upon herself to solve the mystery behind it so no other family has to live through the trauma of not knowing where their family member is; Just like she has to with her missing sister, Jane. What Jules doesn't realize is that the more she uncovers about the Bartholomew with simultaneously put her in danger and save her life.

This is a nail-biting thriller that will have you wanting more at every turn of the page (albeit virtual in my case). I found myself following red herrings throughout the entire book. Like any great author, Riley Sager allowed the audience to learn the secrets of the Bartholomew along with Jules and the other apartment sitters. Withheld information was expertly given to the reader at the right time and for the first time this year, I don't have a reason to ask an author to "show don't tell." The pacing at the end of the book brought the suspense that a reader needs when there is a lot happening in short bursts. If the chapters remained longer with time breaks between them, I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much.

In writing this review and determining what I want to rate this book, I find myself rating it higher than I expected. I typically don't like woman's POV written by a man because you can tell that something is off with the character and is not as believable. However, I truly couldn't tell for the entirety of the book. There were moments that brought me out of the world that Riley created, one of which being the over-exaggerated library scene, as well as the miraculous finding of Ingrid by a homeless woman who they were both so quick to trust after they have no reason to trust anyone based on their circumstances. My final grievance of the book is the last chapter. Although I have so much praise for Riley showing instead of telling, he copped out in the final chapter and chose to do a narrative retelling of what happened over the past 6 months when we leave Jules in the hands of real doctors. I understand that sometimes editors need a writer to be under a certain word count and the absolute hardest part of writing a book is the ending. However, with Riley's skill, I think he could have done a better job wrapping up his book.

All of the above to say, I've gone between a 3.5 and 4.5 rating as I wrote this review. I chose to meet in the middle with a 4 star review. To me, this means that I won't be rereading the book or actively recommending it, but I did thoroughly enjoy it and will recommend it highly if someone asks about it.

To see other book reviews and what I'm currently reading, head to GoodReads.com/kierstenresch