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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Lock Every Door By Riley Sager is his third new thriller. He wrote hands down my favorite novel of last year The Last Time I Lied and his debut for Final Girls had me on the edge of my seat in the first slasher/horror novel I've ever read. Lock Every Door follows adds a new horror in a hotel for the elite rich. The novel is dedicated to Ira Levin who wrote Rosemary's Baby and this novel clearly used that as a starter for the hotel and it's many super rich neighbor's. The novel is tension filled having the character start off in a very dire situation and telling what lead to that situation. The theme of rich versus poor is vivid throughout and ask the the reader what would you do in this desperate situation.
A special thanks to Netgalley, Dutton Publishing, and Pequin Group for an advanced copy of Lock Every Door by Riley Sager, for an honest review.
The Plot: Jules Larsen is hard up for a job, these past two weeks have been rough she got fired and caught her long term boyfriend cheating, she has no job and is crashing with her best friend Chloe, she is is in desperate need of a break ,and she receives one. A job through a craigslist ad offing to be an apartment sitter for The Bartholomew an upscale apartment all about privacy for the ultra rich staying there, there's also a famous book Heart of the Dreamer that was a favorite of Jules and her missing sister Jane, that took place at the Bartholomew. The offer is this Jules stays in the place for a $1,000 dollars a week while the apartment is tied in litigation as a previous resident died and the family debates about what to do with the property, the catch is she has to stay over every night, can not bring anyone over, and can not speak to any of the residents. Jules agrees and is smitten with the glitz of the place and the atmosphere, Her friend Chloe has had reservations the whole time find and article about all the odd goings on at the apartments, Murder, suicide, and a sickness that killed many. Jules blows all this over until a fellow house sitter leaves unexpectedly, and nobody in the building seems to care why.
What I Liked: The history of the building was really well thought out and makes sense when all is revealed, there's one really good twist that towards the end that played out really well, I saw it coming but Sager took it in a different way. The book really nailed desperation and the some times eyebrow raising choices you make during those times. I liked a majority of the characters especially Greta, Carlie, and Ingrid.
What I Disliked: I figured the main twist super early, the main villain wasn't all that interesting, I was waiting for that mind blowing twist in all the previous Riley Sager novels and this one was just not there. I almost which the book wasn't dedicated to Ira Levin because it follows a similar reveal to Rosemary's baby if you know that novel at all you're giving a way a twist, that I don't know if my mind would've immediately went to with out the dedication.
Recommendations: I will recommend this novel I feel it's the weakest out of the three but still a very good thriller that is very atmospheric. The twist that I came to love in Riley Sager novels are there, I guessed it but I think a lot of reader's will miss what I read. I love Riley sager he still remains my favorite of the new authors and will eagerly await any new material he puts out. I can not recommend The Last Time I Lied enough. I rated Lock Every Door 3 out of 5 stars, it was close to 4 stars but felt it belonged in 3 stars.
A special thanks to Netgalley, Dutton Publishing, and Pequin Group for an advanced copy of Lock Every Door by Riley Sager, for an honest review.
The Plot: Jules Larsen is hard up for a job, these past two weeks have been rough she got fired and caught her long term boyfriend cheating, she has no job and is crashing with her best friend Chloe, she is is in desperate need of a break ,and she receives one. A job through a craigslist ad offing to be an apartment sitter for The Bartholomew an upscale apartment all about privacy for the ultra rich staying there, there's also a famous book Heart of the Dreamer that was a favorite of Jules and her missing sister Jane, that took place at the Bartholomew. The offer is this Jules stays in the place for a $1,000 dollars a week while the apartment is tied in litigation as a previous resident died and the family debates about what to do with the property, the catch is she has to stay over every night, can not bring anyone over, and can not speak to any of the residents. Jules agrees and is smitten with the glitz of the place and the atmosphere, Her friend Chloe has had reservations the whole time find and article about all the odd goings on at the apartments, Murder, suicide, and a sickness that killed many. Jules blows all this over until a fellow house sitter leaves unexpectedly, and nobody in the building seems to care why.
What I Liked: The history of the building was really well thought out and makes sense when all is revealed, there's one really good twist that towards the end that played out really well, I saw it coming but Sager took it in a different way. The book really nailed desperation and the some times eyebrow raising choices you make during those times. I liked a majority of the characters especially Greta, Carlie, and Ingrid.
What I Disliked: I figured the main twist super early, the main villain wasn't all that interesting, I was waiting for that mind blowing twist in all the previous Riley Sager novels and this one was just not there. I almost which the book wasn't dedicated to Ira Levin because it follows a similar reveal to Rosemary's baby if you know that novel at all you're giving a way a twist, that I don't know if my mind would've immediately went to with out the dedication.
Recommendations: I will recommend this novel I feel it's the weakest out of the three but still a very good thriller that is very atmospheric. The twist that I came to love in Riley Sager novels are there, I guessed it but I think a lot of reader's will miss what I read. I love Riley sager he still remains my favorite of the new authors and will eagerly await any new material he puts out. I can not recommend The Last Time I Lied enough. I rated Lock Every Door 3 out of 5 stars, it was close to 4 stars but felt it belonged in 3 stars.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
First things first, this was basically good. The plot was intriguing enough, but not extremely unique. The characters were relatable and interesting but not strongly mysterious. This is a guessable “thriller” for sure. That being said, the narration style and realism of plot are what drew me in to this story. The introduction to the situation is generic, woman finds herself jobless, homeless and having lost her significant other in one fell swoop. But it’s the way she get’s drawn in, her tragic backstory combined with a longing to feel close to the family she lost through the means of this building, that makes it a bit more intriguing because it’s fueled by more than just her need of a “new start” or money, even though she claims otherwise. There’s a realistic sense of skepticism towards the entire building from the protagonist as well as those surrounding her beyond the general thought of the building as just creepy. Overall, there’s just a better grasp on how to flow through this plot type from Sager. The narration style was strong and it’s not the type of book you’ll sit with and yell at the character to not go up the stairs. I do believe the writing was unique, but the story was not. It was interesting but not all that thrilling overall. Sager’s style though is wonderful. He even left this somewhat open ended but I finished this feeling satisfied regardless because in reality, you won’t always get all the answers. If he did make a sequel, I’d read it but I was happily intrigued by the way he wraps this book up already. This author did a great job making it feel real and is what really makes this a unique read.
Oh, I loved it!
Lock Every Door was less of a whodunit and more of a what the heck is going on here-it?!
4.5 Stars
Lock Every Door was less of a whodunit and more of a what the heck is going on here-it?!
4.5 Stars
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Annoyed about this one. Yes, I read it quickly because it is a page turner and lives up to its thriller status. But the protagonist is dumb and the ending / twist / explanation is just too stupid.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No