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Lucy Foley
Lucy Foley (born 16 August 1986 in Sussex, England) is a British author of contemporary, historical fiction and mystery novels. Her novels The Paris Apartment and The Guest List are New York Times best sellers.
The Paris Apartment
- Pages
- 368
- Published
- 2022
- Language
- English
Synopsis
Jess Hadley turns up in Paris with a suitcase and nowhere else to go, hoping her half-brother Ben will take her in while she outruns trouble back home. But Ben doesn't answer his buzzer, his phone, or his door — and when Jess lets herself into his apartment, she finds it far grander than a freelance journalist should be able to afford, with the smell of bleach in the air and blood matted in his cat's fur.
Ben is gone, and the elegant Haussmann building he lived in is full of people who would rather Jess left: a brittle grande dame, a volatile drunk, a fragile art student, a watchful concierge in her lodge by the door. Each of them knows something about Ben's disappearance, and none of them is telling the truth. As Jess pushes past their locked doors and polished manners, she uncovers a web of secrets binding the residents together — and the darker enterprise the building was built to hide.
Told through the shifting perspectives of the building's residents, Lucy Foley's thriller is a claustrophobic, twist-driven mystery set behind one very exclusive Parisian address.
Collected in
Genres
Characters
Jess HadleyProtagonist
A young Englishwoman fleeing trouble who arrives in Paris to find her half-brother missing and starts digging.
Jacques MeunierAntagonist
The patriarch of the family that owns the building, and the proprietor of the private club on its ground floor.
Ben DanielsSupporting
Jess's half-brother, a freelance journalist whose disappearance opens the novel.
Sophie MeunierSupporting
The imperious resident of the building's grandest apartment.
Mimi (The Paris Apartment)Supporting
Frequently asked questions
How is the story structured?
The narrative is told through rotating points of view, with each chapter focusing on a different resident of the building to reveal their individual secrets and motivations.
Does this book connect to the author's other novels?
While it shares a similar style and thematic focus on class and social dynamics with the author's other mystery novels, it is a standalone story with its own unique cast and setting.
Are the architectural details of the building based on reality?
The building features traditional Parisian architectural elements such as separate grand staircases for residents and hidden back staircases originally intended for domestic staff.