Travel Books: The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

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Caution: Spoilers Ahead!

I picked up The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley at the airport before a long-haul flight. This suspense novel was a quick and generally fun read and a great way to pass the time on a long flight!

Broke and alone, Jess needs a fresh start so she convinces her half-brother, Ben, to let her crash with him for a while. In his apartment in Paris. When she arrives, Jess discovers two things: Ben is nowhere to be found and his apartment is nice, really nice. His neighbors, however, are not so nice.

The setting and the premise give off Only Murders in the Building vibes, which I adore! Much like OMITB, though Paris is the setting, the book truly takes place in the apartment complex (think of it like the Arconia). While there are Parisian vibes, if you’re looking for a book where the City of Lights truly shines as the setting, The Paris Apartment is not that.

The story is told from multiple points of view and as it progresses, we discover that apartment complex dwellers Sophie, Nick, Mimi, Antoine, Jacques are actually all family and not just random residents. Some of the characters are a bit formulaic and not especially likable, but thankfully the protagonist, Jess, was not one of them! It was a pretty decently paced read up until the end where I felt like the author was in a rush to tie up a bunch of loose ends, which made the ending a bit unsatisfying.

Overall it was a fairly enjoyable read and I’ve heard that some of Foley’s other books are even better, so I’ll definitely be checking out more of her work!

Share Your Thoughts

• How would you have handled things if you were in Jess’ shoes and Ben was MIA?
• Were you surprised at the big reveal that all the residents were family? If not, what things led you to realize it before it was revealed?
• Do you think that Paris as a setting added anything to the story?
• How did you feel about the ending?

If you like it, put a pin on it!