The Bartholomew is one of Manhattan's most historic and fabulous apartment complex's and Jules is lucky enough to land herself a job apartment sitting one of the Bartholomew lofts. The apartment is like a page out of one of Jules' favorite novels and is a childhood dream come true. Nestled across from Central Park, with fabulous fixtures, and interesting (and private) neighbors. Jules job comes with some strange rules: no visitors, do not spend nights away, but if she completes the only three month commitment she is $12,000 richer. The Bartholomew has plenty of old wives tales from ghost stories to possible cult activity, but Jules does not let that dissuade her. Shortly after moving in, strange things start to happen and the secrets of the building are unraveled.
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager started off so strong for me. Creepy house with a sinister past, with possible cult ties? Sign me up. That is literally everything I look for in a thriller. Jules is a tough girl, having come from a family where her sister went missing and was never found and her parents committed suicide so that she could potentially live off the insurance money. To say Jules has seen tragedy is an understatement. She does not let the stories of the Bartholomew scare her away from a job that could potentially get her back on her feet.
************************Unpopular opinion***********************************
The pace of this story was fast and things were moving in a great direction. One of Jules' neighbors goes missing, after she knows her for about a day, but it is enough to pique her curiosity and investigate what happened. There seemed to be elements of hauntings or possible cult affiliations with the other residents, but that fizzled out at the end. The ending felt rushed and disjointed from the path the story was taking. Parts felt also felt a bit predictable (I figured out who the "bad guy" was about 1/4 of the way through.) I am not sure why I was so cynical while reading this, but I think my hopes were too high because this one was hyped over the summer.
I gave Lock Every Door by Riley Sager ★★★.5 stars. If the book ended differently, I think it could have been one of my favorites. There were also conclusions that the main character drew that were extremely far fetched. I also hoped that the reader discovered what happened to her sister, but *spoiler alert* you don't. I think that could have been an interesting dimension to the story.
Overall, Lock Every Door is decent, not great. Out of the three published Sager novels, I think The Last Time I Lied is my favorite, followed by Final Girls, then Lock Every Door. Again, that is my opinion and I know there are many out there that felt differently.
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