Book Review: "Lock Every Door" by Riley Sager

You know the old saying if it seems too good to be true, it probably is? Well, that's something that Jules Larsen should have thought of when she accepted an assignment as an apartment sitter at one of the oldest and most exclusive NYC apartment buildings, the Bartholomew.

Jules is between jobs and, because her relationship with her boyfriend just ended, between apartments. The Bartholomew was the setting of her favorite book from childhood, so the thought of living in those glamorous, hallowed halls almost seems like a dream. When she sees the enormous, duplex apartment at the top of the building, and learns that she'll receive a salary of $4,000 for each month of her three-month assignment, how could she resist?

Sure, there are a lot of rules. She must sleep in her apartment every night. She can't have anyone over to visit because the residents of the Bartholomew cherish their privacy. No pictures of anything related to the building on social media. She's also not allowed to bother any of the residents.

But even those and other slightly strange rules are enough to dissuade her, given how desperately she needs the money. Even as she starts to learn about the Bartholomew's somewhat-scandalous and creepy past, she feels lucky. When she meets fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, she feels she has found a kindred spirit. As Ingrid shares her feelings about how things about the building frighten her a bit, Jules tries to help assuage her fears (and perhaps calm some of her own).

The next morning, Ingrid is gone. She apparently left the Bartholomew without a word to anyone, and she won't return Jules' texts or phone calls. Little by little, Jules starts to become more worried about Ingrid's safety, and wonders if perhaps there is more to the things Ingrid was afraid of. As Jules tries to dig into Ingrid's disappearance with the help of her handsome neighbor, she starts to discover that things in the Bartholomew aren't as idyllic as they seem—and Ingrid isn't the first one to disappear.

Riley Sager knows how to ratchet up the suspense, and he definitely did so here in Lock Every Door. There is such a pervasive sense of danger permeating through the book from the minute Jules first arrives at the Bartholomew. You know it's too good to be true, you know she shouldn't trust people, but as the reader, you're powerless to shake some sense into her.

The narration shifts between the present and Jules' arrival at the building a few days earlier, so you get glimpses of what will happen but nothing too concrete to fully give it away. Sager's storytelling is taut and reads like a movie, so I could picture what was happening in my mind's eye.

You'll really need to suspend your disbelief here as the book hurtles toward its conclusion. I'll admit I thought things went completely off the rails and I rolled my eyes toward the end. But I know many others loved this book, so perhaps I just thought things got a little too kooky for my own good.

I'm a fan of Sager's writing—his debut novel, Final Girls, was another book that read like a movie I'd totally see. If you like your thrillers on the crazy, slightly gothic side, Lock Every Door is one for you. And don't accept an apartment-sitting gig that seems too good to be true!

NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

This book will be published July 2, 2019.

Book Review: "Lovecraft Country" by Matt Ruff

Yeah, Tina, that's how I felt after reading this book. This was one crazy, creative, confusing ride!!

In 1954, the U.S. was still deep in the throes of segregation and blatant racism. When Korean War veteran Atticus Turner finds out his estranged father Montrose has gone missing, accompanying a young, confident-looking white man to a small town in New England, Atticus knows he must find him and see what trouble he has gotten himself into. Accompanied by his Uncle George, publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide, and his childhood friend Letitia, the trio experience more than their share of racist and dangerous encounters along the way, as they travel in and out of less open-minded communities.

"White people in his experience were far more transparent. The most hateful rarely bothered to conceal their hostility, and when for some reason they did try to hide their feelings, they generally exhibited all the guile of five-year-olds, who cannot imagine that the world sees them other than as they wish to be seen."

When they arrive in the small town of Ardham, Massachusetts, and the sprawling manor home of Samuel Braithwhite (who happens to be the ancestor of those who owned Atticus' grandmother), they are somewhat shocked to find Montrose kept prisoner in the cellar of an Ardham building. Braithwhite and his son Caleb are part of a secret order called the Order of the Ancient Dawn, and the group has very interesting plans for a ritual to regain their power—a ritual that involves Atticus. And while Atticus may have a trump card to play, using it may unleash years of danger upon his family and friends.

What follows are interconnected chapters involving Atticus, George, George's wife Hippolyta and his son Horace, as well as Letitia and her sister, Ruby. The chapters involve all sorts of magic, occult, ghosts, racism, space and time travel, social commentary, and threats of violence, as one who was once in power tries to establish his dominance again. These are wild stories for which you'll need to seriously suspend your disbelief, but Matt Ruff tries to provide pointed commentary on how racism can destroy the fabric of our country and cause people to do things they know they shouldn't.

Lovecraft Country pays homage to the horror novelist (and racist) H.P. Lovecraft. It's well-written and creative, but it just gets too unhinged after a while. The narrative in each section seems disjointed and the pacing at times moves slower than I would have liked. But when the book starts barreling toward its conclusion, it makes you feel a little breathless, as you wonder how Ruff will tie everything up.

Matt Ruff's first novel, Fool on the Hill, a fantasy totally unlike this book, is one of my favorite books of all time. His subsequent books definitely challenge your perceptions of reality and are tremendously thought-provoking. I know that this was the objective here, too, but it just didn't quite click for me. But if a combination of social commentary, allegory, and the occult sounds irresistible to you, definitely pick this up, because combined with Ruff's storytelling talent, it may be a home run for you.