A Thrilling Ride: Where Desperation Takes Over

I recently devoured Riley Sager's novel 'Lock Every Door' with my book club, and I'm excited to share my thoughts on this gripping thriller.

As a huge fan of the 'Detective: New Level' series, I was eager to dive into another great series, 'New World Thriller'. I've already read four books from this series, and while it's not quite on the same level as 'Detective: New Level', it's still worth checking out.

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Book quality and packaging. All the books in the series are carefully wrapped in sealed plastic, which is how they're shipped from online retailers and sold on store shelves. This packaging reduces the risk of damage to the book and keeps it clean.

Of course, you'll need to remove this packaging before you can start reading.

I got my hands on the paperback edition of 'Lock All the Doors' by Riley Sager, and I was surprised by the soft cover. The 18+ age restriction is clearly marked on the left-hand side of the cover.

I think the warning is well-earned, given the amount of violence and the single, tastefully handled sex scene in the book. The back cover has a brief summary.

The pages are a dull gray and super thin, making them prone to bending and potentially cutting your fingers. The font is tiny, making it a real strain to read, and I found myself squinting to make out the words.

The book itself is quite thick. I was surprised to find that the book has 380 pages of story text.

The cover is glued on, and it's not great. It starts to peel off, the cover breaks, and pages fall out - even if I'm super careful when reading it, and I don't even open it fully.

The story and characters are where this book shines. The book's description says:

Don't invite guests over. Sleep only in the apartment. Don't bother other tenants.

Three simple rules that Jules Larsen has to follow - she's hired to take care of a place in Bartolomew, one of the most mysterious buildings in Manhattan. For Jules, who's recently gone through a tough breakup, this job is a great chance to start fresh.

Jules meets Ingrid, another girl who works in the building. But when Ingrid reveals that Bartolomew isn't what it seems, and there's a dark history lurking beneath its shiny facade, Jules brushes her off as just a silly ghost story...

But the next day, Ingrid's gone. And I'm not just talking about a casual disappearance. I'm talking about a full-blown investigation. Julie dives headfirst into the dark past of Bartholomew, and what she finds is shocking. It turns out Ingrid's not the first girl to vanish in this town, and now Julie's gotta move fast to uncover the truth and get out of there before it's too late.

At the beginning of the book, there's a dedication. Just a name and a surname, nothing more.

Then there's a small excerpt from a novel that's mentioned in the book, but doesn't actually exist. I mean, who does that?

This novel was the main character's bible growing up. She and her sister obsessed over it, dreaming of a life just like the ones in the book.

The book itself, 'Lock All the Doors', is structured in a pretty unique way.

Right at the beginning, the author gives you a tiny glimpse into what's going on with the main character in the present day. It's marked with the word 'now' and replaces traditional chapter headings.

After that, the author takes you back to the beginning, showing you the whole story that led up to that 'now' moment.

And it all starts six days before.

What I love about this book is how it seamlessly blends past and present, bringing them closer together with each turn of the page.

After the 'six days ago' section, we get another glimpse into the present.

Then, we jump back to 'five days ago', and it's like we're reliving the story all over again.

This pattern continues until these moments finally intersect.

But that's not all - after the storylines converge, we get a new timeline: 'after'.

And instead of a traditional epilogue, we get a final 'after' section with the largest time gap in the entire novel.

The book concludes with the usual acknowledgments and a few words from the author.

What really caught my attention were the characters in this novel. They're like a shot of adrenaline - a high-contrast mix of people from the upper class, with all their wealth and influence, and those who are down on their luck, struggling to make ends meet, or even living on the streets.

But whose life looks more interesting? Behind all the glamour and glitz - the designer clothes, the fancy cars, the accessories, and all that other stuff?

Whose emotions feel more real? And how do those who have nothing left to lose, except for their own lives, really go about fighting for survival?

The characters in this novel are incredibly well-developed. The author takes their time to reveal each character's personality, gradually peeling back layers to show us who they really are.

All the main characters feel like real people - you want to root for them, you get angry on their behalf, and you feel happy when they're happy. As you read through the book, you're living their life, experiencing their struggles and triumphs, and suddenly you're snapped back to reality, only to be pulled back into the story again.

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My overall impression of the book. I have to say, I enjoyed 'Lock All the Doors' by Riley Sager more than his previous book that I read, 'The House on Vesper Sands'. You can check out my review of that one here.

'Lock All the Doors' is a much more dynamic, engaging, and suspenseful thriller. I barely had any idea what was going on, and I loved every minute of it.

I have to say, the author drops some hints about a romantic plotline and invites us to dive into a detective investigation that's led by ordinary people, not professionals.

The main character's love for life is just incredible, given the circumstances. She's not just fighting for herself, but also trying to save everyone around her.

It's fascinating to watch how the dream that's come to life starts to turn into a nightmare, and the people you've admired or been drawn to become monsters in your eyes.

I also appreciated the nod to the past, when the elite building that the main character dreams of living in was still under construction. As Jules learns about all the tragedies that have happened there – the suicides, deaths, and cults – she tries to connect the dots with what's happening now.

Another plus of the book is the detailed descriptions. There are so many vivid descriptions of nature, the weather, the stone gargoyles on the building's facade.

They don't feel like they're getting in the way or being too tedious; instead, they're mesmerizing and make you feel like you're right there with the characters.

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The Verdict. This is a great book with a really engaging storyline, not bad at all for suspense, and detailed descriptions that make the characters feel real.

It's easy to get sucked in and read quickly, and I think it's a great starting point for the 'New World Thriller' series if you want to get hooked.

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