The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

Happy Friday! Today I'm a stop on the Random Things tour for Lucy Foley's latest thriller, The Paris Apartment!

When Jess arrives in Paris to visit her brother, she knows it's not the best time. He even said so. But she needs a break and he's the only family she's got. 

He'd said he'd be there. He left her a message. But when she arrives and no one answers the buzzer, she isn't immediately worried. 

It's not until she manages a way in (breaking into his apartment, actually) that she realizes his wallet and keys are still there. And that message—it broke off seemingly mid thought. 

As she searches for her missing brother, Jess soon realizes that the other tenants at the fancy apartment building are all hiding things. But did one of them harm her brother? Could her poking around make her the next target?

If there's one thing you can always rely on with a new book by Foley, it's that it's going to be an absolute, no holds barred, page turner of a read!

Jess has left England quite suddenly. And we know from the start that it wasn't under great circumstances. She's jobless, just about broke, and with nowhere to turn except her brother, Ben. 

But Jess and Ben aren't exactly close. After their mom died, they were split up: Ben was adopted by a well off family and eventually went into journalism. Jess was bounced around in foster homes and has been eking by working at a dive bar. 

And to say that Ben was less than enthusiastic about her plan to go to Paris is a definite understatement. 

But he wouldn't have abandoned her! In fact, he clearly said he would be there. Besides, who leaves their keys and wallet behind and doesn't arrange for someone to take care of their cat?!

Jess's queries with the other tenants are met with frosty responses, but behind closed doors none of them seem to be fans of Ben. And now it's up to Jess to find out what's going on. 

With quick chapters and fabulous pacing, Foley spins a tale that's highly readable and intense! If you haven't read her, you probably need to be warned: if you start this at bedtime, be prepared! You will not be able to put this down until you've finished!

 

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

Good morning, everyone! Today I'm a stop on the TLC blog tour for Lucy Foley's The Hunting Party.

Every New Year, Katie and her friends get together the celebrate the holiday and spend time with one another. It's been their tradition since college. Four couples and Katie, and now an infant as well. It's the one time of the year that they all get together without fail. 

This year, their trip has been planned and booked at a remote lodge in the Scottish Highlands. They were told they'd be the only party there, but a mix up means there's another couple. It definitely doesn't make them happy, but the festivities will go on nonetheless. Until one of the guests at the lodge goes missing. 

By the time the holiday has passed, a body has been found. And it definitely isn't an accident. But who is responsible? Is it one of the close knit group? Is it one of the strangers? Is it one of the two lodge staff members? Or is it the Highland Ripper everyone has been talking about?

I loved Lucy Foley's The Hunting Party! The setting alone makes it immensely appealing: a remote location and a snowstorm that's cut that location off from the outside world. Yes!

Multiple narrators means multiple perspectives as the story progresses. And the timeline bounces back and forth as well, revealing the body and the fact that it's definitely murder before the reader has a chance to really get to know the characters at play.

Doug, the gamekeeper with a dark past, and Heather, the manager with a secret in her own background, have both chosen to live and work at the lodge, voluntarily hiding away from everything and everyone beyond the grounds of the estate. Their perspectives of the group, jaded though they may be, are those of an outsider. Someone not part of the insular group, who doesn't share the history or the inside jokes or the forgiveness that a shared past can give to a person's behavior.

But Katie, Emma, and Miranda each give a different perspective of the group and of themselves. And as the story goes on, two things become very clear: first, this group is absolutely not as close as it once was and second, that most, if not all of them, are hiding things from one another.

But again, who is the killer? And, the thing that's most fun from the start, who is the victim?!

The Hunting Party is fabulous from start to finish and makes for the absolute perfect snow day read!

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Lucy Foley and her work you can like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

Purchase Links: HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble