Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

16 reviews

james1star's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was rather moyen (French for average… blame Google translate if it’s wrong) in all honesty. It started out great with our ‘main’ character Jess hastily arriving in Paris to live with her step brother Ben for some time but when she gets there he’s seeming disappeared and there’s some concerning clues in his apartment that make her question what’s going on. After sleeping if off she consults the other occupants in the building but no one really wants to help… and can she trust them? … and a mystery ensues. Most of the chapters are from Jess’s POV but we also get ones from Ben, Nick, Mimi, Sophie, and the Concierge who all live in the complex in the current timeframe with flashback moments to the near and more distant past. 

I’d say this book is very well written, it has suspense and a good story arc that builds up to the main twist with others along the way. From the start, I was really intrigued and on the whole it’s an easy, engaging read but it fell flat as the book developed. I liked the high angst and drama with the ‘what’s next?!’ cliff hangers at the end of the short chapters but then it gets rather meh. I think once or twice to build up this tension but then the situation not being as bad as we thought is okay but when it occurs multiple times the reader somewhat loses trust in the storytelling and, for me, become rather uninterested in following on - it’s a little like the ‘boy who cried wolf’ scenario where you don’t really care what’s going to happen as the book moves on because you can already tell it won’t be that bad afterwards. It’s billed as a mystery and yes I would still classify it as such but Jess isn’t really the best (or good in fact) at sleuthing out the clues as to what has happened to Ben. Instead she stumbles across things and continually makes herself known, I guess the reader has to piece things together more so which I get (and liked) but Jess didn’t really fulfil her purpose. 

She’s also again rather meh. I liked her back story and her drive at times but on the whole she was quite irritating. The same goes for the rest of the characters where I did feel for some of them at times but there’s always this barrier up between them and the reader I feel. All are relatively unlikeable and unrealistic portrayals too. I think Ben was my favourite but more the best of a bad-mediocre bunch. A certain character’s sexuality being a plot twist-like part was a bit ‘eye roll’y to be honest, I liked the inclusion of a queer character but to make it a ‘what?!’ moment felt a little crass. At the end things are explained but I still felt like a few loose ends were left and I’m very 50:50 on if it liked it or not, I think some characters got off a bit too easily. 

Overall, I would still recommend this book but it’s moyen, it’s average and I was rather let down. I would be interested in reading more by Lucy Foley as it’s still well written just fell flat so maybe others can deliver where this got lost in transition. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, and Classism

Minor: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Murder, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Child death, Homophobia, Fatphobia, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Cursing, Alcohol, Slavery, Rape, and Police brutality

emilywemily6's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

I didn’t like this book as much as the other Lucy Foley book I read. It felt so long with nothing happening for most of the book. At the beginning, the general vibe was eerie and suspicious, but as truths came to light for some reason the tone and atmosphere was less and less sinister. I guessed the culprit(s) early on, though didn’t know how everything fit together. The author did a good job at fitting lots of details together that seemed unrelated. I was unsurprised by the big reveals of the whodunit and while the twist at the end was unexpected, it wasn’t satisfying- it was more like, “oh, okay, that makes more sense I guess.” I haven’t read a lot of mysteries or thrillers, but this one felt predictable, especially as the pieces of the puzzle began sliding together. The dual timelines and memories in the narratives were a bit confusing too, especially the closer we got to the crime and the memories and present day were only a couple of days apart. Overall, an alright book, but nothing stood out to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Blood, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Alcohol, Violence, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, and Police brutality

Moderate: Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, and Grief

Minor: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child abuse, and Deportation

shull3464's review

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Trafficking, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Blood, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

jenna_justi2004's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, Abortion, Child abuse, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Pregnancy, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Classism, Drug use, Eating disorder, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Murder, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Stalking

neurospicyreader's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I'm stuck between 2 and 3 stars. It was fine, but I didn't really connect with the story. I finished it quickly because I had to. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Addiction

tomasalbanez's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Definitely the darkest and most complex book by Lucy Foley that I've read! And that's saying something. I love the plot twists in this story and found myself once again with a board filled with the characters, clues, suspects and guesses I had while trying to unveil the web they have spined. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, and Infidelity

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Car accident, Classism, Infertility, Murder, Police brutality, and Violence

Minor: Deportation, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, and Domestic abuse

luciapoloni's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Classism, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Blood, Sexism, and Death

starsnstitchin's review

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

jagz's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

um this was such a shock what the fuck

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Police brutality, Stalking, Blood, Death, Grief, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Violence

shannasbookshelf's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

"Then he sees what his intruder holds. Now. Now the fear comes."
This was a fun read. I listened to it as an audiobook through Scribd, a subscription I'm currently enjoying. It was nice being able to listen to it as I did small tasks around the house or doing my normal morning & evening self-care routines. Murder-mystery-thriller books hadn't been on my reading radar until recently. I knew about a lot, but I wasn't necessarily itching to pick up any books from those genres. That is until recently when I gave The Book of Cold Cases a try earlier this month.
I found it so interesting how the book is set up, and it really lent a hand to the atmosphere of the book. A missing brother. Neighbors unwilling to talk. A worn-out journalist. A girl just trying to put these pieces together to find her brother in a foreign country. What else could a reader ask for?
This book covers so many topics in a way that flows nicely. Foley also addresses these issues in a way that's palatable for a reader but isn't over-the-top or garish. I found the audiobook the best way to read this since it was a full cast and you really get a sense of each individual who's directly involved with Jess and Ben.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Trafficking

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts