Lock Every Door Book Review
Lock Every Door Book Review By Riley Seger
Rating 9/10
Hello and thanks for joining!
Today I will discuss my first thriller on the blog. This is not the first thriller I have read, let me make that clear, but it is the first one I'm writing a review for. I’m a little worried because the fun of thrillers is not knowing too much about it before you dive in, and a review kind of defeats that purpose. Nevertheless, I shall try regardless and see how it goes. If I hate it I will never write one again. Fingers crossed everyone.
The premise of the novel is r=beautifully creepy. A young woman, who just lost her job, has no family, and just ended a relationship is offered a job of an apartment sitter in one of the most prestigious buildings in Manhattan. She can live there for free, and in fact, get paid for it. Sounds too good to be true? To me absolutely it does, but I can see how being desperate you would disregard that voice in your head that tells you to run away. The unsettling atmosphere just gets denser from there. The story is written in a split timeline fashion helping the readers realize where we are heading and that it is not going to be a happy fun time.
From here on out are spoilers. Stay away or proceed at your own risk.
Okay so our heroine Jules starts in a really tough situation, it is an almost unbearably relatable situation to a lot of people in their early twenties. She is desperate, and desperate people make choices they wouldn't make if they were not desperate. She sees the sketchy offer of free $12,000 as a lifesaver. As she says “Every so often, life offers you a reset button. When it does, you need to press it as hard as you can.” Sadly, in this case, it was a trap. I love that I was rooting for Jules as a character. In many ways she was scared, and she had many trust issues but she was a good strong character who was smart enough to fight her way. I think that was my favorite thing about her. Desperation didn't take away her intelligence or drive. She fully intended to use this as an opportunity to start over, but sadly that was not meant to be because some people just don't care.
The whole concept presented in this book was actually a genius. I didn't see that coming. Who expects an illegal organ transplant ring to be run from a Manhattan landmark? In many ways, this set up makes perfect sense. The idea of worth is tied with how rich you are and what color your skin is in the US and this was explored here in a terrible way. Jules doesn’t get away clean, she loses a kidney but she at least keeps her life. When she set the building on fire I cheered out loud. Despite her sister’s disappearance, despite her parents’ suicide, she still triumphs over everything at that moment including those who think she is only good for parts. IT’s a moment of self-realization and catharsis for her too and you feel it. Riley Sager does an amazing job showing Jules’ growth.
I can’t really discuss many of the relationships in this book because most of the people living in the building with Jules were awful. Some were absolute psychopaths and narcissists and many other things that I won't list in case someone starts worrying about me (I’m looking at you, Nick.) And reading his interaction with Jules knowing how the story ends makes it even creepier. The fact that he was willing to flirt with her, make her think he wanted to help her, and sleep with her make him probably one of the most terrifying kinds of people in existence. Like I said look at my medical diagnosis above for some ideas. Everyone else was just as bad. They just didn't care that they were killing people just to skip the line at the hospital. It's clearly an “I don't care how I want it now” situation. Sadly no one gets carried away by squirrels or gargoyles in this case. Where are you Willy Wonka when we need you??? I liked Ingrid and was glad she survived and got away, but I was mostly invested in her because Jules was. It made complete sense that Jules wanted to find her so desperately. She couldn't help her sister, but she could help Ingrid. This was another great arc for the character.
Overall, this book was great. It was a one-character story and that character shined. We had a very good villain. The atmosphere fairly breathed menace. The writing was very good and provided just the right balance between description and action. Overall a solid read and I’m so glad I picked it up. Thank you, everyone, for joining me on this thrilling journey. Yes, I am very proud of myself for that terrible joke.
Love you all,
Anna
