The Paris Apartment in Mark Twain House's Reading Challenge

Aug 06, 2022 Joan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A unique, contemporary thriller set in, as the title suggests, Paris. A young woman, Jess, a down on her luck Londoner with a difficult family history, reaches out to Ben, her older half brother, for help with her latest financial and personal problems. Ben, a journalist, somewhat reluctantly, invites her to come stay for while in his apartment in Paris. Nick, an old college friend, has arranged for him to live cheaply in the building. Ben couldn't believe his good fortune...at first.

Jess and Be A unique, contemporary thriller set in, as the title suggests, Paris. A young woman, Jess, a down on her luck Londoner with a difficult family history, reaches out to Ben, her older half brother, for help with her latest financial and personal problems. Ben, a journalist, somewhat reluctantly, invites her to come stay for while in his apartment in Paris. Nick, an old college friend, has arranged for him to live cheaply in the building. Ben couldn't believe his good fortune...at first.

Jess and Ben exchange a series of texts and calls and she uses most of the last of her funds to come over, arriving late in the evening at an agreed-upon time. When she arrives in the city, she lets him know she's there, but there's no reply to her calls or texts. Baffled, she goes anyway to the address he had given her.

The building is an old, rather grand apartment house with a gated entrance. When Jess can't raise Ben, she struggles and finally manages to get into the building's courtyard and up to his third floor apartment. She has the skills to make her way in, but no one is there except the cat. Something is obviously wrong...where is Ben?

A highly complex and surprising plot then gradually unfolds as Jess tries to locate Ben.

This is not your typical girl goes to glamorous Paris, solves a mystery, and is rewarded with love for her troubles kind of story. The author has brought in some very clever and surprising developments in an atmospheric, very contemporary European city with its many foibles and challenges. And Jess, our heroine, is not a wide-eyed romantic, but a determined, tested woman who may or may not be able to find who and what she is looking for.

The audiobook version was well-read by several actors with well-cast voices. The pace was quick and it was difficult to stop listening in the car when I reached my various destinations each day. I highly recommend it for your next boring commute or road trip through less than exciting or attractive locations. It will definitely keep you going! ...more

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