the paris apartment by lucy foley summary

Jess descends a staircase to the cellar, where the door closes tightly behind her, trapping her. Jess’s search leads her into the staircases within the building’s walls these staircases are a remnant of the passages servants used long ago. Antoine has an alcohol addiction, and the reclusive concierge surveils all tenants with suspicion. Mimi is a young woman who wants to be part of something exciting and social but is treated as a child and remains emotionally immature. Sophie Meunier is an older woman whose husband, Jacques, pressures her to look glamorous at all times-but underneath her beauty, she is tormented, as an anonymous extortionist sends her notes threatening to reveal a secret about her. They each have their own experiences with Ben and their own closely guarded secrets. The residents are disturbed by Jess’s arrival. Believing that Ben has been disappeared, Jess asks around about his whereabouts, but she is out of place in the apartment building: She is less wealthy than the residents, she is a foreigner, and she asks questions the residents want to avoid. When his half-sister Jess Hadley arrives for a visit, she discovers that he is nowhere to be found-even though his wallet, key, and Vespa are all in their proper place. The novel opens with Ben Daniels, a journalist who has recently moved to Paris, on the cusp of writing a powerful story when a figure breaks into his apartment. The narrative perspective is therefore continually shifting, and many chapters end on cliffhangers that remain unresolved until several chapters later. The novel consists of many short chapters, each titled after the character whose point of view directs that chapter.

Content Warning: The source material includes misogynistic language and suicide, and its central plotline involves sex trafficking.

The paris apartment by lucy foley summary