It was fine

It was good! Very surprising ending.

Interesting characters.

The Paris apartment, by Lucy Foley; Clare Corbett, Daphne Kouma, Julia Winwood, Sope Dirisu, Sofia Dervudachi, and Charlie Anson, narrators.
This book will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. Jess and Ben, brother and sister, were orphans. Jess spent most of her life in foster care. Ben, her brother, was adopted into a well-to-do family, and their lives diverged. As adults, she was in London, barely making ends meet, working as a bartender. The raunchy behavior of her boss, coupled with her response, made her flee to Paris to the only relative she had, her brother Ben. Although he did not really want her to come, he acquiesced.
When she arrived, there was no Ben. He lived in this fortress-like residence that seemed to be very upscale, although it seemed to want some maintenance. Using her wiles, she was able to get into the courtyard and break into his apartment. There she only found his cat. She also noticed blood on the cat and an odd stain on the floor, both of which she quickly dismissed and put out of her mind. When she found a bloody knife in the dumbwaiter, she was terrified. Still, she refused to think the worst. Surely he would contact her soon, as he had promised, but he did not return, nor did he answer her calls on his cell phone.
Jess began to search for him and to ask questions of the other residents that she met. Antoine was rough and rude. He frightened her. Nick had been Ben’s schoolmate and had invited him to live in the building. He seemed kind and took her to the police station to file a report. Mimi seemed terrified and ran away from her. Sophie disliked her immediately, deciding that she was trouble like her brother. The concierge was remote and cold and warned her to leave. No one could help her or cared to help her. They all seemed defensive except for Nick, but no one claimed to know anything about where Ben could be. She searched for clues in the apartment. Ben had been a journalist, and soon she found the man he worked for and arranged a meeting. Theo seemed rough around the edges, a bit abrupt too, but he was willing to try and help her. Could she trust him?
What secrets did each of these people she met harbor that would endanger Ben, and now, as a consequence, endanger her? Why did they seem to be afraid? Were they afraid of her or did they know something and refuse to reveal it? As days passed. She realized that Ben had to be in trouble. She was now beginning to be afraid, too. Still, she continued to pursue her investigation, questioning people, following them, and listening in at closed doors. She discovered hidden doors and stairways, uninhabited spaces and attics, and all of these places and people had their secrets. When she discovered the relationship between many of the residents in the building, she realized she had been lied to and was in danger. What had Ben been investigating? What was he involved in that would have put him in danger or made him disappear? Would he return? Was he hurt? Was he alive? She began to wonder if she would ever see him again. It seemed everyone she met was hiding something and was a potential threat. Could anyone expose the truth? Who was the missing piece of this puzzle? Would she find that person who could lead her to Ben, who knew him well, who understood what he was doing?
She was headstrong, and her decisions often seemed irrational in the face of what she was learning and experiencing. She was street smart because of her upbringing but seemed naive in these strange surroundings where she did not speak the language or know the neighborhood. Who was her friend, and who was her enemy? Where was her brother? Although they were not close, he would never abandon her like this; she was sure of that.
Although there are times when the reader will find they have to abandon disbelief, the book, with its twists and turns and surprises at the end, will capture the imagination and interest of all. The corruption of the police and the people Jess met is slowly exposed. There is murder, LGBTQ+ issues, infidelity, sex trafficking, secret clubs, terrible greed, blackmail, prostitution, suspicious parenting, violence, deception, lies, and pretty much every sin any human is capable of carrying out. These many characters have one thing in common. They are dysfunctional.
What happened to Ben? What kind of a story was he investigating? Why was everyone Jess questioned so afraid to answer her or help her? She inspired fear in everyone she met, and then she, in turn, experienced fear as well. Could she really help Ben? Would she succeed or meet the same fate he did, whatever that was? What were the secrets each of the characters was hiding? What were the secrets of the very wealthy Meuniere family? Were they the key to solving this mystery? Why was the patriarch, Jacques, so feared? Would she solve the puzzle or simply be left with missing pieces? For Jess, failure was not an option.