Lock Every Door

May 1, 2019
Another homage to classic horror from a bestselling author. Sager's debut novel, Final Girls (2017), wasn't so much a horror novel as a commentary about horror movies in novel form. It was clever but also very well-crafted. The author tried to do something similar with The Last Time I Lied (2018), with significantly less satisfying results. This new novel is another attempt to make the model work. Whether or not it does depends on how invested one is in formula for the sake of formula. Jules Larsen is getting over a breakup and the loss of her job when she finds a gig that seems too good to be true: The Bartholomew, a storied Manhattan building, wants to pay her thousands of dollars to simply occupy a vacant--and luxurious--apartment. Jules soon gets the feeling that all is not as it seems at the Bartholomew, which is, of course, a perfect setup for some psychological suspense, but the problem is that there is little in the way of narrative tension because Jules' situation is so obviously not right from the very beginning. While interviewing for the job, she's asked about her health history. She's informed that she is not allowed to have guests in the apartment. She's warned that she must not interact with or talk to anyone else about the building's wealthy and famous inhabitants. And she learns that she will be paid under the table. While this might not be enough to deter someone who is broke and desperate, it does mean that Jules should be a bit more concerned than she is when the really scary stuff starts happening. It's possible to read this as a parody of the absurdly intrepid horror heroine, but, even as that, it's not a particularly entertaining parody. Jules' best friend makes a reference to American Horror Story, which feels less like a postmodern nod than a reminder that there are other, better examples of the genre that one could be enjoying instead. Lacking in both thrills and chills.

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 20, 2019
Jules Larsen, the 25-year-old heroine of this compulsively readable thriller from bestseller Sager (The Last Time I Lied), has hit rock bottom. Scarred by the deaths of her parents and the disappearance of her sister years before, she has recently lost her administrative assistant job and learned that her boyfriend has been cheating on her. With her finances perilously low, Jules responds to an ad for a house sitter at a Manhattan luxury apartment building, which turns out to be the Bartholomew, the setting for her favorite book, a bestselling novel published in the ’80s about a 20-year-old orphan who lives there. In order to earn $12,000 for living in one of the Bartholomew’s vacant apartments for three months, she must follow strict rules, which include absolutely no visitors and refraining from interacting with the other residents. Jules leaps at the opportunity, only to learn that the property is rumored to be haunted and that her acceptance of the job may be placing her in jeopardy. Fans of Ira Levin, to whom the book is dedicated, will be delighted by Sager’s clever variation on a typical Levin plot. Agent: Michelle Brower, Aevitas Creative Management.

May 1, 2019
The building manager's strange rules should have tipped Jules off that her new apartment-sitting gig was too good to be true: no visitors, no nights away from the apartment, and no speaking to the regular tenants unless spoken to. But, for the incredible pay and three months in NYC's legendary Bartholomew Building, Jules would agree to almost anything. She's between both jobs and apartments, so she isn't overcome with options, but doubt creeps in after she meets Ingrid, another Bartholomew apartment sitter, who confesses that the building scares her. That night, Jules hears a scream coming from Ingrid's apartment and is told the next morning that Ingrid secretly moved out in the night. Jules isn't buying it and searches for Ingrid, digging into the building's historic connection to a murderous cult. Through disoriented future interludes, Jules reveals that she's escaped the Bartholomew. But, escaped from what? Sager's third reinterpretation of iconic horror themes (following The Last Time I Lied, 2018) is an utterly riveting thriller that melds Rosemary's Baby with Sager's masterful storytelling.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

July 17, 2020

For Jules, becoming an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. That is, until other apartment sitters start to go missing. This novel is perfectly paced with a darkly fascinating conclusion. It features a young adult protagonist and is not as violent as many adult thrillers. VERDICT A good place for teens to start exploring the thriller genre.-Elliot Riley, Deerfield Academy, MA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 14, 2019

After experiencing the worst day of her life, Jules Larsen is heartbroken and broke. But life seems on the upswing when she answers an ad for an "apartment sitter" at the illustrious Bartholomew building in Manhattan. Against her best friend's warnings, Jules takes the position. She'll not only earn top dollar to stay in the building that was a centerpiece of her childhood dreams, but also have time to lick her wounds and search for a new job. Yes, there are strange rules: no visitors ever. And yes, it is odd that they need to know her blood type, family health background, etc. But soon Jules meets Ingrid, another Bartholomew apartment sitter, who shares her concerns about the building's ominous past. That night, Jules hears a scream coming from Ingrid's apartment, and the next morning Ingrid has disappeared. Jules's search for Ingrid exposes her to danger, as she unearths more ghastly stories about the building's residents. Sager (Final Girls) delivers a psychological, creepy, and unputdownable thriller. Likable characters, great writing, just enough twists, and a Rosemary's Baby vibe will make this a summer hit. Purchase for Stephen King and Gillian Flynn fans. [See Prepub Alert, 1/23/19.]--Marianne Fitzgerald, Severna Park H.S., MD

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 14, 2019

Sager follows up back-to-back New York Times best sellers with a chiller set at the Bartholomew, a grand apartment building in Manhattan. Apartment sitting there to get some extra cash and relief from heartbreak, Jules befriends fellow sitter Ingrid, who proclaims that the building has a dark history. And then Ingrid disappears.

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.