Lock Every Door: A Novel

Content Warning: The source text references multiple deaths by suicide and deals with the psychological effects of trauma, loss, and grief. It also uses stigmatizing and potentially offensive language to refer to people experiencing mental illness.

“I’m Jules Larsen, the product of a Pennsylvania coal town with less than five hundred dollars in my checking account. But the ad didn’t mention an address. It simply announced the need for an apartment sitter and provided a phone number to call if interested. I was. I did.”

Jules feels like an outsider and interloper as soon as she enters the Bartholomew for her interview and tour. Her internal response to the opulent setting offers an organic opportunity for her to introduce herself on the page. The passage also establishes the economic disparities between apartment sitters and permanent residents while introducing the novel’s exploration of the Wealthy–Vulnerable Power Dynamics.

“‘Tell me about your family. Any next of kin?’ This one’s harder to answer, mainly because it’s worse than losing a job or being cheated on. Whatever I say could open the floodgates to more questions with even sadder responses. Especially if I hint at what happened. And when. And why.”

Jules’s fraught familial past dictates her isolation and loneliness in the narrative present. Losing her job and boyfriend in quick succession compounded her tenuousness in life. She has no one other than Chloe to depend upon for support and thus exists in a state of social alienation. Further, her lack of community augments her vulnerability and makes her susceptible to Nick and the Bartholomew’s exploitative schemes.

“Alone now, I turn to 12A and take a deep, steadying breath. This—right now—is my life. Here. On the top floor of the Bartholomew. Holy shit. Even more astounding is that I’m getting paid to be here. One thousand dollars every week. Money I can use to erase debt and save for a future that’s suddenly far brighter than it was a day ago. A future that’s just on the other side of that door. I unlock it and step inside.”

Jules’s desperation to see her Bartholomew job as a new start stops her from noticing the dangers of the situation. Her vibrant, excited tone captures her eagerness to stay positive and thus to find hope and renewal in her good fortune. Her positivity fogs her judgment and complicates her