The Paris Apartment

“I don’t know how it has come to this. But I do know that it started with him coming here. Moving into the third floor. Benjamin Daniels. He destroyed everything.”

Sophie is the first secondary character who accuses Ben of destroying something within the building’s community. The other secondary characters, even the ones who liked Ben, also blame him for disrupting some sort of equilibrium. These accusations help develop the narrative tension and imply that Ben is being punished or has been disappeared in order for a secret to be kept hidden. The accusations also call Ben’s motivations into question. Lastly, these accusations reveal that the secondary characters each know a piece of the puzzle of Foley’s mystery, closing Jess in among people who know something but don’t want to reveal anything.

“I’ve never let a closed door stay closed for long: I suppose you could say that’s my main problem in life.”

Jess is inherently curious, sometimes to a fault. This characterization positions her in the ideal role of protagonist and narrator. Because Jess is brave and confident in crossing boundaries, Foley implies that Jess is the right person to solve the mystery of what has happened to Ben. However, this characterization also places Jess in danger, foreshadowing conflict.

“Yes—the door begins to open. I pause. Something about this doesn’t feel right. I’ve had to rely on my instincts quite a lot over the years. And I’ve also been here before. Hand clasped around the door handle. Not knowing what I’m going to find on the other side—”

This quote demonstrates Jess’s inquisitiveness and her courage. It also characterizes her as reliant on her instincts, foreshadows conflict, and highlights a connection between Jess and her brother Ben, a journalist who also relies on instincts. Foley’s diction enhances the mystery and suspense: The dashes and incomplete sentences are used to keep the reader on their toes and engage them in the plot.

“I am good at watching. I sweep the residents’ hallways, I collect their post, I answer the door. But also, I watch. I see everything. And it gives me a strange kind of power, even if I’m the only one who’s aware of it. The residents forget about me. It’s convenient for them to do so. To imagine that I’m nothing more than an extension of this building, just a moving element of a large machine […].”

This quote introduces the concierge as a person of interest in Ben’s disappearance because she is sharp-eyed and knows everything about everyone. Her power lies in her anonymity; despite her active presence, the residents easily ignore her, giving the concierge the opportunity to watch, judge, and act without being watched herself. Additionally, if the concierge is an extension of the building, then her presence both symbolizes the building’s antagonism and connects the building to the inner workings of its residents. The building is a “large machine,” implying that certain mechanisms and norms keep the building running as it should be, with every resident working as a cog that abhors interruption.

“She gives off this jittery, restless energy: nothing like Ben’s languor, his easy manner. Her voice is different too; no private school for her, I’m guessing. But then Ben’s accent often changed depending on who he was speaking to. It took me a while to realize that.”

Nick’s different characterizations of Jess and Ben contribute to their character developments. Ben is languorous and easy while Jess is jittery and restless, highlighting the sibling’s differences. That Nick can tell by Jess’s voice that she didn’t grow up wealthy emphasizes Foley’s commentary on the intricacies of socioeconomic status. Furthermore, Ben could change his accent depending on whom he was talking to, exposing him as a chameleon and manipulator.

“‘It was used by the Gestapo in the war,’ I tell her. ‘Their main headquarters was on Avenue Foch, near the Bois de Boulogne. But toward the end of the Occupation they had […] overspill. They used the cave to hold prisoners. Members of the Resistance, that kind of thing.’”

When Jess learns the cellar was once a Nazi prison, the parallel symbolizes the building’s history of malice and danger. This symbol of the cellar as a prison implies lurking secrets and hidden agendas, heightening the tension and drama of the mystery.

“The rest of us in our little bubble, hardly remembering—some of us wanting to forget—that there was a world outside it. It wouldn’t have occurred to us to leave. But off he’d go, on his own, like he wasn’t crossing some sort of invisible barrier. That hunger, that drive in him.”

A difference between Ben and the other residents makes him a threat to their lifestyle. The wealthy Meuniers maintain a bubble that they find impossible to break. They desire ignorance of the real world and don’t want to be troubled by what goes on the outside. Ben, on the other hand, is curious, adventurous, and eager to be a part of many different layers of human society. This core difference destabilizes the norms of the building, but the residents’ biggest problem with Ben is that he makes them confront the worst things about themselves that they would rather ignore.

“It feels like the further I move away from the apartment the easier I can breathe. It’s like a part of me has smelled freedom and never wants to go back inside that place, even though I know I have to.”

This quote characterizes the Parisian apartment building as toxic and oppressive. Jess’s feelings confirm that her instincts are right in warning her away from the building and its people. Despite this, Jess knows she will return to the apartment, highlighting her courage and her commitment to her brother.

“With a stubby old eyeliner I try to draw a black spiderweb on my cheek so Camille won’t say I’ve made no effort but my hands are shaking so much I can’t hold the pencil steady. So I smudge it under my eyes instead, down my cheeks, like I’ve been crying black tears, rivers of soot. When I next look in the mirror I take a step back. It’s kind of spooky: now I look how I feel on the inside.”

Halloween is all about playful disguises, but Mimi’s costume reveals that she is hiding in plain sight. Her costume of sooty and spooky tears is the first time she puts her true emotions on display. Her inner turmoil is made worse by her father’s controlling demeanor, and she feels intimidated by Camille’s sexual confidence. Mimi is suffering and unable to clearly communicate a cry for help.

“You know, I read somewhere that sixty percent of us can’t go more than ten minutes without lying. Little slippages: to make ourselves sound better, more attractive, to others. White lies to avoid causing offense. So it’s not like I’ve done anything out of the ordinary. It’s only human. But, really, the important thing to stress is I haven’t actually lied to her. Not outright. I just haven’t told her the whole truth.”

Nick can’t help but be drawn to Jess. Through her eyes, he can see a different and better version of himself, one that is distanced from his family and the secrets that connect them. While he is self-aware, he also rationalizes his lies by dismissing them as human habit. He tells himself that he hasn’t directly lied to Jess, but this downplays Jess’s desperation for allies in finding her brother. This quote both humanizes Nick and suggests that he can still be that ally, but Nick is dishonest; he could fulfill his desire to be a better person by being honest with Jess and betraying his family.

“He always went out on that Vespa. I wanted to know about his life, I wanted to follow him into the city, see where he went, what he did, who he met with, but it was impossible because he used that bike to go everywhere. So one day I went down into the cave and I stabbed a small hole into the front wheel with the very sharp blade of my canvas-cutting knife. That was better. He wouldn’t be able to use it for a few days. I only did it because I loved him.”

Like her brother Nick, Mimi avoids confronting the full truth of her attraction to Ben, who is depicted as a victim of her obsession. While she is self-aware enough to recognize that her actions are strange, she excuses her actions by falling back on her love for Ben, telling herself that by hurting Ben she is actually expressing her love. These cognitive distortions reveal that Mimi has been so repressed by her father that she doesn’t know how to express love or pursue a romance.

“Now I saw that he wasn’t handsome, not in the traditional sense. His features were uneven. His confidence, charisma: that was what made him attractive.”

Ben is attractive because of his confidence. This contrasts with the Meunier family, in which each member is plagued by their insecurities. Ben’s character is complex: While his charisma serves his selfish manipulative tactics, his magnetism and liveliness also represent what is possible when people embrace the world and engage reality.

“Not: Would you like to join us, son? Care for a glass? In all the time I have lived under his roof my father has never suggested the two of us do anything like their cozy little wine tasting. It was salt in the wound. The first proper betrayal. I’d told Ben what sort of man my father really is. Had he forgotten?”

Nick’s resentment toward Ben is tied to Nick’s difficult relationship with his father. Ben knows one of Nick’s deepest secrets—the “gift” he received from his father at age 16, which traumatized Nick, complicated his relationship with sexuality, and eroded his sense of safety. Now, as Ben and Jacques become friends and share in experiences Nick never had with his own father, Ben becomes Nick’s rival. However, Jacques is also Nick’s rival because Ben pays more attention to Jacques than he does to Nick, who is his old friend and who helped get Ben settled into a luxurious apartment while in Paris. This quote reveals that Nick feels betrayed by Ben. It also emphasizes the question of Ben’s intentions.

“When Jess spoke about Antoine last night I saw him through a stranger’s eyes. I was ashamed of him. She’s right. He is a mess. But I hated her saying it. Because he’s also my brother. We can do our family members down as much as we like. But the second an outsider insults them our blood seethes. At the end of the day I don’t like him—but I love him. And I see my own failures in him. For Antoine it’s the booze, for me it’s the pills, the self-punishing exercise. I might be a little more in control of my addictions. I might be less of a mess—in public anyway. But is that really something to boast about?”

This quote reveals Foley’s message about the destructive but loyal connection that can exist within families. Nick is self-aware enough to see that his family is dysfunctional, a unit that he both relies on and is ashamed of. Despite Antoine’s poor behavior, however, Nick is protective over him because the brothers have been through difficult experiences together and have bonded in intimate ways. Nick can be compassionate because he knows what Antoine has been through.

“It was—is—so fierce, that feeling. Even though she didn’t come out of my body, I knew as soon as I saw her that I would do anything to protect her, to keep her safe. Other mothers might say that sort of thing casually. But perhaps it is clear by now that I don’t do or say anything casually. When I say something like that, I mean it.”

For many chapters, Sophie appears hardened, as though a tough exterior parallels a cold interior. However, Foley reveals a new layer to Sophie’s characterization. Her hardness is designed to keep her loved ones safe. Her love for Mimi surpasses biology and reveals that Sophie is capable of great depth of feeling. This quote also creates a foreboding tone; Sophie will do anything to keep Mimi safe, implying that even if Mimi is in the wrong, Sophie will stop at nothing (and hurt anyone else) to protect her.

“If I’d watched myself, I might have said I looked like someone in the grip of an amour fou: an obsessive, mad love. But an amour fou is usually unrequited. And I knew that he felt the same way: that was the important thing. I just wanted to become a part of it, this world, his world. I’d had thousands of conversations with him in my head. I’d told him about my brothers. How horrible Antoine has always been to me. How Nick is really just a big loser who lives off Papa’s money and I honestly didn’t get why Ben was friends with him. How the second I graduated, I’d be out of here. Off to travel the world. We could go together.”

Mimi’s character is layered. In previous chapters, she appears odd, almost violently so. Here, she acknowledges that her passion can be interpreted as “mad love,” but she leans into it because it’s her only hope. She knows how unhappy her family is: She has a fractured relationship with her brothers and her father, and she wants Ben to rescue her because he represents a different life that is almost within her reach. Mimi is therefore motivated not only by lust or love, but by misplaced and unnurtured ambition.

“I told Benjamin Daniels about Sofiya Volkova. That was my most reckless act. More than anything else I did with him. We had showered together that afternoon. He had washed my hair for me. Perhaps it was this simple act—far more intimate than the sex, in its way—that released something in me. That encouraged me to tell him about the woman I thought I had left behind in a locked room beneath one of the city’s better-heeled streets.”

Like Mimi, Sophie projects her desires and ambitions onto Ben. She confesses her most treasured secret to him because he triggers an openness in her that is unfamiliar after years of hiding her true feelings. The intimacy of his kindness softens Sophie’s stoicism, returning her to a time in her life when there was still hope for happiness in her future.

“I knew all too well what Mimi had felt, reading about it on Ben’s computer. Learning about the roots of our wealth, our identity. Discovering it was sullied money that had paid for everything. It’s like a disease, a cancer, spreading outward and making all of us sick.”

This quote reveals the depths of shame that the Meuniers face, both individually and as a family. Their wealth and family prestige are the fruit of lies, which stews resentment and guilt within the family. Mimi struggles with her emotional well-being; Antoine has developed an alcohol addiction; and Nick has his own substance use disorder with oxycodone, though the extent of that is unclear. While the Meunier children have endured their father’s deception, they are unwilling to give up their lifestyle or turn Jacques in to the police.

“You know how when you’re a kid you can’t sleep because you’re afraid of the monsters under the bed? What happens if you start to suspect that the monster might be you? Where do you hide?”

Mimi feels monstrous. She lashes out at others and herself because she struggles with her identity and questions her goodness. Her guilt is a huge burden, and the lack of support and empathy in her family, as well as the question of her biological relation to them, confuses and unmoors her.

“You see, I know it for a fact. I had plenty of time to take it all in: the unspeakable horror of that lifeless shape in its makeshift shroud. The undeniable fact of it. Of the blood, too, spilled across the floorboards and soaked into the towels: far more blood than anyone could lose and live. But it’s more than that. Three nights ago, Antoine and I carried his body down the stairs and dug a shallow trench and buried him in the courtyard garden.”

Plot twists are an important technique in developing and maintaining the novel’s tension and mystery, and the use of several narrative points-of-view keeps the reader guessing about the truth. This quote is a prime example of the plot twist. Just when Foley reveals the truth, she inserts another mystery. The fast-paced plot development disorients the reader, who is always trying to keep up with the story as it evolves. This combination of disorientation and suspense is a typical and sought-after element in mystery novels.

“The door to Ben’s apartment was open and Papa was standing over him and I just had to make him stop—I had to make him stop and at the same time maybe there was a little voice inside me saying: he’s not really your papa, this man. And he’s not a good man. He’s done some terrible things. And now he’s about to become a killer too.”

Jacques’s antagonism highlights his death as a necessary sacrifice. While every member of the Meunier family has their flaws, they each have a backstory that lends their character pathos. Because of their controlling father, they all struggle to be happy. Jacques is the only character who has no redeeming qualities, a fact that Mimi understands when she listens to her instincts.

“But at the same time I felt a frisson of perverse pleasure, too. At bursting the Benjamin Daniels bubble. At showing Papa that his famous judgment wasn’t always as sound as he thought, tarnishing the golden boy he had briefly seemed to hold closer than his own sons. I had betrayed Ben, yes, but in a much smaller way than he had betrayed me and my family’s hospitality. He had it coming.”

Foley demonstrates how people can betray one another and themselves, creating a cautionary tale for anyone who uses others for their own gain. Ben uses Nick to get a story and ends up deeply hurting the family to the point of an attempted murder, but Nick also uses Ben to win points with Jacques, securing Ben’s attack. In giving up Ben’s story to Jacques, Nick also betrays his own sense of honor and integrity. His actions are unwise but, in his mind, justified.

“I think of the gratitude that I’d felt to Jacques in the beginning, for ‘rescuing’ me from my previous life. I didn’t realize at the time how cheaply I had been bought. I didn’t free myself when I married my husband, as I’d thought. I didn’t elevate myself. I did the exact opposite. I married my pimp: I chained myself to him for life. Perhaps my daughter did the very thing I hadn’t had the courage to do.”

The novel suggests that survival is a major motivation for the hurt people inflict on themselves or others, as Sophie married her husband because she saw the marriage as her way out. The novel also portrays extreme wealth as its own trap, especially when the source of that wealth is oppressive. There is poetic justice in Mimi’s murder of Jacques, because he is responsible for her biological mother’s death in the first place. Though Mimi is written as a pitiable character, she is also a hero and a liberator.