The Paris Apartment

British author Lucy Foley's novel The Paris Apartment was published in 2022 and became an instant New York Times Bestseller. Foley’s popular mystery-thrillers, which also include The Guest List and The Hunting Party, use classic mystery-thriller tropes and are infused with social commentary about class strata and the human propensity for self-deception. The Paris Apartment explores how humanity’s loyalty and inherent survival instincts can be exploited for wealth and security. This guide refers to the 2022 William Morrow Kindle edition.

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

Plot Summary

The novel consists of many short chapters, each titled after the character whose point of view directs that chapter. The narrative perspective is therefore continually shifting, and many chapters end on cliffhangers that remain unresolved until several chapters later.

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. 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.