Jules is in dire straits. Let go from work and discovering her boyfriend in bed with another woman on the same day, she has a couple of dollars to her name when she stumbles across a job for the most perfect job imaginable. Apartment sitting in one of the most well-known buildings in New York, the Bartholomew.

If successful, not only will Jules be living in one of the most exclusive addresses in Central Park West, she’ll be paid the huge sum of $12,000 dollars for the privilege. Initially she thinks it must be a mistake, there’s no way she is that lucky; but when she seems to ace the interview, which mostly consists of questions about her home life and circumstances, despite her misgivings, Jules jumps at the chance – she can’t afford not to. Added to her excitement is the fact that the Bartholomew is the setting for Jules’ favourite childhood book ‘Heart of a Dreamer’, which her sister Jane read to her when they were both small, before Jane went missing, never to be seen again. Add in the tragic death of Jules parents in an accident, and you start to see why Jules has finally run out of options.

Upon moving in, she is given a long list of things she must and must not do. She must be resident in the apartment every night, so no sleepovers. She must not have friends or family over to visit, at all. The list goes on, and although Jules is slightly disconcerted, she’s still riding the wave of her good luck, and pushes all of those wobbly feelings down, and applies herself to getting on with the job of earning $12,000 in 3 months for basically doing nothing except babysitting a luxury apartment.

But as we all know, if something seems too good to be true, then it very probably is…and certainly that is the case this time. Riley Sager has created a great read with ‘Lock Every Door’, a sassy, smart heroine in Jules, and a slightly worn plot line with a couple of red herrings along the way to throw you off the scent. Although the theme of the main plot has been covered in a couple of other novels, Riley’s writing is sublime and carries you through the book, desperate to get into the next chapter as soon as one finishes. I was hooked, hence the 5 stars

Thank you to the Pigeonhole book club, and Riley Sager for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this great book in return for an honest review.