classics

Blurb:

No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen’s new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan’s most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.

As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly, disturbingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story . . . until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.

Searching for the truth about Ingrid’s disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew’s dark past and into the secrets kept within its walls. Her discovery that Ingrid is not the first apartment sitter to go missing at the Bartholomew pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building’s hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent.

Review:

Riley Sager does it again. I am not a bit thriller lover, but I have loved everything that Riley Sager has written thus far. What I enjoyed about this story is that it is not the horror story that you think. Riley draws you into the story and plants all these clues to make you believe that you have figured out what is going on and then BAM there is a twist. The plot development was concise and flowing. The storyline was intriguing. This story reminded me of a movie I watched about a haunted floor of a building, but I can’t recall the name of it at this time.

I have to admit that in the beginning, thought that Jules was going to be the typical unreliable narrator. She quickly proved me wrong. She did what she thought she needed to do to solve the mystery. She realized that if something is too good to be true than it usually is.

The history of the Bartholomew kept my attention. I wanted to look up more info as if it was a true story. That never happens when I read a thriller. I didn’t have to suspend my mind too much to believe this story.

This book will be a great last-minute summer vacation read or a nice quick thrilling read while everyone gets ready to get back into the routine for school.

Rating:

4 stars

Availability:

Available now in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook

A special thank you to Dutton Books for my review copy.

What makes a book a classic? This is something that has been on my mind for the past two days.Current and well known classics include novels by Charles Dickens, Janes Austen, Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, Harper Lee, George Orwell, and many others. These are novels that everyone has encountered whether they love to read for enjoyment or they were forced to read them in school for assignments. Considering how many novels are published each year, in print and some just online, will the qualifications that made the original classics classic be the same with some of today’s writings?

I honestly cannot say that I know right now at the top of my head any books that I would love to add to that list. I’m not saying that I haven’t read any breath taking, heart stopping, and life changing stories over the last several years. I’m just saying that if the same criteria is used to decide if a book is a classic, I don’t have any to add at the current moment. Of course that could change considering the amount of literature and novels that are put out each year. If the criteria is flexible in adding a book to the classics section of the bookstore or adding it to that tedious list handed out in almost every literature class, then there might be a few novels I would add to that list.

Something else that is newer is the amount of awards that a book can be considered for nomination and even winning. There are so many lists and awards (that continually add to my TBR list, lol) out here that it would be difficult to narrow those choices down to novels to add to the classics. Also, just like in centuries before there are books that have been for overlooked for awards and nominations due to the lack of popularity or prestige according to the people who judge these awards. Will these book be overlooked even if they have the said “criteria” of a classic?

Social media has taken the book community by storm, in my humble opinion. There are bloggers, bookstagramers, tweeters and probably more outlets that I am missing out on. Will this also have an effect on determining if a novel is a classic?

At the end of the day, I think sticking to the original criteria of judging if a book is a classic will work, but there will have to be some added factors.

What do you guys think? Happy reading folks, whether you’re reading “classic” material or not.

Tag: classics

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