“I only hope she knows what she’s doing. Climbing so high, so quickly: it only makes for further to fall.”
Lucy Foley’s The Paris Apartment was one of the most popular books from 2022, with the British author once again proving why she is amongst the best in the business when it comes to thrillers.
Set in a gorgeous apartment complex in the heart of France’s capital, The Paris Apartment follows a woman attempting to uncover the truth behind her brother’s disappearance. Throughout the book, she meets all of the fellow residents in the building, all of whom know more than they are letting and all of whom house secrets they don’t want to share.
For anyone who loved The Paris Apartment, here are What We Reading’s 8 great books just like it!
An Unwanted Guest – Shari Lapena
New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door, An Unwanted Guest is the acclaimed 2018 mystery-thriller from Shari Lapena. The book is set in a remote and romantic inn, the dream spot for a romantic weekend getaway.
However, when a snowstorm ravages the area the guests staying there are forced to bunker down and wait for the weather to turn. Sadly for them, an unseen figure is out in the cold stalking the grounds and picking off each of them, one by one.
An Unwanted Guest wonderfully captures the claustrophobic feel of The Paris Apartment, though its isolated wintry setting gives it an identity of its own.
The House Across The Lake – Riley Sager
Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress retreats to her family’s mansion in rural Vermont to escape a slew of bad press. There, armed with a pair of binoculars, she begins to observe the glamorous couple across the lake from her house: technology innovator Tom, and his wife former model Katherine.
However, after Katherine goes missing one day, Casey is drawn into a potentially deadly game of untangling how the realities behind this model couple are anything but idyllic.
Aside from the cast of suave, sexy and successful characters, The House Across the Lake is the perfect book for anyone looking for another book that captures the layers of revelations and twisted psychological twists that come with The Paris Apartment.
The Better Sister – Alafair Burke
One of the best psychological thrillers from 2019, The Better Sister is a dark noir tale from bestselling author Alafair Burke.
The book follows two sisters: Chloe and Nicky. After growing up in very different circumstances, the two sisters are practically estranged when Nicky’s husband Adam is found murdered. Chloe allows her sister to move back in with her but, when the police begin to treat Nicky’s son as a potential suspect, they are forced to work together to confront the ghosts of their family’s dark past.
A suspenseful ride looking at the hidden secrets and motivations behind a family, The Better Sister will undoubtedly conjure up similar feels to the Lucy Foley work.
Shiver – Allie Reynolds
Allie Reynolds’ Shiver follows a group of professional snowboarders who travel to the French Alps for a summer of high-pressured events and competitions. The nature of the athletes leads to a hyper-competitive environment where each of them attempts to outdo the other, with potentially deadly consequences.
Ten years on, the party are mysteriously brought back together. Back at the same lodge, the group are forced into a series of games that will force them all to relive the past and confess the darkest secrets they’ve been keeping hold of.
Another strong female-led thriller, Shiver jumps between times in a similar way to what has become a staple in the Lucy Foley library.
Check out our Shiver book review!
The French Girl – Lexie Elliot
Six Oxford university students travel to a French farm for an idyllic week away, however, things take a turn for the sinister when they meet Severine, the girl next door.
A decade on from their encounter with her, Severine’s body turns up in the well behind the farmhouse. The group are all put in the interrogation room, but protagonist Kate is the one the police really seem to be narrowing towards. In order to move on from her past and prove her innocence, Kate will have to revisit the French girl that has continued to haunt her.
Aside from both being set in Europe’s second-largest country, both The French Girl and The Paris Apartment are masterpieces in heightening paranoia and unravelling the mysteries behind group-wide suspicions.
Lock Every Door – Riley Sager
Nominated for the best Best Mystery & Thriller in the 2019 Goodreads Choice Awards, Riley Sager’s Lock Every Door follows broke apartment sitter Jules Larsen and her stay in the high-brow extravagant Manhatten complex, the Bartholemew.
There she meets a fellow sitter named Ingrid, and the two strike up a strong friendship. However, after telling Jules that all is not as it seems in the building, Ingrid disappears. This thrilling mystery sees Jules unearthing the dark secrets of Bartholemew’s past in a deadly race against time to unmask a killer stalking its hallways.
A mystery-thriller set in a luxurious apartment complex housing sinister secrets and characters, it’s clear to see why so many consider one of the best books like The Paris Apartment.
The Wife Between Us – Greer Hendricks And Sarah Pekkanen
Another book like The Paris Apartment that delves into the secrets and psychological manipulation behind a seemingly idyllic household, The Wife Between Us is a 2018 psychological thriller by Greer Hendricks And Sarah Pekkanen.
Readers follow the messy love triange involving the enigmatic and successful Richard, his new fiance, Nellie, and his ex-wife, Vanessa. As Richard and Nellie attempt to forge their new life together, Vanessa becomes increasingly obsessed with their relationship. Complex, multi-layered and full of red herrings and unreliable narrators, The Wife Between Us makes for a seriously compelling domestic noir.
Check Out The Best Books Like The Wife Between Us
The Lost Village – Camilla Sten
The Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar in Camilla Sten’s disturbing 2019 thriller book The Lost Village.
Amateur filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with an old mining town known as ‘The Lost Village’ and its long history of disappearances. Obsessed with how her grandmother’s entire family also disappeared from the face of the Earth in 1959, Alice assembles a small film crew and attempts to film what happened in this creepy setting.
One of the best books like The Paris Apartment for any readers looking for more of a chilling edge to it, The Lost Village is a horror mystery not to be missed.
Check out our book review of The Paris Apartment!
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
