Jess hopes she can count on her half-brother Ben for a helping hand.
After their mother died when they were children in England, Ben was adopted by a rich family while Jess grew up in foster care. Ben had a privileged life, graduated from Cambridge, traveled, became a journalist, and now lives in Paris.
Conversely, Jess grew up in straightened circumstances and ended up bartending in clubs.
Jess has been working at the Copacabana bar in Brighton for a while, trying to avoid the hands of her lecherous boss. When the creep finally crosses the line, Jess robs the till, heads for Paris, and gets the okay to bunk with Ben for a month or two.
Ben texts directions to his building and says to ring the buzzer....he'll be waiting up. But when Jess gets to the gate and rings, then calls and texts Ben, there's no answer.
As a shivering Jess waits and looks around, she takes in the cobblestoned cul-de-sac in what appears to be a seriously posh neighborhood. And the apartment building, Bienvenue au 12 Rue des Amants, is beautiful! Set back from the road behind a gate with a high wall on either side, concealing what must be a garden or courtyard. Five or six stories high, huge windows, all with wrought-iron balconies, and a roof garden on the top.
Jess keeps buzzing and buzzing, with no response, and no help from people going inside. Jess is a resourceful gal though, and she manages to open the gate, go up to Ben's third floor apartment, and jimmy the lock. Ben isn't there, but his keys and wallet are in the residence, and Jess just knows something is wrong. So Jess walks around to ask the tenants about Ben, and meets the Bienvenue residents.
From the top floor down, the tenants are:
⦿ Fifth Floor Penthouse: Sophie Meunier - An elegant fiftyish woman who lives with her husband Jacques and her silver whippet Benoit. Jacques is a wealthy wine merchant and Sophie spends her time on her appearance; walking Benoit; shopping, etc.
⦿ Fourth Floor: Mimi and Camille - Two young female roommates. Mimi is a reserved college student.....
......while Camille is a lively party girl.
⦿ Third Floor: Ben's apartment, where he lives with his cat.
⦿ Second Floor: Nick Miller - Ben's old school friend from Cambridge. After graduation, Nick and Ben traveled across Europe, then Nick became a venture capitalist and Ben became an investigative journalist. When Ben showed up in Paris, Nick suggested he rent the 3rd floor apartment in the Bienvenue building.
⦿ First Floor: Antoine and Dominque - a dysfunctional couple in the midst of divorcing. Antoine is a loudmouth drunk and Dominque is moving out.
There's also a concierge, an older woman who resides in a hut by the gate and takes care of the building.
No one seems able to give Jess information about Ben's whereabouts, and the Paris police - who are busy quelling demonstrations all over the city - have the attitude 'people can disappear if they want to.'
So Jess takes steps to find her brother on her own. In the process, Jess finds hidden passages in the Bienvenue building; discovers almost all the tenants have secrets; and meets Theo Mendelson, editor of 'The Guardian', to whom Ben was planning to pitch an article.
The story is told from the rotating points of view of Jess and several tenants, and moves along at a good clip.
I was engaged with the mystery from the get-go, though I found most of the characters unlikable. Jess is one of those people who, if she's in your home, will ask to use the bathroom, then snoop through the cabinets and maybe steal a lipstick;
Sophie lives on salads, thinks about her looks 24/7, and - except for giving orders - won't speak to 'the help'.
Antoine is a hard-drinking, foul-mouthed bully; and so on.
The climax of the story, where all is revealed, is exciting and surprising. 😗
If you like locked-room type thrillers set in Paris, this is the book for you.
Rating: 3.5 stars
