Review by Booklist Review
Former trial lawyer Kistler follows up her 2019 debut, House on Fire, with this absolutely spellbinding thriller. Two women enter an elevator. Only one comes out. The other is dead. Was it murder or suicide? For almost the entire length of the novel, we really don't know what to believe: for a while we're thinking suicide, then murder, then back to suicide, then back to murder. It's a brilliant construction: even when supporting characters say things that certainly seem to point to one explanation over the other, we're not sure whether they are saying what we think they are. The novel relies heavily on what the author does not reveal: moments are left open to the reader's interpretation; clues withheld. Kistler is as careful with her main characters as she is with her story; as we get to know the players through flashbacks, it is entirely plausible that one of them is a murderer, but it is equally plausible that the other will take her own life. This is a gutsy novel; one misstep from the author and the whole thing collapses, but there is not a single misstep. An utterly engrossing and thoroughly entertaining story.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
At the start of this exciting psychological thriller from Kistler (House on Fire), Shay Lambert, a lawyer at Claudine de Martineau International, and Lucy Barton-Jones, the company's HR director, get on an elevator in the fashion conglomerate's administrative headquarters in White Plains, N.Y. A power outage stalls the elevator in mid-descent. Shay's frantic calls from a cell phone that's losing power suggest that Lucy is having a panic attack. When the elevator arrives at the lobby, Lucy is dead of a gunshot wound, the gun still in her hands. With only two people stuck in a dark elevator, Lucy's death is either homicide--or suicide, as Shay insists. The police lean toward suicide, until the firm's executives show evidence implicating Shay. The executives fear Lucy left incriminating paperwork about their nefarious business practices; charging Shay gives them the chance to bury the documents. Each detail of Shay's life becomes fodder for suspicion, even the most innocent action. The suspenseful plot careens among various surprising twists toward a satisfying finale as Shay attempts to clear herself and expose the executives. Kistler is a writer to watch. Agent: Jennifer Weltz, JVNLA Literary. (Feb.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Kistler, who did nicely with her recent debut, House on Fire, comes up with an intriguing premise for her next novel. On a late Sunday night, two women--a company lawyer and the human resources director--leave the offices of fashion conglomerate Claudine de Martineau International and board the elevator on the 30th floor. By the time the elevator reaches the lobby, one of them is dead. But which one--and how? With echoes of Megan Goldin's The Escape Room; a 40,000-copy first printing.
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