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Thriller set in Manhattan

29th January 2025

The Doorman by Chris Pavone, thriller set in Manhattan.

Thriller set in Manhattan

Central to this story is the Bohemia, a unit of 94 apartments on the Upper West Side: ‘..luxurious and famous, but also tasteful, and somehow even modest..”  Set on Central Park West it is Art Nouveau, all brass and glass and tourists loiter at the entrance in the hope of seeing someone famous in the lobby.

Chicky is the doorman, who is only one of the regulars employed to look after the needs of the super rich in this apartment block. He has seen life, both personally and through the actions of the individual owners and connections, and now he is old and wise enough to generally go with the flow.

The novel introduces the reader to several residents and the main focus is on Whit and Emily Longhurst, living in 11C-D, an apartment that has had millions spent on it and is truly state of the art. Gradually we discover that Whit is – to all intents and purposes – an arms dealer, a venal and despicable character. He and Emily co-exist and to outsiders their marriage still seems relatively intact. We know, however, that he has distasteful proclivities outside the marriage, with which his wife has to contend. She has sired two children and she looks good on his arm and that suffices for the moment. But, of course, she is incredibly unhappy (though the money until now has soothed her ragged disposition). They travel by private jet, and their runaround in the city is a Maybach, there are innumerable original artworks painted by famous artists adorning the walls of their home. Their wealth is staggering.

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On the streets unrest is growing – two Black people have been shot in different incidents – plus, there are increasingly noisy demonstrations about Longhurst’s company, which makes the city feel increasingly unsafe for the family. As the tensions ratchet up, the story moves through all manner of good twists and turns to a consummately well constructed denouement.

Thriller set in ManhattanThis is the best thriller to date in the author’s oeuvre – he has always chosen a strong sense of place for his novels – and in this book he excels himself at bringing a side of Manhattan to life that probably largely remains hidden from the tourist eye, away from prying eyes, discreetly supervised by diligent door staff.

I learned so many interesting details about the city – the elm trees in Central Park have not succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease because they are protected, encircled as they are by the buildings of the city. If large artworks need to be delivered to rich people, a crane has to be organised to manoeuvre them into  the higher floors of an apartment block. And gunfire, the characters are familiar with the sound, which, to a European such as myself, is a total anathema – I don’t have a clue what a gun firing sounds like in real life. Manhattan is colourful but you need to know how to negotiate your way around.

It is a long while since I have read such a well constructed novel with a superlative sense of place. So, pick it up if you want to spend a couple of days in thrall to the written word and in Manhattan amongst the über rich and the ordinary ‘folk’ of the city!

As Lee Child says: “Sensationally good, wise, wry and perceptive – this era’s great state-of-the-city novel, up there with the very best of Tom Wolfe and Jay McInerney”

Tina for the TripFiction Team

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