Somehow, the two books I read this weekend both focus on elevators. And both were creepy AF. Linwood Barclay has a reliably entertaining Promise Falls series, but has taken a slight detour for a standalone thriller entitled Elevator Pitch (thanks to Harper Collins/William Morrow and NetGalley for an advance copy inexchange for this honest review).

The story takes place over a week in Manhattan, starting with what appears to be a horrible accident when an elevator in a high-rise office tower goes non-stop to the top floor, then plummets to the bottom of the shaft (with predictable results).

That was Monday. On Tuesday, the tragedy is repeated in another Manhattan high-rise. By Wednesday, the city is in chaos, and of course terrorism in on people’s minds. When every elevator in the city is shut down, the results affect everyone in the city.  

At the same time, a murder victim is found with fingertips removed, and two experienced detectives and a female journalist are in a frenzied race to figure out what is going on.  At the end of the week, the newest and tallest skyscraper in the city is scheduled for a huge party celebrating its opening, and all the various subplots and characters move toward the finale.

Stuff that actually COULD happen is the scariest, in many ways, and Barclay has done his usual good job of developing characters, moving the plot along, and throwing in a surprise or two – or maybe it’s just me, I have never been good at seeing plot results in advance. 

It seems like it may have been written with an eye toward being turned into a movie, and if done right, it will be a good one. Four stars.