Customer Reviews

Who Gets the Apartment? (Tales from the Back Page)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I heard about this book through a mystery lover's discussion group. I loved it! Four people in NYC (a book editor, a district attorney, an artist, and a computer guy) are desperate for a decent apartment. They answer an ad in a newspaper that is similar to the Village Voice, listing a Central Park penthouse for $600/month. (If anyone reading this lives in the NYC area, you know how impossible that is....) A swindler (who it turns out has a grudge against the apartment's owner) rents the apartment to the four of them then flees town with their money. On move-in day, as each of them shows up with their furniture, they realize they've been taken for a ride. Now that they're penniless (which, again, I can relate to, as paying the security deposit on an apartment basically bankrupts you for months), they have to figure out which one of them actually gets the apartment.

And that's where the fun begins. This is basically two books in one. In the first part, we get four alternate endings and have to figure out which one really happened. My favorites of those two were the "contest" (where things get really back-biting and nasty) and the "united we stand" part, where the apartment dwellers realize they're better off banding together than plunging knives into each others' backs. In the second part, we get a sort of sequel where the four friends (now two couples, as romance has blossomed) are enlisted to help a friend who's been the victim of corporate America. And who doesn't have a friend in THAT situation these days?

I also loved all the insider scoop on the publishing industry. Who knew that publishing houses have terrible managers, just like the rest of us? I can't help but think the author is parodying the industry a little while at the same time really respecting it.

I couldn't put this book down. The cover says "A novel of suspense," and that's exactly what it is. You keep saying, "one more chapter," and before you know it, it's 2 a.m. and you're still reading. Rigolosi has a really light touch as a writer -- likable characters (well, for most of the book anyway--to say more would be a spoiler), wry sense of humor, and a sense of poetic justice. Based on what it says in the book, this is the first book in a new series, and I have to say I'm looking forward to the next ones.

...unless you have the time to read it all at once! I started it on a Friday night when I had nothing to do, and didn't go to bed until 6 a.m. on Saturday morning when I turned the last page. This book was so entertaining and fun, and by the time it was over I felt like the characters were old friends. I loved Corinne and Oliver but woof! the chemistry between Venice and Ian was even more terrific. I guess opposites do attract, the tough NYC prosecutor (Venice) and the sensitive artist (Ian). Who Gets the Apartment? is like ice cream, you just want to eat the whole half gallon before you'll be satisfied. You just can't put it down, and you don't want to! I recommend it highly to everyone. (P.S. It was nice to have good old-fashioned romance and no sex. Very sweet in a way.) I liked the way the book had that tough NY edge to it, but underneath there is a gentle idealism that made me cry on the last page.

Sometimes you just need a little comfort food, and this book is it - a fictional world that resembles our own, but one in which good triumphs, people fall in love, bad people get their just desserts, and the last page of the book makes you sigh with contentment and makes you sorry that you don't have more friends like the main characters. This author has an ingenious imagination and doesn't really play by the rules of the traditional mystery - this is a book without murder, violence, or depravity, which perhaps make it unrealistic but no less charming.

What a find this little gem was! I heard about it a mystery conference I recently attended, and the title intrigued me. It turned out to be one of the most engaging, fast, twisty books of the year so far. The "reality TV" part is a neat little twist, but it's the "Gang of Four" parts, with the four friends working together to take down the bad guys, that you'll remember. Nice people don't always finish last, seems to be the message of this book - and I thoroughly enjoyed it from the first page to the last. On a very positive note, the author's humor is light and somewhat dry, which I find appealing after reading way too many ham-fisted, supposedly "funny," mysteries. Highly recommended as high-quality escapism that doesn't insult your intelligence.

A cheap apartment in New York - a concept that makes the story seem like fantasy. "Who Gets The Apartment: A Novel of Suspense" tells of Corinne - someone who sees that fantasy, and believes it too good to be true, and of course - it is. The apartment has been rented out to three others as well - leaving the answer to the book's title: "Who Gets the Apartment?" Corinne is faced with both plots to strike back at the landlord who induced the conflict, while dealing with her fellow tenants who have no qualms about tossing morality to the wind for a lower monthly rent. "Who Gets the Apartment: A Novel of Suspense" is highly recommended for suspense fans and community library collections catering to them.

This book cost me my wife for two days, so when she finished it I had to see why I was forced to entertain myself while she shooed me away.

The description on Amazon here does a good job of describing the book's basic plot, so I won't repeat that here. What I *will* say, though, is this writer has an amazing gift for keeping your turning the pages. I jokingly referred to the book as "Who Gets the Pistachios?" because my wife had a bowl of pistachios next to her reading chair, and the faster the plot moved, the more pistachios she ate, with the result that a 2-lb. bag of pistachios was gone in the space of one day.

What we both liked about the book was its deceptive simplicity. On the surface, you are reading a truly fun, interesting, innovative narrative, where the author's deft touch and light sense of humor keep you hooked. But when you turn the last page you stop and pause to think about the various types of human interaction, and how the outcome of any given situation depends on the people involved. You can choose to be giving and selfless; or you can choose to be selfish and deceptive - and in this book (perhaps in reality, too) everyone is better off when people choose the path of kindness. This is a message we like to share with our kids - and I would definitely have recommended the book to my precocious 15-year-old, except that there are one or two sexual references.

We recommend this book highly. It's a delight from start to finish. (The only reason we aren't giving it 5 stars is that we reserve that rating for literary masterpieces. Who Gets the Apartment is a masterpiece of suspense, but hey - it ain't Tolstoy.)

I enjoyed this book greatly, and found the four main characters both funny and likable. It was a compelling read with seemingly endless twists and turns, and was hard to put down. But - one of the villains is obese and the author, who had seemed to be smart and sensitive throughout, repeatedly describes her size in extremely negative terms (apparently to make her seem as unlikable as possible). The fat-bashing wasn't necessary, as she was clearly the personification of a bad person without that piece, and it took away from what had been a pure delight until that point. Nevertheless, I look forward to more from Mr. Rigolosi.

I am moving to nyc in a few months & this seemed like a good book to let me know what to expect. Everyone tells stories of the apartment hunt and how awful it is, so I'm not sure that this book is totally exaggerated! I liked reading about the characters and how they are all trying to be successful while keeping a roof over their heads. I also understand why they all feel like they have to live in manhattan instead of going somewhere else where its cheaper. The book was a really fast read and I liked how the author plays with your head a little bit before telling you what really happened.

This fast paced multi-plotted book about the horrors of finding your ideal N.Y.C apartment and realizing you've got some new (very strange) roommates is a real page turner. Its got a great cast of characters, its full of creative cliffhanging twists, and--with its many different scenarios-- its cute as can be. Highly recommended for the mystery lover!

This is the perfect travelers' book: engrossing enough to engage an aerophobe on a flight to Australia, an ideal candidate for Books on Tape, a perfect commuter buddy, and an easy companion at a spa or beach. I'm a slow-munching reader, but I page-turned my way through this one in a few hours. What an adventure! What a delightful labyrinth Rigolosi creates to rescue his characters out of an impossible situation! I look forward to more from this author...and to the television series based on his endearing characters.