Elevator Pitch
A Novel
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4.1 • 220 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
"One hell of a suspense novel." —Stephen King
The New York Times bestselling author of A Noise Downstairs and No Time for Goodbye returns with an edge-of-your-seat thriller that does for elevators what Psycho did for showers and Jaws did for the beach—a heart-pounding tale in which a series of disasters paralyzes New York City with fear.
It all begins on a Monday, when four people board an elevator in a Manhattan office tower. Each presses a button for their floor, but the elevator proceeds, non-stop, to the top. Once there, it stops for a few seconds, and then plummets.
Right to the bottom of the shaft.
It appears to be a horrific, random tragedy. But then, on Tuesday, it happens again, in a different Manhattan skyscraper. And when Wednesday brings yet another high-rise catastrophe, one of the most vertical cities in the world—and the nation’s capital of media, finance, and entertainment—is plunged into chaos.
Clearly, this is anything but random. This is a cold, calculated bid to terrorize the city. And it’s working. Fearing for their lives, thousands of men and women working in offices across the city refuse to leave their homes. Commerce has slowed to a trickle. Emergency calls to the top floors of apartment buildings go unanswered.
Who is behind this? Why are they doing it? What do these deadly acts of sabotage have to do with the fingerless body found on the High Line? Two seasoned New York detectives and a straight-shooting journalist must race against time to find the answers before the city’s newest, and tallest, residential tower has its ribbon-cutting on Thursday.
With each diabolical twist, Linwood Barclay ratchets up the suspense, building to a shattering finale. Pulsating with tension, Elevator Pitch is a riveting tale of psychological suspense that is all too plausible . . . and will chill readers to the bone.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At the start of this gripping standalone from bestseller Barclay (A Noise Downstairs), an elevator in a Manhattan office building falls from the top floor to the bottom of the shaft, killing all four occupants. The next day, a similar fatal elevator incident occurs in a residential high-rise in another part of Manhattan. The day after that, a third falling elevator throws the city's populace into a panic and normal activity all but ceases. Mayor Richard Headley, who's running for reelection, must put campaigning aside to find out who's behind the elevator sabotage and why. Meanwhile, NYPD Det. Jerry Bourque investigates the murder of a jogger, whose mutilated body was found on the High Line, the old elevated railroad that's now a walkway. Barclay does a good job dramatizing the family dynamics of multiple characters, including the emotionally damaged Bourque, while building suspense as he slowly reveals how the jogger's murder ties in with the elevator deaths. Readers who live on high floors will glance nervously toward the nearest stairs as they tear through this exciting thriller. Author tour.
Customer Reviews
Intense
Great story. I learned a lot about elevators too!