ELEVATOR PITCH

4 stars out of 5

I admit to being more than a tiny bit claustrophobic

(go down in a submarine, even when it's docked? Fuhgettaboutit). But oddly, elevators really don't bother me too much. No, I'm not fond of them - especially those that are old, rickety and not much bigger than a bread box. But overall, I'm good.

This book changed that - albeit not as much as I'd expected based on the description. Most of the ups and downs happen near the beginning and end, with the middle more focused on the hows, whys and whodunits. And that's okay with me; it's still a fast-paced and thrilling book that "forced" me to stay up late to finish. 

As the title suggests, elevators take center stage here, starting with an horrific and unexplained freefall in a midtown New York City highrise that leaves the occupants quite dead. Meanwhile, Detective Jerry Bourque and his partner Lois Delgado are called to the scene of a murder; the badly beaten victim is unidentifiable because whoever did him in chopped off all his fingers. Early on, readers also learn that Bourque is carrying around emotional baggage, some of which, at least, may be responsible for the bouts of severe shortness of breath that require him to carry an inhaler (making me wonder how that might be worked into the story as it progressed). 

Throw into the mix journalist Barbara Matheson, who's got baggage of her own but has carved a successful career for herself at the expense of alienating the affections of a now-grown daughter. Most recently, she's been dogging the for-the-most-part unpopular New York mayor, a Trump-like guy whose nastiness is tempered only once in a while by a hint of compassion for other people (none of which is bestowed on his son Glover, who works for him). 

There are questions of whether the murder and elevator plunge are related (acts of terrorism, perhaps?), but for the most part, city officials are trying to play down both incidents. Then the unthinkable happens: Another elevator misbehaves, this time mutilating one of the occupants whose identity triggers even more suspicions as to who's running the show. At this point, there's no choice but for the powers-that-be to come clean publicly, putting fear in the hearts of city residents who can't help but wonder if their building's elevator will be next and prompting city leaders - including the mayor - to fear that their actions (or inactions) could lead to even worse consequences.

Matters get even more complicated when Barbara's mom-defying daughter lands a job in the mayor's office and gets friendly with the mayor's son. Needless to say, mom's not a happy camper, but she seems up about far more than the potential for conflict of interest. As the investigation progresses, readers learn more about the characters and their backstories and read on in anticipation that one or more of them just might bite the dust on the elevator floor before the police get the drop on whoever's pushing the wrong buttons.

A very entertaining book on its own, but I must add - should no one else think of such a thing - it would make an excellent disaster movie as well.

Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay (William Morrow, September 2019); 464 pp.