Lock Every Door

I was a little bit leery when I started reading this thriller by Riley Sager because I am not a fan of the horror genre. But it turns out that the dark forces in this book are altogether too human, motivated by the usual vices. Jules Larsen has not only lost her job but also her abode after she caught her boyfriend/roommate cheating; so she has been camping on her friend Chloe's sofa for weeks, answering endless want ads with no success. Then she gets an interview to be an apartment sitter in one of New York City's architectural icons, the Bartholomew. It also happens to be the setting for a book that her older sister used to read to her when they were little, Heart of a Dreamer; that was before her sister disappeared, before her parents killed themselves and left her with mountains of unpaid medical bills. In fact, the author of that book is currently a resident of the Bartholomew, although not particularly friendly. The pay for 3 months of work will clear Jules' most pressing debts and give her time to hopefully find a new job; and at least she will be off her friend's couch. The apartment in question is the 12th floor penthouse, facing directly on Central Park. She nicknames one of the building's gargoyles--visible outside a corner window--George. It all seems too good to be true. And it is. The Bartholomew has a bit of a tragic reputation--more than it's share of unusual deaths. When another apartment sitter in the building, Ingrid, tells Jules that she is scared, and that the apartment sitter who preceded Jules in her current apartment disappeared without a word, and then disappears herself, Jules is determined to find Ingrid. She begins to think some shady things are going on and doesn't know who to trust.  It may be that the Bartholomew is a little like the Eagles' Hotel California...you can check in anytime you like, but you can never leave. It was a surprising twist of an ending. Not sure I would seek out any of Sager's other books, but it was an engaging tale.
Fellow book group member found this site about NYC's gargoyles, which play a role in this book:
https://convene.com/catalyst/new-york-city-office-building-gargoyles/
Kirkus was less than laudatory in its review; The New York Journal of Books offers an enthusiastically positive review and a comprehensive plot line than I have done here.