Today it's my pleasure to take part in the BlogTour for Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay
About the Author
Linwood Barclay is an international bestselling crime and thriller author with over twenty critically acclaimed novels to his name, including the phenomenal number one bestseller No Time For Goodbye. Every Linwood Barclay book is a masterclass in characterisation, plot and the killer twist, and with sales of over 7 million copies globally, his books have been sold in more than 39 countries around the world and he count Stephen King, Shari Lapena and Peter James among his many fans.
Many of his books have been optioned for film and TV, and Linwood wrote the screenplay for the film based on his bestselling novel Never Saw It Coming. He is currently working with eOne to turn the Promise Falls trilogy into a series.
Follow @linwood_barclay on Twitter, on Goodreads, Visit linwoodbarclay.com, Buy Elevator Pitch
About the book
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 stop. 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 in 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? 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...
I have had a healthy distrust of elevators since De Lift (1983) came out. Much like this plot is takes the innate distrust we have, or a some of us have at times, when it comes to trusting in a higher authority called engineering, mechanics, gravity and technology. Barclay plays a little with the blind faith we put in certain things. Our lives are filled with items, vehicles and mechanisms that make our lives easier, and because of that we don't think twice before using them.
Not that I am advocating climbing eighty flights of stairs either, just to be clear.
There is one part of the book, a short poignant one, when one person reacts by having flashbacks to 9-11. The people who work in One World Trade Center must have to cope with incredible anxiety and shove away their fear on a daily basis.
Aside from the elevators acting as if they have a life of their own and murderous intent towards the general population, the city is also under siege from a terrorist cell. The question is whether the attacks and the lift accidents are linked in any way. A journalist seems to think that the solution lies a little closer to home. The problem is she is too personally invested in that actually being the case.
Barclay takes an object that is used by millions of people every day and turns it into a weapon of mass destruction. It's perfect, the majority of buildings have at least one, especially in cities that are built vertically, as opposed to horizontally. You don't have to load it - you just need to fill it.
It's a crime thriller that plays with our innate fears and destroys the blind trust we rely on every day.
Buy Elevator Pitch at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ; pub date 5th September 2019 - £20 Hardback - £9.99 eBook - 12.99 Audio Download. Buy at Amazon com.
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