3.3/5 ⭐️ Stars - Thank you to NetGalley & the publishers for an ALC of ‘The Doorman’ by Chris Pavone. When I first read the synopsis and a few reviews, I honestly wasn’t sure this book would be for me. In fact, I half-expected to read 10–15% and DNF (something I never do). But I decided to give it a fair chance—and I’m glad I did, because it turned out to be an unexpectedly emotional/polarizing read.

The characters are a tough group to sit with. About half are downright despicable, while the rest aren’t much better—certainly no one here is winning gold stars for their choices. The novel is steeped in politics, which I usually try to avoid, but Pavone weaves in themes of class, privilege, race, and ethics in a way that feels both timely and unsettling. As the book’s own description puts it, this really is “a novel of class, privilege, sex, and murder.”

The first 80% felt overly drawn out, with too many characters introduced along the way. Still, that buildup worked to make certain figures thoroughly loathsome, which gave the story a slight edge once the suspense kicked in. The ending was intriguing, though it left me with a few lingering questions.

In the end, I’m glad I stuck with it—this book wasn’t what I expected, but ultimately, I think it made an impact.

Not the book I thought it was going to be.
I loved the story of chicky in the beginning, but it strayed so far from him.
There were way too many people involved in this book, and way too many opinions on topics going on right now.
Not a huge fan, and probably won’t recommend this to friends

The blurb for this book sounded really interesting so I was excited to pick it up. However, I had a real hard time getting into this book and set it down after getting through 40% of the novel. There is a lot of setup here so very little happens in the beginning. I found most of the characters, other than the doorman, to be obnoxious rich people repeating liberal and MAGA talking points while going about their day. There were a few points of tension but the lack of the promised web of intrigue or characters to care about made me lose interest. I see quite a few positive reviews--this book just wasn't for me but I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the book.

After reading Two Nights in Lisbon back in June 2022, I knew I’d be picking up Chris Pavone’s next novel—and wow, The Doorman absolutely delivered. 👏🏼

A pulse-pounding thriller set in the heart of New York, this book dives deep into class, privilege, race, and power—all without ever slowing the pace.

Chicky Diaz is the beloved doorman at the Bohemia, a glamorous high-rise filled with the city’s rich and powerful. But tonight, with NYC in chaos and secrets bubbling inside the building, Chicky breaks the rules and carries a gun to work—for the first time.

🗝️ Upstairs: a penthouse wife with a perfect life and a dirty-rich husband she quietly loathes.
🖼️ Downstairs: an aging art dealer feeling irrelevant in a world that’s moved on.
🚨 Outside: protests, police violence, and a city on edge.

Told through multiple perspectives, this is more than just a thriller—it’s a smart, provocative look at who gets to feel safe and why. Chicky is the heart of it all, and his voice gives this story so much soul.

Gritty, timely, and impossible to put down. Highly recommend for fans of suspense with substance.

I've very mixed feelings about this book. I've read the author's other books, which were more thrillers from the get-go, and enjoyed them. This seemed like a modern rehash of Bonfire of Vanities but did not keep me nearly as engaged. The storytelling is good and the author paints a complete picture of his setting. I just felt like it was a very slow start and a bit repetitive with certain facts. I was interested enough to keep reading, but really only became engaged at the 80 percent mark. Maybe I had false expectations going into the book, judging the author by past stories.

I'm tempted to give a 3 for the amount of engagement I felt with the story, but the author is a good writer, and maybe I didn't give the book a fair go, so I'll round it to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley, Chris Pavone, and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Doorman
By Chris Pavone

Emily Longworth is the wife of an extremely rich man, who has made his money as an arms dealer. They live in an upscale building called the Bohemia Apartments in New York City. Chicky Diaz is the doorman of the building and has been for 30 years.

Emily has grown to hate her husband – and he her. She finds out that he hires hookers who he chokes when finishing off sex – and that they all look like her. In the meantime, Emily begins an affair with another tenant of their building. What starts as retaliation grow into love for Emily and Julian. This is obviously a recipe for disaster.

But this is just one of multiple story lines. The author is very heavy-handed in expressing his thoughts on everything from racism, LGBTQ+ rights, "bad" cops, conservatives (and to a lesser extent liberals); in short all the things that are blamed somewhat one-sidedly on whites – most notably men – in this country today. The fact that he introduces several Hispanic and black characters who are criminals is somehow also the fault of rich white people!

The core story is intriguing, but the book loses something from the over-arching intrusive political narrative. The author is certainly entitled to his thoughts and beliefs, but readers like me are reading for entertainment – not for proselytizing.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

The Doorman was hard to put down and the ending completely shocked me! Taking place at a prestigious apartment building in New York City, we are introduced to Chicky (the friendly doorman) and multiple tenants at the Bohemia. When a Black man is killed by police, protests break out in the city and the safety of the Bohemia is compromised. As a reader, I felt connected to the characters – they are well written and complex. The pacing of the book was good too – with a number of unexpected twists that left me shocked at times. I also appreciated the social justice lens and how the author covered current issues from varying perspectives. Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Sraus, and Giroux for the eARC.

Part suspense and part social commentary, The Doorman was a slow burn for me in the beginning that took off in the last third. I enjoyed the way the book was written around three characters living and working in the same historic NYC building, with all the stories converging into one at the end.

Doormen(and women) do so much more than stay at the door. They know any and everything that goes on in the building in which they work. The good, the joy, the celebrations and everyone's secrets, Thy are vaults, but know it all no matter how people try to hide it. In this story, it is so much more than marriage troubles or an out of control children. The building is filled with entitled, spoiled out of touch people who if they ever had to survive on less than they have would melt down. It’s an interesting and well written cast of characters that are all either hiding something or in some form of turmoil. Suspenseful, sad, depressing, a bit scary and creepy and dark. Chicky is fabulous. Good read, but took quite some time to get to the heart of the story.

Unlike Chris Pavone’s other novels, this one is not a thriller but a social and political satire centered around one building on the Upper West Side of NYC. It’s primarily about three characters - the rich society wife of an unsavory businessman, a less fancy guy who co-owns a gallery, and the doorman of their building.

I’m torn on how to rate this one - the writing was good, but I really wasn’t feeling the satire, the characters were kinda unlikable, and for the first half I literally had to force myself to pick the book up. But showing why I’m always afraid to DNF, the last 25% or so of the book was so good and I couldn’t put it down. So I think I’m going to average it out to 3.5 stars.

I'm a fan of Pavone's tales of spies and people in the wrong place at the wrong time; he is trying something different here with this tale of a NYC doorman. Chicky Diaz is the doorman at the Bohemia, a fictional building in Manhattan where the rich and elite live. Along with Chicky, we meet Emily, the wife of a wealthy but cruel man named Whit and Julian, a sensitive art dealer who lives in the same building. As we learn about the backstories of these characters we find out some very bad people are hatching a plan, a plan which will directly affect the Bohemia and the residents inside.

The story itself is very interesting, but it became bogged down with too much politics and pontificating about social, racial, economic and climate issues. As we go between the three main characters, each new section provides yet another mini essay on wokeness, inequality, poverty, protests and every other hot button topic that is in the news today. The result was a book that was too long and the author sacrificed tension for basically writing an essay on his views. Doormen see it all and having more of Chicky and less of the daily lives of the wealthy would have improved the story for me.

Others have compared this book to "The Bonfire of the Vanities" but I just didn't have the same reaction. The idea of someone planning a possible heist in a big, secure building like the Bohemia should have been exciting but instead the action came to a halt with each speech. Towards the end of the book the tension picked up and I was on pins and needles wondering what would happen to our main characters. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC for review.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley.

Wow! I loved this book and will highly recommend it.

I love a book about rich people and what they do, but this book also has the other side, the people who work for the rich people like the doorman.

The book was written very well and had the right amount of background to excitement. The characters were well thought out and interesting.

Thank you Netgalley for the is book in exchange for an honest review. I always love Chris Pavone books and this one did not disappoint. Chicky Diaz is a doorman at the Bohemia in NYC (I kept picturing Only Murders in the Building). Right away we know that Julian, and art dealer, sold a picture that may or may not have a sketchy provenance to Emily Longworth. Emily doesn’t seem to mind. She seems quite comfortable spending her husband Whit’s money. Until she finds out that he is selling arms. And the money starts to not mean as much. Through all of the book, we have no doubt that the Bohemia will be robbed. We just don’t know who is playing what part. Pavone weaves in racial tensions nicely as well as a health scare, the comfort we find in familiar things, the way we can’t go back to what was, what it means to lose, and what it means to give up more than you ever thought you could. This book would be brilliant for book club. It’s a fairly fast paced read and you won’t go wrong throwing it on top of your TBR pile. Get this and thank me later

The Doorman by Chris Pavone caught my attention with its intriguing blurb and the fact that he's a New York Times bestselling author. Set in New York City, the story revolves around the wealthy residents of the Bohemia building, like Emily and Julian, and their doorman, Chicky Diaz. While I appreciated the setting and concept, I found most of the book focused too much on the lifestyles of the rich and commentary on American politics and class. It felt overdone and slowed the pace considerably. The real mystery doesn’t come in until the final third of the book, and while it was a nice twist, it felt rushed after such a long buildup.

As a fan of Pavone’s Two Nights in Lisbon, which was action-packed from start to finish, this one was a bit of a letdown. Overall, it was an average read for me, and I’m hoping his next book delivers more of the suspense I’ve come to expect from him.

Big thanks to NetGalley, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, and Chris Pavone for the opportunity to read and review The Doorman!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing me with an advanced copy of The Doorman. I requested this book because the description sounded right up my alley. Turns out it was only about halfway up my alley.

Look, I’m all for setting the scene and providing background, but this one took a little too long to get into the meat of the story. I often find that to be the case when a book tries to be both literary fiction and a thriller. It’s possible, but very difficult, and to go back to the roadway metaphors, it’s normally best to just pick a lane.

The book really picked up for me about 1/4 of the way through and then it became a page-turner.

The story was good here but honestly all the character perspectives just felt off. Which starts to rub the reader the wrong way for sure. Interesting setting and plot. Predictable ending.

This was a really good read and I think it had a decent writing style and story! Would recommend to anyone looking for next read

I typically enjoy this author's books because they are just a little bit different from typical thrillers. They are interesting and well plotted and this book is no exception. That said, I struggled so much to make headway and put it down a number of times. The second part of the novel was great and I flew through the final third. I loved the descriptions of the characters and their complexity and personally liked the political commentary, though it was at times unnecessarily heavy handed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Great book, by a new found author, I will need to see his other book. I live in New York, and boy did his descriptions tell a great story. Chicky Diaz, who’s been a doorman for years and the upper class of people who lives in these apartments and their stories. And the store of the city itself. A lot of twists and turns. And the ins and outs of the families. I’m sure that this book will be on list for one of the best books in 2025.

This book was a lot! So many stereotypical and political view points made in the book, I just didn't love it.