Special thanks to NetGalley and publishers Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC of this book.

First let me say Pavone is an author I really enjoy ever since reading The Expzts by him. He's also my best friends favorite authors or one of. I was sad we couldn't do a buddy read.

Pavone really has become quite polished since The Expats, so if you like suspense leading up to the end moreso at the end of the book where it should be, and the refreshing way he describes characters with real-life problems described with accuracy, and no outlandish stunts, this book is for you.).
A lot of politics and real life situations, and even though I'd say 30% of the book was spent on political situations that were very likely to happen, Pavone was very well versed on the politics of today. That might be a little slow for some but this is a solid read.

I would definitely recommend this book, The accuracy of the times, the problems people have that are actually real and let's not forget The Doorman, who is watching it all go down. My only regret is I didn't get to read it w my pal

I've never read anything by Chris Pavone, and was excited to read The Doorman, based on the summary and reading a few reviews. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. I enjoyed the story itself...the characters and the plot, the intrigue of "what happened???", but found myself skimming through a ton of social and political commentary that, ultimately, became boring. The last 30% of the book was great, but the first 70% I found difficult to fully enjoy. If you are keen on overt social commentary, this is a book you will appreciate. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

Thank you Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Doorman by Chris Pavone touches on many current themes. Chicky Diaz is a doorman at a very prestigious New York City building. He treats the people living there with the most respect and some treat him like that, too, but there is always a couple who do not. This is the story of some of the people in that building; their interactions and the back story of Chicky. The first half of the book is very boring and drawn out. It isn’t until you get to the second half of the book that things start happening and you get the idea of the story. This book addresses race, privilege, class, women’s rights, politics and extra marital affairs. The one main female character in the book, Emily, tries to always make things right. As she does, she ends up getting hurt but finally finds her way to live her life.

In 2012, Pavone's debut, [book:The Expats|12617758], was released and I was wowed. There wasn't anyone doing what he did. Writing an international spy thriller for a broad audience, where the underpinnings of a problematic marriage were key to understanding what was happening on the page, but the pacing was impeccable and also giving readers several twists and a strong sense of place? You could fault a twist or two as less than credible, but the sum of its parts was something. Five novels later, this May, he delivers [book:The Doorman|217387696]: a novel which never leaves Manhattan, written by an author born and raised there, who was there on 9/11, who (with his spouse) bought a co-op in the Dakota 6 years ago and presumably still resides in it. It's a more polished novel than The Expats, but the deep understanding of relationships, power struggles, how humans behave when they're trapped? It's all here.

The Doorman has impeccable pacing, and a handful of characters Pavone renders distinct and knowable, with plot arcs that ring true. The titular doorman at an exclusive co-op building, the Bohemia, Chicky Diaz, is dealing with grief over the loss of his spouse and a level of debt -medical, credit card, loan shark, college tuitions for his girls, - he's even late on his rent- that would grind most of us down quickly. Emily Longworth (beautiful, cultured, kind to everyone, volunteers at a soup kitchen weekly), married to wealthy entrepreneur and Reacher-villain-repugnant, Whit Longworth. Julian Sonnenberg, friend of Emily, co-owner of an art dealership, also, with his spouse, a resident of the Bohemia. Pavone does a masterful job of rotating between characters and giving them each voices and motivations that draw the reader in and lead to the next event and the next. Everyone has secrets, pressures from third parties that they can't evade, aspects of their life that are disturbing them and no straightforward solutions. And Pavone respects his characters too much to make them walk alone into dark buildings, unarmed, without back-up, just to create cheap suspense. He's more ambitious in both the set-up and the twists he offers. He doesn't insult his readers with impossible escapes, resurrections, doubles/twins, alcohol or drug abuse to excuse missing observational skills, or laughable coincidences.

There's also a lot of politics. A. Lot. This is a story very much grounded in late 2024-early 2025 America, whether it's Whit complaining at an awards gala that there aren't any straight men being lauded, to a rant elsewhere about all Manhattan schools aspiring to live in to a laundry -list of alleged left-oriented values, to white nationalist slogans on ball caps during a night of protest and opportunistic unrest arising from the police killing of two Black men in the preceding 72 hours. Race, privilege, class, snap judgments, the dynamics of food banks vs. soup kitchens, the ethics of selling defense tech to terrorists, why all of the nannies are brown women. If you read thrillers in part to avoid the real world, including the general status quo of US politics, this novel may require more Tums than is ideal. If you don't mind characters sharing their political views, but you do mind if a perspective you hold dear is twisted or misconstrued into a caricature of itself, you might find some of the all sides-ing annoying. It was essential to the story. I was fine with it. You do you.

Pavone is not [author:Frieda McFadden|20516755]. I intend that statement as the highest of compliments, so if your response is, "oh, no", The Doorman may not be a good fit for you. The suspense builds. It takes a minute before the first event occurs that puts a main character's well-being at risk. The ending is essentially the last 30% of the novel and it is impeccable at every turn.

Why, yes, I am a Pavone Stan. Why do you ask?

The antics of a doorman to a building filled with strange residents. The doorman tries to be very accommodating, while the residents display all kinds of behavior.

For a long time, Chicky Diaz has been the doorman at the Bohemia, a wealthy uptown building in NYC. His profession is built on politeness, deference, and, most importantly, discretion. However, several residents' secrets are coming out simultaneously, and political upheaval causes those outside the Bohemia to take action.

Pavone writes an intense book, tackling current political themes, class differences, and internal struggles of who people thought they would be versus who they are now. This book will leave the readers off balance in many ways.

An advanced copy was provided by Netgalley, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and MCD. All opinions are my own.

I gave The Doorman two ⭐️⭐️ Thank you to the publisher, Chris Pavone and Net Galley for the ARC. These are my honest opinions.

I tried so hard to read and like this book. The synopsis was intriguing, but the book was not what I expected.

This book had a lot of politically charged themes throughout it that didn’t necessarily have anything to do with what was in the synopsis.

Not being familiar with the exclusive Bohemian Residences on Park Avenue in New York City, this book took a while for me to get into. The plot centers around the ever popular doorman, Chicky Diaz and he knows everything about the rich and famous who live there. It turns out that not all of the residents are squeaky clean. The primary example is Emily Longworth, who is at the top of the NYC society elite.

Evidently, her husband, a Private Equity investor, is involved with some shady characters. This is a good read, and has very frank views on the politics right now. If that offends you, then too bad, you will miss an interesting novel.

Thanks to Netgalley for securing me an advance copy in order to write a review.

The Doorman tells the story of Chicky Diaz, doorman at the Bohemian apartments in NYC, home of the wealthy and famous.

We meet several of the apartment's occupants, particularly Emily & Whit Longworth and Julian Sonnenberg. Emily is trapped in a loveless marriage, staying with her husband only because of this wealth, status and power, and the airtight prenup she signed. Julian has recently received a life-altering medical diagnosis, and is itching to move on from his marriage and his job.

When the NYPD shoot an unarmed black man, the atmosphere in the city explodes, with protesters from both sides clashing on the streets, and racial, political and class divides threatening to overtake the city. Chicky has a foot in both worlds, the elite who hardly notice the work he does for them, and the black and Latino workers who are pulled into the brewing storm.

This was quite the thriller, with the plot going in ways I didn't expect. Lots of different viewpoints were expressed, and I appreciated that.

A very interesting novel that reflects a lot of the instability in our current political situation.

Goodness me, this was such a good book. Highly entertaining. Would definitely recommend to others, that's for sure!

I've been a fan of Chris Pavone since The Expats, and his newest book is another hit!

Set in New York City, The Doorman follows a diverse cast of characters through a storylines heavy with social and political commentary. A layer of suspense runs through the plot, creating a page turning atmosphere.

It's a must read for fans of Two Nights in Lisbon or other political thrillers.

i love when a book poses me with so many discussion points even if that discussion has to happen within myself,ha. and this hard look on a snippet of certain peoples world does just that. it leaves me with such an unease towards certain people and a feeling of both despair and fraught feelings about how our world is as so many things could run parallel with things we experience in our current world. dark things. a world where good people are hurt or turn to desperation. and how some of the worse people who shouldnt be respected at all have to be because of the wealth they bring and steer with. and steer all they do.
at the base of all this is the doorman. you always think what doormen and woman must see. they literally must hold the crumbs of so many peoples lives. they know secrets. they know snippets we will never see. and they provide a stability too, a sense of safety. well thats what you hope anyway.
this book gives us a few characters in focus. and they are all going through their own things. we are revealed these throughout and i love some of the unwrapping's of these characters. i do like a book where we get to see and know a group of people. and i like how we get to see the doorman eyeline of all he prevails.
but Chicky faces a fraught crisis in this book. and his answer after a shooting and the dark follow up brings him to bringing a gun to work. not only bringing it, but bring it with a plan in mind. because before the end of this shift someone will die.
this book is a whole lot deeper than i couldve imagine going in and it was just so good. the details given in such a readable way were done just so well. and i thank Chris for making such huge issues like he covered digestible with the plot hes dished out. and dished out he has because its a feast for the reader.
i really enjoyed this book.

"The Doorman" by Chris Pavone was my first book by this author. "The Doorman" is set primarily at the Bohemia in Manhattan which is a world class building for the rich and elite. The story follows multiple characters who work or live in the building through their life struggles. This book is highly character driven and much of the action takes place in the last third of the book. The first two thirds of the book felt slow and little hard to get into. I was glad I finished the book overall. All the characters have good and bad traits which adds to their believability. Chicky was my favorite character hands down. The book explores themes of rich vs working class, doing the wrong thing for right reason, recent politics, difficult marriages, death of spouse and race/culture. This book may not be for you if you are trying to escape modern day politics. I personally did not mind the political commentary because I felt it added a lot to the story. The last line of the book was golden. 3.5 rating due to the strong ending.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The Doorman by Chris Pavone is a recommended novel of class, privilege, and murder set in NYC.

Chicky Diaz is a well liked doorman at the Bohemia, an elite apartment house in NYC. He is deeply in debt due to his late wife’s medical bills. Unhappily married Emily Longworth and her billionaire husband Whit live in the penthouse. In apartment 2a, Julian Sonnenberg, whose gallery and marriage are both failing, has just been diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart valve problem. In the streets are demonstrations and the ever present threat of violence breaking out.

While the quality of the writing is as good as I expected and what kept me reading, the pace felt glacially slow for much of the novel. I kept reading, anticipating more intrigue, secrets, and action which didn't pick up until the end. Additionally, the narrative is enmeshed in class, privilege, prejudice, and other current topics which diminished the novel for me as, generally, I'm reading for relaxation and entertainment. Most of the characters are well-developed, but unlikable, with the exception of Chicky, who is at least a sympathetic character. While I wasn't a fan of this one, I am looking forward to Pavone's next novel.

The Doorman is a good choice for those who like character studies that cover contemporary socioeconomic and sociopolitical themes and are set in NYC. Thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Chris Pavone is a new-to-me author, though I've heard great things about his other books, so I decided to give The Doorman a try, and overall, I'm glad I did!

The Doorman is set in one of Manhattan's most desirable and exclusive buildings, known as The Bohemia. The story reminded me of a thriller meets Downton Abbey, as the plot focuses on several different male and female main characters affiliated with the building, including The Bohemia's affluent residents and its working class staff.

As one can imagine, there is lots of domestic drama between the residents, as well as the personal struggles of Chicky, one of the building's primary doormen. Furthermore, all this is set against the backdrop of the current political turmoil occurring in our country, especially in our cities - think gentrification, the growing wealth gap, the wealthy exploiting the working class, homelessness, mental illness, the BLM movement, police violence, etc.

I can see how this social commentary would be unappealing, and even triggering, to some readers. Personally, however, I appreciated the author's message and the way he balanced the POVs of characters of different political, economic, and racial backgrounds to create a compelling blend of cultural observations meshed with a tense crime mystery.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Farrar, Straus and Company for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Doorman by Chris Pavone is a masterful combination of intricate plotting, sharp social commentary, captivating setting, unforgettable characters, and classic, gripping entertainment. This novel is a delightful romp that will keep me engaged from start to finish.

The Bohemia is an exclusive and ultra rich building in NYC. Chicky is one of the doormen there whose job is to protect the residents. Chicky notices everything yet the residents notice nothing about him. Not his increasingly dire financial situation after his wife gets cancer and dies, leaving a mountain of debt. They are busy buying painting, having affairs, and being billionaires. All of that is going to crash on one tension filled night.

This novel is a slow burn. The first half was pretty slow and built a lot of the characters, but didn't have a lot of action. However, the second half of the book is where all the carefully laid pieces come together. I have read and liked Pavone books before. He mostly wrote about spies, so I really liked this different tilt of a crime story from the perspective of the doorman where you don't know his role in the crime. What will happen, is he in on it, how much does anyone know? Pavone did a great job of creating a very suspenseful night but set the scene very slowly. I liked that there were little throw away details (someone has a gun, etc) that you aren't sure are important or not. I really liked this one as an alternative to a spy or mob novel, but no less engaging.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

The novel doesn’t shy away from exploring class, race, and power, but it does so in a way that’s deeply character-driven. I appreciated how Pavone made each character feel real—even when they were flawed or morally complicated. There’s a subtle wit in the narration too, especially in the way New York life is described—it reminded me a little of The Bonfire of the Vanities with a modern, more inclusive twist.

If you’re looking for a summer read that blends suspense, social commentary, and emotional depth, this one’s worth picking up. The ending had me flipping pages fast, and the themes lingered long after the last chapter.

Big thanks to NetGalley, Chris Pavone, and Farrar, Straus and Giroux | MCD for the advanced copy. This is my honest and unfiltered opinion.

3.5 rounded up.

In many ways, this book felt like a Bonfire of the Vanities for the 21st century. There are themes of class inequality, racism, and corporate greed throughout. All of this is set against the current political divide in the US, and the author skewers the MAGA movement while also poking some fun at liberals (but to a less brutal extent). All of the major events in the book take place in a single day - a day packed with simmering tensions in NYC. It moves a little slowly at first, but the last 20% of the book flies, and the ending was not what I was expecting.

Thank you to Farrar, Strauss and Giroux and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a tough one for me. I was expecting more focus on the actual doorman, kind of a sneak peek into glitzy lives and some shenanigans with the Uber rich that you live to hate. Instead, I just hated the tenants and their views and just didn't really enjoy.

However, I am grateful to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read it