Thank you @macmillan.audio for the ALC this book is out 5/20/25. Edoardo Ballerini did a fantastic job with the audio narration. Chicky Diaz has stood guard as the doorman for the Bohemian Apartments for over 30 years. Chicky has all the information on all the residents and the tangled webs they weave. Tonight he will experience robbery and murder. Who will cover for who here. It takes quite a bit to get to the action in the story and uncover the mystery behind the robbery which made it an average read for me.

I wholeheartedly blame Ben Mims for making me into a foodie. In college, he would make these amazing Sunday night dinners for our friend group. He would use ingredients like polenta and mascarpone; he would do things like toast coconut for homemade whoopie pies. He was (and still is) the BEST and most fun host, and he always has the perfect restaurant recommendations when you're planning a trip. Prior to those dinners, the height of my Sunday night sophistication was adding pineapple to my Papa John's pizza. But overnight, thanks to Ben, I was a culinary aficionado.

After college, Ben went on to attend culinary school and embark on the most incredible career, but those Sunday dinners gave me a craving for the world beyond Papa John's; I had been made into a foodie for life. I love to eat good food and to to pretty restaurants; in 2018, when I read Ruth Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires, I realized that I also love to read about food.

I adored the adventure that Besha Rodell took me on in this book. The life of a food/restaurant critic is so interesting to me, and I loved hearing about her professional journey. Her stories were both entertaining and informative, and I've never wanted to plan a trip to Australia more than I do right now.

"We're launching a project called World's Best Restaurants, in partnership with Travel + Leisure ," the editor told me. "The idea is that we send one critic around the world to pick thirty restaurants to be on the list. We want that critic to be you."

Can you even imagine?! I. Would. Die.

This book is all kinds of fun and fully reinforces why I love nonfiction; it also has heart and made me think and opened my eyes to some issues of which I was honestly not aware.

The Doorman by Chris Pavone
I usually love a NYC-set story, especially one that centers around a single building and the lives unfolding within it—where each resident’s storyline contributes to a bigger picture. But this one just didn’t click for me. The pacing dragged, the characters lacked depth, and I never felt connected to any part of the narrative. I ended up DNF-ing at 20%. A slow start and unremarkable cast made this one a miss for me.

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. The narrator did a wonderful job of keeping the characters straight, and also giving us the sense of turmoil in the city throughout the action.

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

There's a lot going on in The Doorman. It's a tension-filled thriller that exceeded my expectations, tackling big themes like class, race, mental illness, police brutality, and more. Pavone delivers a gripping story with sharp social commentary that lingers long after the last page. 4.25

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the chance to listen to this title in exchange for my opinion.

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 Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I have read Pavone’s all of thrillers and have loved them all. They are fast-paced, somewhat conventional, thrillers. To appreciate The Doorman, though, the reader has to put aside all expectations based on the past and read the book head-on. What they find will surprise and delight the discerning reader, even though the book’s themes, often depicted by the rats that run throughout the novel, center on death, love, loss, and an almost Tom Wolfe-like take on life among New York City’s ultra-rich set. The book’s real strength is its character studies: Chicky, a recently-widowed doorman at the Bohemia, an iconic building occupied by people whose financial positions are the polar opposite of his, and the occupants of two of the Bohemia’s apartment, one of modest size and placement on the second floor, and the other made up of what had been two apartments on the top floor. Love, the arts and arms businesses, relationships and more emanate from these characters, whom we think we know very well by the book’s almost thriller-like ending. The book’s major flaw is its pacing, which is too slow until the very end, when the action flies by at a supersonic speed. But, readers who can lean into the slow pacing of most of the book, will be well rewarded. As in life, taking things more slowly can bring enhanced rewards. Edoardo Ballerini’s narration is superb; he makes his job sound easy even when the challenges presented by the pacing make it far from easy. Patient readers will be well rewarded by The Doorman.

Chris Pavone's "The Doorman" marks a surprising departure from the breathless suspense that defined "Two Nights in Lisbon," delivering instead a slow-burning character study that masquerades as a thriller until its final act. The novel's genre-defying approach initially left me checking the cover twice, wondering if I'd accidentally picked up a different genre.

At the heart of this narrative stands Chicky, the titular doorman of the upscale Bohemia building—a man adrift in a sea of grief after his wife's death, his days measured in the comings and goings of the wealthy. Pavone renders Chicky's loneliness with such clarity that you'll feel the weight of his empty apartment pressing down alongside him. His misunderstandings about his neighbor reveal a man desperate for human connection in a world that treats him as invisible.

The Bohemia residents—those privileged few Chicky serves daily—spiral through their own domestic dramas. Marriages crack under pressure, parents fail their children in spectacularly ordinary ways, and beneath it all runs a current of sharp social commentary that feels uncomfortably timely. What makes these observations so effective is how Pavone embeds them naturally within the characters' inner lives rather than mounting a soapbox.

The promised thriller elements arrive breathlessly late, when street protests collide with a building break-in. The action, when it finally erupts, delivers genuine tension—but the ending refuses to tie everything in a neat bow, leaving threads dangling in a way that feels deliberately unsatisfying.

If you appreciate character-driven fiction that uses genre as a jumping-off point rather than a rigid framework, "The Doorman" offers rich rewards. It won't satisfy thriller purists, but it might just open a door to something more complex.

Edoardo Ballerini does a masterful job narrating the book. It's fun and entertaining as he brings each character to life.

Thank you, MacMillan Audio and NetGalley, for my free audiobook for review.

Unlike the settings of his others books, the latest Chris Pavone book is set in New York City, where he lives. The book centers around characters at the Bohemia, a high-end building that’s home to some of the very rich, including Emily and her husband and Julian and his wife. It’s also where everyone’s favorite doorman Chicky Diaz works. I felt the first part of the book got bogged down in the inordinate amount of airtime focused on painting a picture or conversely satirizing the current state of affairs in the U.S. as well as what has occurred over the past few years. It got tiresome and a bit over the top, and made for a slower pace, not much happening kind of half. It started to pick up the pace and the last one third of the book is where the action occurs, reminiscent of the author’s last book, the action-packed Two Nights in Lisbon, which got off to a great start and never let up right to to the very end - that was a resounding five-star read. This book was an average read and listen but a bit disappointing for Chris Pavone and I’m hoping his next book will be as enjoyable as Two Nights in Lisbon. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was so grateful to receive an early listen of The Doors and went into it hoping to love it. Chris Pavone definitely knows how to build a world—there’s no denying the characters are layered and the setting (that luxe apartment!) is vivid and almost cinematic.

The narration was superb, seriously, the voice work kept me going longer than I might have otherwise. (Full disclosure: I listen to my audiobooks at lightning speed, but even then, the quality came through).

But at a certain point, I just couldn’t keep going. The tone was relentlessly heavy—grief, crumbling relationships, death or the looming threat of it—and while I understand that’s part of the story’s realism, it made it really hard for me to stay engaged. Every character arc seemed to spiral downward, and I struggled to find the light or hope that usually keeps me turning the pages (or in this case, listening).

Maybe it’s just a “me” problem—too much gloom, not enough payoff—but this one just wasn’t for me.

Oscillating between the underbelly and the upper echelons, "The Doorman" plays on riches and the street realities. From one night to the events leading up, readers are kept on their toes as it slowly unfolds.

I have always enjoyed Chris Pavone books. I find them interesting and fast-paced. The Doorman is a little different, focusing on a larger cast of characters all living in one apartment building. This book leaned more heavily on character development than plot, a contrast from Pavone's other works. While I enjoyed it, it is my least favorite of his novels. If you're expecting a fast-paced thriller like his other works, you might be disappointed. The action doesn't really pick up until the very end. It was a good story - just not what I'm looking for or expect from Pavone.

The narration was good.

Thank you to #MacmillanAudio and #NetGalley for a free copy of #TheDoorman by Chris Pavone. All opinions are my own.

The Doorman by Chris Pavone tells the story of a group of people who live and or work inside the Upper West Sides luxury apartment building, The Bohemia. It's told through the lens of the various characters experiences, and explores American's current political climate, love, loss, and betrayal, all with intertwining story lines leading up to crime that connects all of them.

I enjoyed this book and looked forward to listening to it. The narrator, Edoardo Ballerini, does an excellent job as usual which adds to the storyline. It may not be enjoyable to those that don't want the angst of politics creeping into their literature. I would not likely recommend this book to a friend unless I felt like they had a specific interest.

Thank you to MacMillan audio for an advanced copy of this book through NetGallery, in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 31%. I was so curious and intrigued about this book, mainly because I love reading/listening about human behavior. Any book with an array of different characters either being ridiculous or unhinged usually would draw me in. And at first, this one did. At first. Then it became a bit sinister and preachy to where I was annoyed. I didn't need or want to get some sort of life lessons without any sort of entertainment when trying to enjoy a fictional book.

A quarter way through I wondered why I didn't care about any of the characters. Perhaps it was when I realized I was listening more to social commentaries and political views rather than just a good story about interesting people in a building. The synopsis promised a wonder why the doorman would need a gun, etc, but the thrilling parts just didn't move. I was done then.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an audiobook copy. All opinions are my own.

This book was overwritten, the writing was glib and the characters were depressing. I enjoyed Mr. Pavone's previous novels, but this journey into literary fiction didn't work for me.

I don't generally read or enjoy politically charged novels, but this one is an exception! Pavone does a great job of showing the hypocrisy on both sides of politics, as well as some of the problems with each side's ideologies. It is an extremely well-written, character driven novel. The narrator did a great job with all of the different characters from different backgrounds.

“It’s up to everyone to draw a line, and hold it.”

Chris Pavone writes white-knuckle thrillers, and he’s one of the best in the business. His new novel, The Doorman, is one you won’t want to miss. My thanks go to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Farrar, Strauss and Giroud for the review copies; this book will be available to the public May 20, 2025.

Our story rotates around three main characters, providing the point of view of each in turn; the setting is The Bohemia, an exclusive apartment building in New York City. Julian Sonnenberg, a middle aged art gallerist whose marriage is dying, lives there, as does Emily Longsworth, wife of the ultra-wealthy and ultra-hated Whit Longworth, racist war profiteer; and Chicky Diaz is the doorman, who sees all and hears all. They don’t know it yet, but their fates will soon be linked.

I’ve been reading Pavone’s novels for a long time, and each time he surpasses himself. The common thread that I treasure most, however, is his deep affinity for the working class, and his respect for women. In fact, I don’t know of any male novelist that is better than Pavone when it comes to developing female characters, and that is even more impressive when I consider his genre, because in most true thrillers, the pace is so fast and furious that there’s no time to develop any characters at all. Yet somehow, Pavone does it, and he does it without sacrificing the heart pounding, screaming pace that accelerates until the almost unbearable climax, which in turn is very close to the conclusion.

I was lucky enough to have access to both the digital and audio versions of this story; Edoardo Ballerini does a fine job narrating the latter. You can’t go wrong in either direction.

Highly recommended to those that love the genre and lean to the left.

The beginning of the book was slower than I liked, with a lot of character development and social commentary. As a fan of the author's previous works, I had trouble with the slow nattative drive. Narration was well done.

This book is set in present day New York City and is primarily a social commentary about race/ethnicity, privilege/wealth, and morality/corruption. The main character is a doorman at a prestigious apartment building. The minor characters are the multitude of tenants of the building, his co-workers, and his other acquaintances. (Honestly, there were so many characters that I had a hard time keeping them straight.)

I have listened to many other audiobooks that are narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, in fact the next book I've got queued up with NetGalley is read by him as well. I think he does a good job with the various accents and the range of voices.

Overall, I was intrigued by some of the subplots, such as an elicit affair between a rich wife of one of the tenants and an art gallerist who also lived in the building, but I ended up being confused in the conclusion because there was a lot of action and it was unclear who was involved.

If you are not into politics, even in the slightest, this novel may not be for you. It was very heavy on politics and what happened in covid. I think this is a good portrayal of what happens to the rich, and what happens to mean who have money and power.