Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC in audiobook and print format.

Chris Pavone’s "The Doorman" is a gripping tapestry of espionage, secrets, and urban intrigue, and Edoardo Ballerini’s narration elevates the story into an immersive audio experience that listeners won’t easily forget. This review examines the distinct strengths of both the novel and its narration, providing a fresh perspective on this powerful combination.

Pavone’s narrative is an intricately woven web, where each thread leads to a larger pattern of intrigue. Set primarily in New York City, "The Doorman" follows the life of an enigmatic doorman whose seemingly mundane existence masks a labyrinth of covert operations and personal betrayals. Pavone has mastered the art of the slow burn; he delivers revelations at just the right moments, making the listener question the motives and loyalties of every character. The doorman himself is a fascinating protagonist—an unlikely hero who is both highly skilled and deeply flawed. Pavone’s exploration of his inner conflict is a highlight, offering a rich character study amid the thriller’s tense pacing.

The themes of surveillance, identity, and trust are skillfully embedded in the story, resonating with contemporary anxieties. Pavone’s prose is sharp and observant, capturing the intricate details of the urban landscape and the human psyche. While the plot twists and turns can sometimes feel almost too calculated, they ultimately serve the story’s purpose: to keep the listener guessing until the very end.

Edoardo Ballerini’s narration deserves special commendation. Known for his ability to bring characters to life with nuance and depth, Ballerini delivers a performance that is mesmerizing. His voice becomes the perfect vessel for Pavone’s narrative, balancing the doorman’s quiet stoicism with the dynamic energy of the surrounding characters.

Ballerini’s pacing is impeccable, modulating between the tension of high-stakes moments and the reflective passages that delve into the protagonist’s thoughts. His subtle use of accents and tonal shifts helps distinguish the diverse cast of characters, making the story easy to follow and all the more engaging. In many ways, Ballerini’s voice feels like an extension of Pavone’s prose—it guides the listener through the novel’s twists and turns with confidence and precision.

Together, Pavone’s writing and Ballerini’s narration create an audiobook experience that feels cinematic in scope. The vivid descriptions and intricate plotlines play out like a film in the mind’s eye, while Ballerini’s voice serves as both the camera and the director, framing each scene with care. This synergy makes "The Doorman" a standout choice for audiobook enthusiasts, particularly those who appreciate a blend of character-driven storytelling and high-octane suspense.

"The Doorman" is an experience that challenges the listener to piece together its mysteries while reflecting on broader questions of morality and identity. Chris Pavone’s craftsmanship as a storyteller shines, and Edoardo Ballerini’s narration brings an added layer of artistry that enhances the journey. Whether you’re a fan of espionage thrillers, character studies, or exceptional narration, this audiobook is a must-listen.

For literary critics and casual listeners alike, "The Doorman" offers much to appreciate—and even more to discuss. It’s a testament to how the audiobook format can transform a compelling story into an unforgettable adventure.

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Chris Pavone, and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Always wanting to expand my reading experiences and list of authors worth exploring, I experimented with this novel by Chris Pavone.It had some great aspects that intrigued me and provided a strong story to follow. The unique perspective offered by the author left me eager to keep reading and find out how things would develop before coming to a succinct conclusion. Pavone delivers a strong story and provides the reader with a great reading experience that does not lose its momentum at any point. A well-paced story that left me wondering just how important a doorman's point of view could be key to a thriller!

Chicky Diaz may seem like a wallflower, but his job as the doorman at one of the most exclusive New York City apartments serves him well. Working at the Bohemia allows Chicky to gather intel and hold onto secrets of those who cross his path. While he is dismissed by many he greets and expected to serve them in passing, Chicky knows all and can spend his time pondering, should he want to keep himself occupied day in and day out. New York's elite have lives like few others and Chicky is right there, collecting crumbs and stories to share when the moment is right.

One such resident is Emily Longworth, whose marriage is a sham. She has long held her breath, hoping that life as a mother and the perfect wife would pay off for her. She does all the can to stay sane, though her husband, the vile Whit Longworth, drives her mad and has left Emily wishing she could change things up a little. Chicky knows this all too well and has thoughts of his own on the subject. Each day, Chicky has watched Emily suffer and the stupidity that Whit exudes as he ignores anyone beneath him. Emily needs an out, but has yet to find one... but here's hoping.

Julian Sonnenberg lives in another apartment and has a life he also wishes he could swap for another. He cannot stand his teenaged children, who feel the same about him, and wants nothing but to push the eject button. He's seeking something a little more exciting and needs some flavour in his life, though his cardiologist has left Julian aware that he needs surgery right away or face death. Still, there is some excitement out there for Julian and he wants it. He has a plan, though without the impetus to take it, he's paralysed in quicksand with no way of achieving what will make him happy.

After the NYPD are involved in a shooting of a Black man, the protests on both sides begin, their marches and clashing spilling onto the streets. Chicky can see that things are turning sour and knows just what he needs to do. While other members of the staff at the Bohemia Apartments have complained about the treatment they receive and the added concerns after the shooting, Chicky has an answer. Arriving at work with a gun, he is ready to use it to ensure that everyone is safe, just not on the way most might expect. Chicky has all the secrets in his mental Rolodex and there's a plan he has ready to execute, ensuring no one is miserable and those who need a shake-up get what is coming their way. It will take timing and patience, though Chicky Diaz has had both over the last three decades, donning his uniform and opening doors for those who almost forget he's there. Chris Pavone pens a unique piece and one that will keep the reader on the edge of their seat.

I have always enjoyed a great story that presents a common theme from a unique point of view. Chris Pavone provides the reader with a great piece that has many perspectives I would not have expected in the way they appeared on the page. A strong narrative base leaves the reader eager to keep pushing forward as they see just what this story has to offer. There is a great building of the story's core tenets as Pavone constructs his narrative effectively, leaving it to gain momentum as things get exciting. The various characters flavour things in their own way and leave the story with a number of key angles that help enrich the reading experience. There is a strong sense of surprise when the plot points emerge throughout the story. Pavone weaves them into the story's numerous chapters and provides a sense of confusion, while the general idea of things is clearly seen. I could not get enough of this piece and was quite pleased not knowing where things were headed at any one point.

Kudos, Mr. Pavone,for this strong thriller.

Chris Pavone’s new thriller The Doorman is not set in a foreign location, as so many of his books have been, but in the rarefied world of a luxe Upper West side apartment building in NYC. I’ve read many reviews that have criticized the book’s emphasis on conflicts of race, class, and political agendas—but I think that those conflicts have set up a great novel with a lot of tension. The doorman of this building, Chicky Diaz, and the wealthy inhabitants, present an array of viewpoints and a lot of conflicting opinions about modern life. I’ve read and loved every one of Pavone’s books and enjoyed this one too. The twists were perhaps not quite earth-shattering, but this was still a very entertaining book—and wonderful on audio thanks to the narration of the incomparable Edoardo Ballerini. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook.

Thoroughly gripping thriller - covering just a short time period in Manhattan. The author weaves class, race, income, infidelity, protest, politics and so much more together into a compelling narrative. Centered on one historical co-op apartment building and it's doorman, Chicky, the reader encounters the lives of the residents as they interact and connect to and through the doorman, as events in the city build as protestors and counter-protestors come to head over the issues swirling in the air. Not everything is as it seems - and not too much can be said without spoiling something! Comparisons to the heightened tensions of Bonfire of the Vanities are rightly bouncing around!

Are you ready for your next Chris Pavone book? I just finished listening to his latest, The Doorman and I greatly enjoyed it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Edoardo Ballerini does a fantastic job narrating this story and really allows the reader to get lost among the characters and the story!!!

I will start by saying that I am a fan of Chris Pavone and really enjoyed this novel. On the surface, this is the story of a high stakes robbery in the most affluent highrise in NYC. In actuality is a story about privilege, racism and elitism among the high end society of New York.

The city is about to erupt over the killing of another unarmed black citizen. The setting for most the book, the most luxurious apartment building filled with very rich residents and not-rich staff, and its an honorable doorman named, Chicky.

I loved the characters and found them very real and relatable. This is a well written story that is ripped from the headlines. I found it to be fast paced with ample suspense and mystery. I loved the ending!

HIghly recommend!!

I loved past Pavonee books, so I can say with my full being that this was not thier best work. I am not sure if it is just that class doesn't impress me, nor NYC and the politics in the US right now makes me want to move far far away. This book just kept reminding me of all that is wrong with the US.
I did also give this a try as an audio version, and still was not impressed.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I was super excited about this because I really liked Two Nights in Lisbon. And it started strong, with complex characters and interesting social commentary. But, as is often the case, there was just one too many twists in it.



Review copy provided by publisher.

I’ll be honest.. I wanted to DNF this because I was just bored but I soldiered through it. When I requested this I was excited to have the interweaving of the current state of politics with the thriller genera that I love. I just felt the execution fell completely flat.

This is the first time that I felt like the author was trying to push an agenda onto his readers rather than giving seeds of thoughtful discourse. The examination completely overshadowed the plot of the book rather than supporting it.

The narrator Edoardo Ballerini did a good job with the recitation. I did have to speed it up a touch as it was a bit sleepy but he did a great job falling into the accented speech of the various characters.

I am thankful to have gotten the audio ALC for free from MacMillian Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

I've read everything Chris Pavone has published, so I didn't even read the jacket copy before diving into this novel. I expected everyman protagonists sucked into the world of espionage, or a thriller set in an exotic travel destination... And I got something completely different. Something I've never seen from Chris Pavone before. It's a domestic tale set in contemporary New York City. It"s being marketed as a thriller, but I'm not entirely sure that I'd classify it that way. It has thriller elements--criminals, guns--but it's more a novel of social commentary.

The Doorman, despite its title, has an ensemble cast. It's set at a Dakota-like apartment building called the Bohemia. The residents are all very affluent, though not equally so. There are the rich, and there are the uber-rich. Then there are the staff, mostly people of color, barely getting by. There are various dramas playing out at the Bohemia. People have all kinds of hidden agendas. And as the pressure and tension ratchet up, the denouement plays out against a backdrop of social unrest that might as well be ripped from the headlines.

And this is what makes the novel work... Pavone does an excellent job with his character development. There's more depth here than the typical thriller, somewhat at the cost of the novel's pace. But it all worked for me. Who doesn't love an old dog with new tricks?

If you are in the top 0.1%, if your money comes from unsavory sources, if you are racist, you will not enjoy this book. Since those don’t apply to me, I enjoyed the taking down of an evil villain (as his wife describes him).
The main story is of a few residents and the long-time doorman of The Bohemia, a fancy and formerly artsy residence on the West Side of NYC. This is a story about today: racial division, unrest, and another black man shot by a white cop. The city is in an uproar. Does The Bohemia need to hire more security for the weekend? The novel skewers white liberals alongside their MAGA opposites. Everyone else is a pawn, or a rat made to move around in a maze for a little cheddar. It’s a sad place to be among people who want only the best for their kids but don’t spend much time with them. Who can’t imagine surviving on only $900k/year, while others less fortunate owe more in past-due medical bills than they can ever afford.
There are a number of inconsistencies in the story and some actions that seemed out of character, but I was able to go with the flow and enjoy how the author chose to surprise us at the end. The story includes a lot of background material on the characters, perhaps to paint each of them as human and conflicted. And that’s about where I am with this review: between a 3 and a 4 and conflicted about rounding up. It was still fun to listen to the audiobook, despite the holes in the story, and I don’t want to discourage people from giving it a try, so 4 it is. I enjoyed the author’s previous novel more.
My thanks to the author, publisher, Macmillan Audio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook of #Doorman for review purposes. Publication date: 20 May 2025.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio book.

I"ve enjoyed the fast paced, complex stories of Pavone's previous, so I was excited to read THE DOORMAN, a braided series of stories about residents of The Bohemia, including the eponymous doorman. THE DOORMAN was too much of a departure for me to enjoy it; at first the idea of a thriller centered on a tony New York City building, but the static setting ended up keeping the narrative from having the same propulsiveness that Pavone's previous books have had. This time out is a miss for me, but I'll look forward to the next thing this writer publishes

Most of Chris Pavone’s thrillers have taken place abroad and I loved “Two Nights in Lisbon.” I think the author should have kept closer to action packed suspense plots and international locations. “The Doorman,” set in New York City, is a very serious, slow moving, sad version of “Only Murders in the Building,” more a political or class satire with a lot of reflection on the state of modern day racism and wealth inequality. From the title, you’d assume the book should be starring Chicky Diaz, the Hispanic doorman of a Dakota-like upper West Side co-op (the “Bohemia”) who in the prologue is armed for the first time and worried about spillover from possible protests after a Black man was unjustly killed (with no guarantee that the civil disturbance will become a ransacking riot).

But we’re also delving into the lives of tenants like penthouse dweller/unhappy housewife of a billionaire villain Emily and lower level resident/co-op board member Julian. We endure multiple vignettes about the characters’ pasts and their current situations. There is literally no action until Chapter 9 when the board argues about hiring extra armed security in anticipation of the street protests and whether they should allow a Black athlete willing to pay 10% above the asking price to buy an apartment there. Continuous banter occurs about secrets and who’s hiding what, but it’s mostly so frustratingly vague.

Pavone commits what I consider a mortal error: no character is likable enough to care about in order to keep reading. Chicky, Emily, and Julian are all lost souls, each angry with some part of their worlds, but I just couldn’t work up much sympathy even knowing that these are the three people I should be invested in.

Thank goodness for Edoardo Ballerini, a narrator extraordinaire. I was fortunate enough to have access to both the ebook and audiobook, and if not for the well-known narrator, I might have DNFed “The Doorman” at the one third point. Ballerini’s excellent narration kept me going to — at last — the final part of the book titled “Tonight” at the 80% mark. This is where a plot finally appears and there’s enough action worth staying until the end. Overall, in comparison to his previous works, Pavone’s story disappointed me and only rates 3 stars, but Ballerini’s performance is a 5 that rescues “The Doorman.” I recommend the audiobook version if you decide to select this and be prepared to skip ahead. The final chapters are twisty and well-plotted, but it’ll take patience to get there.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Hailey’s bright blue eyes are the only eye colors mentioned.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO There is an acknowledgement about the stand of American elm trees in Central Park that is being defended by arborists against Dutch Elm disease.

Thank you to Farrah, Straus, Giroux and NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for advanced reader copies.

It disappoints me to say this because I’ve loved every book Chris Pavone has written up to this point, but this one, while of course well written, is essentially the literary equivalent of doomscrolling.

I know some people cope with what’s wrong in the real world by leaning into its fictional equivalent (hence climate horror, most dystopias, and so forth), but as someone who reads for either edification or entertainment, this book proved to be a very tough hang.

I thought the central plot was a good one, and the bones of the story had a lot of potential, but I’ll echo other reviewers in saying that I think this got incredibly bogged down by class politics and a veritable kitchen sink of hot button issues, which is both exhausting to read and also difficult to recon with even if you want to do the work because it’s trying to address seemingly everything wrong with today’s America all at once.

Pavone’s sharp wit helps make this at least palatable, and he is, of course, largely correct about the horrors facing the country at the moment. But the book is neither an enjoyable place to spend time nor an edifying piece of political commentary. Mostly, reading this is like scrolling a version of Twitter that is exactly the same as the real deal but without all the spelling errors.