I’d like to thank Avon Books UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘What Happened on Floor 34?’ by Caroline Corcoran in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

‘What Happened on Floor 34?’ is the chilling and nail-biting psychological story of Rose Rivers, Day Editor for one of the biggest newspapers in the country, who’s asked to take over when Will Frost the Night Editor disappears. But being Night Editor has its disadvantages as she starts leading a solitary and very lonely existence on the 34th floor that makes her determined to solve the mystery of her colleague’s disappearance who she can’t remember meeting in person but who left a message on her desk saying ‘Ask Rose’. From the moment I picked up this book and started reading I’ve been hooked by the dramatic events and twists and turns that have made it even more sinister and unable to put down. The plot is pure genius, brilliantly thought-out, culminating in such a fantastic ending that I had to read twice to make sure I hadn’t imagined it. This is a thoroughly enjoyable novel by a very talented writer and I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who loves a suspenseful thriller.

Rose is a day editor for a newspaper. She shares the role of editor with Will, the night editor, between them they keep the newspaper website up to date and gaining readership. When Will disappears, Rose finds herself taking on the position of night editor - can she solve Will's disappearance, and can she keep her own life on track as she tries to?

The blurb for this book sounded really interesting, gained my interest and left me thinking "OK, so what DID happen on floor 34?". Unfortunately, the blurb was about the only part that actually held my attention. The main character Rose was incredibly annoying, people pleasing and I simply found myself not caring at all what happened to her. The book was very long winded, so much was completely unnecessary in my opinion, and the "twists" at the end were either very predictable or else felt popped on at the last minute so the author could try and fool the reader.

All that said, I did find myself warming to Will, especially towards the end, and I felt their character was much more likely to garner sympathy from the reader.

The book definitely wasn't for me, but if slow burn twisting thrillers are your thing, perhaps give it a go.

Rose works on a big newspaper as the day editor. It’s a fairly recent promotion and she considers it her dream job. Along with that, Rose has a lovely life, with her marriage to Patrick imminent, everything she could wish for. On a night out she has too much to drink and blacks out for the first time, but it won’t be the last. Gradually Rose’s life start to fall apart, and both her physical and mental health start to suffer. When her office “twin”, the night editor Will, mysteriously disappears Rose wants answers, but those come at a cost, and her life spins out of control.

I really enjoyed this book and was captivated from the start. Lots of suspense and intrigue, with a few twists. Rose’s spiralling out of control mental illness was handled well. Yes, there were a few “muddy” patches, unbelievable events and I think the police characters were odd, but that didn’t detract from a good story and plot line.

Would definitely recommend.

Thank you NetGalley.

The title "What Happened on Floor 34" absolutely got my attention. I had to know not only what happened on that floor, but to the entire building. Mysterious indeed!

This was a difficult story to get through for a couple of different reasons. To begin with, Rose was a hard character to like, never mind being able to empathize with. She never seems to stand up for herself, not to her boss, not to her fiance, not even to her so-called friends. She also drinks to the point of getting blackout drunk, claiming it's "just what journalists do." Now I get it, she has unresolved trauma and PTSD after an incident that happened after she had had too much to drink, but instead of facing it, of dealing with it, she just continues to drink and push people away. Now I'm sorry, but if something like that happened to me because I had gotten black out drunk, I would stay away from alcohol altogether. But Rose isn't me.

I was also put off by the way the detectives were portrayed in this one. They never seem to get anywhere, instead they harass Rose at every turn even though she has told them time and again that she has nothing to tell them. She knows nothing. She has remembered nothing. I get that they have a reason to look at her, but leaving her voicemails telling her it's getting ridiculous that she hasn't returned their calls and demanding she calls them back ASAP is just over the top, especially when you consider the fact that Rose works the night shift meaning she is asleep during the day when they are trying to get in touch with her.

Another problem I had with this story was the way the author tried (and failed in my opinion) to build suspense by leaving the reader with a bread crumb trail instead of immediately revealing what they wanted you to know. One such example of this comes from this passage "We said his name. We nodded at each other. Yes. That was him. We had our guy." The thing is, the author never reveals what name they said. Instead you have to keep reading in order to be told who it was. Only to have even more twists added to the story that while interesting, came too little too late to save this one (although the last one was a doozy).

All things considered, while this one wasn't a favorite for me, I do think others may enjoy it more than I did. If this seems like your cup of tea, then I encourage you to look over some other reviews before you decide.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

What Happened on Floor 34? starts off with a tension-filled bang.

Recently promoted to day editor, Rose works for London’s largest newspaper. She begins her shift shortly after the night editor finishes for the day. The two editors never cross paths, but they work closely together via email.

Suddenly, the night editor Will goes missing without a trace. Rose agrees to work nights until they replace Will. Rose becomes obsessed with figuring out what happened to the night editor.

This thriller is compulsively readable and piles on twist after twist. Some of the twists were juicy, while others felt like they were there for shock value alone. Also, the author often hinted at some revelation but would not reveal it until many pages later, which was a minor annoyance.

Rose is an unreliable narrator that relies on booze and caffeine to get her through the days. It’s fairly obvious early on what caused her to take up drinking so much.

This was a serviceable thriller. It likely will not stick with me, but it did keep me wanting to find out how everything pieced together.

I would indeed read more from this author.

Thank you to Avon for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

Rose doesn't know why but she's compelled to find out what happened to Will- and she's upending her life to do so. Before he disappeared, he was her counterpart editor on the night shift at their paper but they never met- only exchanged notes. Now, though, she's taken on the quest for answers, going too far in the view of her love interest Patrick. She's drinking, not sleeping, not thinking things through. This does have some good twists (no spoilers from me) as it heads to an ending readers can argue about. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Another new writer to me and what a cracking way to discover Caroline Corcoran. Rose is the daytime editor of a major newspaper and Will is her night time counterpart. When Will disappears, Rose becomes obsessed and her life falls apart, as friendships and relationships are severely affected. The story is gripping from the start and the revelations along the way are stunning. A brilliant read!

I really really really liked the concept of this book. It just fell a bit short for me. I can’t quite put my finger on what didn’t do it for me, it just wasn’t what I envisioned it being. There should have a been an ‘OMG moment’ for me, but it was more like a ‘wait, what?’. It didn’t really make sense to me and the ‘twist’ did not tie anything together..
I am really bummed that this book went this way for me, as I am so grateful to the publishers and NetGalley for sending me a copy.. My opinions are all my own. It can’t hurt to give this book a shot. You might feel differently about it than me. ‘

@currentlyreading__
Book 88 of 2022

Thank you to @NetGalley, @carolinecorcoranwriter and @AvonBooksUK for the ARC of ‘What Happened on Floor 34’ ahead of its January 2023 publication. Having enjoyed Caroline’s other reads (I have read all of them apart from ‘The Baby Group’ which is on my TBR), I jumped right in knowing to expect great character development and an atmospheric plot. I wasn’t disappointed as this is exactly what I got.

The book centres around the character of Rose, the day editor of a national newspaper. She leaves notes for Will Frost, the night editor who takes over from Rose’s shift. She sees the night editor’s belongings and feels that connection in the sense that they do the same job although they’ve never actually met. But when the night editor disappears, Rose steps into Will’s shoes and immerses herself in the claustrophobic and uncertain world of working the graveyard shift.

Patrick, who Rose is about to marry, can’t understand why she would take a demotion after Will’s departure and why they are essentially now living separate lives but Rose knows she is trying to blank out the truth of what’s really happened. Drinking to excess and terrified by what actually happened on floor 34, Rose becomes paranoid and knowing the police are just around the corner, she is looking over her shoulder.

If you love red-herrings, a twisty-turny plot, an unreliable narrator and a menacing domestic/ psychological thriller, this is one for your 2023 TBR.

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This is a very strange book. The narration takes some getting used to as Rose spends the most of her thoughts and the book contemplating things. She overthinks everything, and we are privy to that. The book is only set from her perspective until the very end, so we don’t really get a break from her thoughts.
Once you get used to the different style of narration, it does get easier to read. However, I did find myself glossing over a lot of what she thought, as sometimes it felt like irrelevant waffle. She would also go off on tangents. Sometimes they were relevant, and others, I just couldn’t understand why we were wasting time with them.
There were some slow parts to the book, and I did feel like I just wanted to get on with knowing what had happened to Will. Rose’s connection to what happened to Will is very odd. She completely upends her life trying to find out. I know something terrible has happened to her, but she delves into the disappearance, convinced it is connected. However, there is no basis for these thoughts, just hunches.
Rose becomes increasingly morose as the book progresses, making this a tough read. It also touches on a very difficult topic of abuse.
I did want to keep picking up the book and reading it, and I felt invested by the end of wanting to know what had happened with Will and how it would all come together. However, it wasn’t an easy read, and I did plod through it.
Compared to the rest of the book, the ending moves at quite a fast pace. Everything starts to get unravelled, and it all starts to make sense. I hadn’t guessed anything, so everything was as shocking for me as it was for Rose. The ending definitely made up for the slowness of the rest of the book, and I felt satisfied by the end of it. It had been worth the wait. It is very twisty and turns and even leaves you thinking at the very end with the shocking revelations that have just been thrown at you.
A solid four stars from me on this as, overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend it!

Have loved some of the previous books by this author ( Through The Wall comes to mind )
I really enjoyed the insight into life as a day and then a night editor of a major red top National Paper and was shocked how ferocious it all was, the author has a 16 year history of journalism so the experiences are ‘real life’ and although a lot are toxic as say its a fascinating look into that ( at times ) awful environment
I also enjoyed, as always, the book being set in London
I can say it kept me reading as all the way through I really did want to know what had happened on Floor 34, it took a long time to get there and at times repetitive in its main characters musings and feelings and she seemed ungrateful for all the good, positive things in her life but then as the book finally came to its conclusion we learnt more about the reasons why
In a week of a change of reading routine it was a perfect book to pick up and read a bit here and there and not get too overly involved with, a goodish read all told
Great acknowledgement section

6/10
3 Stars

Caroline is a must read author for me since I read and loved The Baby Group. What Happened on Floor 34 is a gripping and twisty novel that takes the reader on an unexpected journey set in an unusual setting that felt claustrophobic and threatening. Rose is the day editor at a national newspaper but has to take over as the night editor when the “ying to her yang” Will goes missing. Rose is happily engaged with her wedding fast approaching but she can’t get over the fact that Will has gone even though they never hung out as friends or colleagues. There’s an unsettling feeling to her reaction to the supposed crime that has taken place and we gradually come to realise there is more to Rose and her involvement than we realise.
There are some super twists that both shocked and surprised me and I had to actually read the last chapter again as it was so clever and completely different to the ending I had been expecting!
Gripping, dark and sometimes disturbing I found What Happened on Floor 34 to be a compelling page turner from start to finish.

Thrilling and utterly compulsive! An incredible read, impossible to put down. Incredible storytelling! Recommend you read this book!

Rose is the day editor for one of the country's biggest newspaper. Will is night editor. Until Will disappears from floor 34. Now, Rose knows she is next.
If you love an unreliable character, you are going to love this. But it was too much of a slow pace to be considered a thriller, there was too much "filler", I could never completely engage, and I couldn't relate to any of the characters either. I also was not a fan of the writing - short and choppy sentences... Also, have you ever had hands so clammy that they slip on your keyboard? I don't think so (this sentence near the beginning really stuck with me, I was like "What?!?"). Anywho, there were too many twists and turns at the end that it made it very confusing. I'm still not quite sure what happened (nor do I care). Fair to say that this was not for me, but I saw some other very good reviews, so it may be worth giving it a chance if your taste doesn't usually line up with mine!
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Aspiring journalist Rose has recently been promoted to Day Editor, a stressful job that requires constant attendance to her paper’s webpage, updating news stories, following breaking news and watching the number of page views and likes. It’s a tense environment, made worse by the general misogyny of her coworkers. However, she’s engaged to Patrick and planning her wedding. She’s also dealing with trauma because of something that happened at a late night party with her coworkers. She can’t remember because she drank to excess and blacked out. Since then, heavy, blackout drinking has become part of her life.

That might explain why she becomes obsessed by the mysterious disappearance of Will Frost, the Night Editor. Will abandoned his job, the evening version of Rose’s, sometime in the middle of the night and has not been seen since. The police are investigating and think Rose may have information. She has never met Will Frost. Not that she can remember…

What Happened on Floor 34? is domestic thriller at its best! Well plotted and described with characters who come alive (even if you don’t like them), it is full of twists and turns with a totally unexpected conclusion. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Caroline Corcoran for this ARC.

A brilliant tense and claustrophobic thriller. I really enjoyed this and I am planning on adding more of this author to my collection. A really realistic scary mystery xx

Rose was a day editor at a leading newspaper and Will Froz was a night editor. Will Frost works on the 34th floor of the building. Then one night, Will Frost disappears without a trace and Rose, who had been dreaming of getting the night shift, agrees to take the Will's position...only that her dream job eventually turns into a nightmare.

This book deals with some sensitive issues such as sexual assault and being drugged.

I will start with the ones I like with this book
--unreliable narrator (can you really trust the protagonist) which would make a psychological thriller good
--plot of the story
--realistic parts on how dealing with rape trauma and panic attacks.
--knowledge about career

Now the ones I didn't like
--the book itself is a slow burn which is for me not a good thing.
--don't really understand the ending at all--maybe it's just me but I am confused at the ending.
--too many mindless and useless conversations which spoilt the book

Overall, this is a dark twisty thriller and worth 3.5 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

I have to admit, it took me a little bit to get into this one, but once you get past the first part, it is soooo good. I trying to get my bearings in the beginning but then once you hit a certain point, you are just flipping pages one after the other trying to figure out where Caroline Corcoran is going with the whole story.

I thought the characters were very well developed and likeable. Rose is the day editor for a newspaper and Will is the night editor. When Rose goes to work one day and finds out that Will did not show up the night before, Things begin to change for Rose and not for the better. Rose is determined to find out what happened to Will.

Will the whole situation of Will disappearing from floor 34 without a trace take over Rose's life? Of course Rose is scared that she will be next. You will have to read this one to find out what happens because it is one of those that is better read to let the events unfold than to find out even a hint of what went on. You will not regret taking the time to read this one.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a copy of this book.

A woman is so haunted by her missing colleague litdrastically changes her life‘s plans and ultimately who she is. She knows it’s connected but Holl and why is she so obsessed with a man she rarely ever saw? This book was so good I thought it was going to be a horror story but it’s definitely a domestic thriller and the tension is high and I wanted her to solve it to continue with her plans but that’s what makes the author so talented and me just a reader this is a brilliant book about the lasting affects and how time remembers even when we don’t. I really wasn’t expecting such a twist at the end and never once did I think that was going to happen but again this is what makes her the talented author. I highly recommend this book if you love a great domestic thriller then you really need to read what happened on floor 34 because it’s a good one. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.