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.

THE DOORMAN is my first read by Chris Pavone, but so many people loved his last book, Two Nights in Lisbon, so I knew that I wanted to give this author a try and I'm so happy that I did!

The story mainly takes place at the Bohemia, one of New York City’s most exclusive buildings. Our protagonist is doorman Chicky Diaz and he stands at the threshold between its elite residents and the chaos of the streets. Inside, lives unravel—Emily Longworth, trapped in a loveless marriage bound by an ironclad prenup, and Julian Sonnenberg, facing a failing career, a crumbling marriage, and a life-threatening diagnosis. But as protests rage outside and tensions rise within, Chicky faces his own crisis—tonight, for the first time in thirty years, he’s carrying a gun, and before his shift ends, someone will die.

This book is a lottttttttt! I ventured into this story via audiobook and I highly recommend that route. Chris Pavone delivers a gripping thriller where class divides run deep and power is wielded through wealth. With a very well drawn-out cast spanning all socioeconomic backgrounds, Pavone masterfully blends suspense with social commentary. So many moving parts and thoroughly a political thriller. Trigger warnings as it really dives into the juxtaposition of what is going on in American politics right now. Fast-paced and thought provoking, THE DOORMAN will captivate fans of Harlan Coben and John Grisham.

Narrated superbly by Edoardo Ballerini, Chris Pavone's The Doorman is a multi-faceted read. A billionaire but detested arms dealer, his artistic but unhappy wife, a seemingly always cheerful doorman (who is dangerously in debt trying to pay for the medical bills racked up by his wife's fatal case of cancer), the black driver of of the billionaire Longworth family, the gay Russian building manager, and a barely-getting-by art dealer all cross paths in the Bohemia. The Bohemia is a condominium building overlooking Central Park. Its residents and employees are trying to deal with the racial tensions and unrest spreading through New York.

Chicky, the Hispanic doorman, even purchases a gun. He owes money to some bad people and works extra shifts as a bouncer. Chicky cares about the people who live in the building where he's worked for years. He knows, for example that the billionaire, often hires women who look like his wife and mistreats them, nearly strangling the women. He knows Emily Longworth is very friendly with Julian Sonnenberg, the art dealer. They all have secrets they are trying to hide. But one night, a group of robbers invade the Bohemia and everyone's lives are changed dramatically by that night. Secrets are exposed. Lives are lost.

The slow build up of the developments in this book leads to an explosive ending.

Recommended for anyone who loves a good who-dun-it!

This is my first Pavone book and I can’t wait to hit the backlist. Incredibly taut, suspenseful thriller. Memorable characters and a complex love letter to New York City. Explores class issues and the common bonds of humanity that unite us all. Timely read. The narrator was phenomenal!

Another fast paced thriller from Chris Pavone, that races to a startingly conclusion. He deftly captures the stratified world of Manhattan and his characters are interesting and in the case of some, ones you can root for. Fans of his previous books will not be disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC of The Doorman by Chris Pavone.

I listened to the audio version of this title and I loved the narrator. It was read by Edoardo Ballerini. He did an amazing job.
The book itself was very depressing because of all the negative political and social issues that were piled up in it. There was one negative event after another. The theme was pretty anti MAGA and highlighted the extremes between the ultra wealthy and the very poor in New York City specifically. The story was set in the world famous Bohemia apartment building there. It tells the story of some of the residents who live there and the working class who serve them.
The story was so anti MAGA that at first I thought it was satirical. I quickly realized that it was not. Not only was it anti MAGA but it had pretty much EVERY societal hot button of the day. There was racism, LGBTQ bigotry, gun control, wealth disparity, white privilege, arms dealing, drug dealing, antisemitism, classism, mental health struggles, just to name a few.
The main character Chicky Diaz is one of the doormen at the Bohemia. He has lots of troubles and sadness but is a man with a good heart. Another main character is Emily Longworth. She is an ultra wealthy woman living at the Bohemia. Her husband is one of the villains of the novel. He is a white man who can’t see his white privilege and is completely not understanding of other people’s problems and plights. He along with most of the other wealthy white men in the novel can’t stand anyone else complaining or protesting about their struggles or inequalities. Everyone seems to love Emily and they are actually willing to give their lives for her. Not really sure why. Because she is nice, beautiful, and wealthy?
The novel was a bit confusing for me. It jumped back and forth in time and maybe, because I was listening instead of reading, that got a little confusing at times. I was really interested in finding out where the story was going and what was going to happen to the characters because of the foreshadowing. I enjoyed the writing and the story telling, it did get a little long winded for me at the end. Again, maybe it was because I had the audio version but I thought the end was really drawn out.
I was pretty excited to read this title. I have read other novels by Chris Pavone and really enjoyed them. This one I will have a hard time recommending to patrons simply because of all the negative societal issues. Most patrons who ask for recommendations do not want that placed in all their media and won’t enjoy it.
I gave the novel three stars because I love Chris Pavone, I enjoyed the storyline, and honestly I didn’t see the twist coming.

Great narration that really propelled this story even more than the already suspenseful writing. What I really enjoy about Chris Pavone's thrillers is he does not shy away from incorporating biting social commentary. His insights and jabs at the wealth class structure, sociopolitical movements, and the tumultuous state of being that the Empire State has been in since COVID are a lively backdrop for this apartment centered murder mystery. It's a bit like Only Murders in the Building meets Succession and I enjoyed every bit of it!

This is my introduction to Chris and Pavone and I am a fan.
The Bohemia, a first-class elitist New York apartment, provides the backdrop for a story that has you in its grip from the start. The characters are so well-defined that I felt like I had read and heard about similar wealthy true-to-life individuals. People always get themselves caught up, either intentionally or unintentionally, in situations that are tough to extricate themselves from, leading to disappointing and dangerous outcomes.
It is, definitely, a book reflecting on the politics and current topics of discussion today. This is accomplished in a deft and skillful manner. Looking forward to more of his and going back to read past ones!

This is my first book by Pavone, his other works are on my TBR, but I started out with this new release. This follows the lives of several people who live in or work in a high-end condominium in New York called Bohemia. Everyone is tied together by the doorman who has worked at Bohemia for a very long time, Chicky Diaz. We know at the beginning that we are going to end with some kind of blowout, we just don't know how the players will be involved in the fallout. This book is set sometime after the George Floyd shooting and centers around a similar police brutality case. I say centers, this event is happening in the background and you have increased hostility, paranoia, racism, etc in the foreground as the protest and counterprotest night draws near. This is the night that everything will come to a head. This book is very political it speaks on racism both blatant and quiet, classism, and sexism. All the isms. We even throw in some homophobia in there when we get a random POV of a different character. It's all interesting, don't get me wrong, it just was too much for me, too much hatefulness. I can't even really tell if the story is leaning pro or against anything because there is so much hate rhetoric for both sides. I guess it does its job of bringing these hot-button topics to the forefront, but amidst all of this is a story that gets lost a bit in politics. I did like the climax, it was great and well-deserved, but the journey was a bit rocky.

I'm not sure what it is about Chris Pavone, but both of his books that I've read have been 5-star reads for me, despite the fact that his are not the type of novels I typically gravitate toward. With The Doorman, he's done it again; it is nothing short of a masterpiece. His sharp, layered storytelling is as tense as it is thought-provoking. In my humble opinion, Pavone has crafted his best novel yet.

Set against the backdrop of New York City's elite Bohemia Apartments, the story shows a city on the edge. Chicky Diaz, the doorman who knows everyone’s secrets and stands between the glitzy lives of the residents and the chaos of the streets, is the perfect lens through which we view this world. His personal struggles, along with the tension building outside the building—where protests, counterprotests, and an unrelenting sense of injustice simmer—create a palpable sense of urgency. The stakes are high for everyone involved, and you can feel that weight throughout the story.

The characters are richly developed, from the disillusioned art gallerist Julian Sonnenberg to the trapped-in-a-perfect-marriage Emily Longworth. The intricacies of their lives are drawn with precision and depth. Chicky is the main character, though. His quiet, stoic presence is the heart of the novel, and the decisions he must make in the midst of all this tension had me completely riveted. I was never not worried about this seemingly tough man.

Pavone’s ability to weave together elements of suspense, social commentary, and deep character exploration is remarkable. His pacing is flawless and had me tense with worry. The slow-burn tension of the building’s inner workings—where the residents' perfect lives are contrasted with the reality of those who serve them—is a powerful reflection on the inequalities that persist in our world today.

The Doorman is a reflection of a society at a breaking point, and Pavone handles this with heart. The narration was absolutely perfect as well. This was a solid 5-star read for me. I can't recommend it enough!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advance audiobook copy of The Doorman by Chris Pavone, due to be released May 20, 2025, and narrated by Edoardo Ballerini.

The Doorman is a timely murder mystery set in a post-pandemic New York City, where class, race, politics, and privilege collide inside the iconic Bohemia—a fictional Manhattan apartment building home to the city’s elite. Chicky Diaz, the building’s longtime doorman, observes it all from his post as tensions rise and a murder disrupts the balance of power.

Having grown up in New York, I appreciated the city-centric lens Pavone uses to explore themes of unrest and shifting social dynamics. The characters are well-developed—particularly Chicky, Witt, Julian, and Emily—but I found myself emotionally disconnected from all of them. It was like watching an episode of SVU: Billionaires Row—entertaining, sharply written in places, but hard to care deeply about anyone involved.

Narrator Edoardo Ballerini delivered a polished performance, though his tone at times veered into snarky and pompous and I couldn't help but think of a young Frasier Crane, especially when voicing certain characters like Witt. The story had a few twists and a landing that was stronger than the lead-up, but the heavy-handed social commentary sometimes overshadowed the central mystery. The Doorman is a solid 3-star listen with thought-provoking themes and a cinematic vibe, but it left me a bit underwhelmed.

The writing is fantastic. As always, Chris Pavone writes elegant yet fast-paced prose that keeps me reading and wanting more. That said, I did not like this book.

In the case of The Doorman, I found myself not wanting to keep reading. You see, I have an idea of what a Chris Pavone book is supposed to be: it's a fast-paced thriller with action, sophistication, and a complicated hero(ine). This book is a unexpected departure. Based on the cover and the title, I sought something from Pavone's usual approach. But this book is a social commentary with a very thin thread of intrigue. If it was my first book by the author, I would perhaps find it masterful. But I was looking for what I had previously consumed and was disappointed. I didn't care about the characters at all, and I kept anticipating the action and left wanting. Only on the strength of the author's previous work did I slog on. Nothing but social commentary occurs most of the book. Most of it centers around New York City where the author ostensibly resides.

If you are looking for "the usual" from Chris Pavone, skip this one. If he is a new author to you, you might enjoy this book and you should read it! Then go back and read all of his international thrillers because they are fun!

Basically, this is a solid standalone book. Chris Pavone shouldn't be punished for evolving as a writer (which I love) nor for marketing that indicates this book is a thriller.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC!

The Doorman by Chris Pavone
Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
Sad to say so but I had to DNF, just could not care about the storyline or any of the characters. Not even the work of one of my all time favorite narrators could keep me listening.
The reason is probably because I was expecting something much more similar to this author’s previous novels. That may be more my fault than the author’s. Also, I wish I had never read that part about the rat in the toilet.

The Doorman ... difficult to provide a short narrative of this 12 hour audio.

The doorman sees the comings and goings. They see it all.

There really is a lot going on. Occasionally I had the thought "huh ... what just happened". At least I thought about going back, but the answer was by going forward.

I thought the story was 4 stars, but the narrator (Edoardo Ballerini) was 5 stars with the narration!

Not my normal genre, but I've read Chris Pavone books before and decided to request the advance listen of the audio from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review. The audio is bit more than 12 hours. The release day is May 20, 2025.