“1-Adam 12 to  Apartment 16!“  “1-Adam 12 to Apartment 16!”

Are you in the mood for a crossover between a late 60s/early 70s police show and a 2010 horror novel?  You’re saying “no.”  Oh.  Well don’t worry, I’ll lay Adam 12 to rest and just focus on Apartment 16. 

Apartment 16, where were you when I was working on my haunted apartment series? Your presence would have been a most worthy inclusion! 

(Apartment 16: “I was there. You said yourself that my book was published in 2010.  You wrote your article in 2018.  So let me reverse your question – where were you?”

Me: “Shucks. You got me there, Apartment 16!”)

There is something very fishy (not to mention downright eerie) going on at a high-end apartment complex in London, England. It should be no surprise when Apryl is a bit freaked out. After all, she has the new home jitters, having only recently inherited her aunt’s apartment within this complex. She’s not only new to the building and all its idiosyncratic noises, but being an American, she’s brand-spanking new to the city and country as well. We can forgive her for being on edge. But what’s Seth the overnight porter’s excuse? He works there, he shouldn’t be afraid of the clunky lift, the long, tiresome stairways and the shadows that appear on the accompanying walls.  He should just do his job , but at the same time, he should pay no mind to the noises coming from Apartment 16.  It’s an abandoned apartment, so yes, the fact that noises are coming from that location is at best weird. Let weird be weird!  But, no.  You have to get involved, don’t you?  This will be your undoing.

Apryl is morally obligated to get involved. There are mysteries surrounding her late aunt’s mental decline and eventual death.  Some of the clues to the mystery are right there in the apartment complex or in her aunt’s storage room in the basement.

Psst, Apryl!  There are neighbors who might know what’s up.  But these snooty old people don’t want to talk to you.  Same with you, Seth. You know how uptight these rich hermits are. You’ll find ways to piss them off. Or just ways to off them.

Apartment 13 is a story of the occult. Or dream people and the bizarre characters these dreams produce; creepy weirdos that won’t stay confined to dreams. It’s a story of obsession and vengeance from beyond the grave.

This is the second book by Adam Nevill that I have read. The first for me was The Ritual. The reviews for The Ritual fare slightly better than Apartment 13, but I think I like Apartment 13 more.  There is something about Nevill’s writing style that I like and dislike at the same time. He is very detailed.  Sometimes this detail brings me smack dab into the moment of the story. Other times it makes my mind wander.  A “for instance” concerning my wandering mind : A character in Apartment 13 will be approaching a threshold. He or she is thinking things, the description of the hall finds its way into several sentences. Meanwhile the character is still thinking and when finally s/he crosses the threshold, it’s five pages later and I had assumed the character made it into the room several paragraphs back. Things like this seem to happen to me more often in The Ritual, a book about four guys being lost in the woods.  Maybe woodsy environments in general cause more mind wandering than apartment halls or something, I don’t know.

Nevertheless, both are good books. Neville is all about style. His style.  You love it or hate it.  Then there’s me, who likes and/or tolerates his style but loves his overall stories. Except for his endings.  In both books, the story just sort of drifts away at the end, leaving the poor reader behind.  So I am ambivalent about his style, love his stories, hate his endings.  Oh but I love his characters.  Let me repeat –

Ambivalent about style

Love the stories

Love the characters (some withvery unique with interesting peculiarities)

Hate the endings

 

As for bad endings, I’m guessing you hate the way this article is ending. All these clarifications and repeats. Fine, let’s start over –  “1-Adam 12 to  Apartment 16!“  “1-Adam 12 2 Apartment 16!”