Elevator Pitch

By: Linwood Barclay

Narrated by: Johnathan McClain

Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

The New York Times best-selling author of A Noise Downstairs and No Time for Goodbye returns with an edge-of-your-seat thriller that does for elevators what Psycho did for showers and Jaws did for the beach - a heart-pounding tale in which a series of disasters paralyzes New York City with fear.

It all begins on a Monday, when four people board an elevator in a Manhattan office tower. Each presses a button for their floor, but the elevator proceeds, non-stop, to the top. Once there, it stops for a few seconds, and then plummets.

Right to the bottom of the shaft.

It appears to be a horrific, random tragedy. But then, on Tuesday, it happens again, in a different Manhattan skyscraper. And when Wednesday brings yet another high-rise catastrophe, one of the most vertical cities in the world - and the nation’s capital of media, finance, and entertainment - is plunged into chaos.

Clearly, this is anything but random. This is a cold, calculated bid to terrorize the city. And it’s working. Fearing for their lives, thousands of men in women working in offices across the city refuse to leave their homes. Commerce has slowed to a trickle. Emergency calls to the top floors of apartment buildings go unanswered.

Who is behind this? Why are they doing it? What do these deadly acts of sabotage have to do with the fingerless body found on the High Line? Two seasoned New York detectives and a straight-shooting journalist must race against time to find the answers before the city’s newest, and tallest, residential tower has its Friday night ribbon-cutting.

With each diabolical twist, Linwood Barclay ratchets up the suspense, building to a shattering finale. Pulsating with tension, Elevator Pitch is a riveting tale of psychological suspense that is all too plausible...and will chill listeners to the bone.

Bonus: Stay tuned at the end to hear a crowdsourced interview with the author.

©2019 Linwood Barclay (P)2019 HarperAudio

I liked this.

Not for anyone who has a fear of elevators or heights.

This is a fairly fast-paced story. An elevator in a New York City high-rise plunges to the bottom. An elevator technician is found dead on the Highline. Coincidence? It’s up to two NYPD detectives to figure it out. And then another elevator malfunctions. Not so much a coincidence now.

I wanted to give this five stars but the way all the individual storylines were wrapped up left me a little disappointed. But it was a good story.

The narrator of the audiobook seemed to try too hard with the NY accents.

Now I have to read some of Linwood Barclay’s other books.

Quite a ride !

Good story, excellent narration and a plot that maybe, just maybe could happen. I’ll be looking for more books by this author.

Exciting Story

Fast paced with good characters. I'm looking forward to checking out more of Mr Barclay's books.

Fantastic!

I honestly didn't figure this one out or even consider it before hand. Great anticipation and the narrator was excellent!

Unusual Story

Author has a vivid imagination but all in all not too bad to read, really.

Held my interest but very convoluted

Lots of twists and turns to this listen, which made the story even more detached from reality than it would have been without them. Not sure why the author added the subplot of the Fly Over group over than to provide some gratuitous fodder for his left wing audience. But when he revealed in a Q&A after the novel that he would like to be caught in an elevator with Barack and Michelle Obama, it became clearer to me. Character development was OK despite some stereotypical politicians and journalists. I'm still trying to figure out if the Russians had anything to do with one of the elevator incidents or whether there was some author misdirection at work. A solid three-star book the moved along well.

Excellent Story from Start to Finish

This was my first Barclay book & I'm hooked. I've never postponed the conclusion of a book because I didn't want it to end until now but I wanted...needed a few more hours with it. I loved the Q & A which led me to A Noise Downstairs. This man is talented & creative & I hope catch one of his signings. I'm a new fan & with this level of creativity, I'll be one for life.

Worth reading

“Elevator Pitch” is worth reading. It’s a fun, pulpy, quick read that requires one to suspend disbelief occasionally but has constant action and likable characters. The reader does a good job with three badass female characters and one cop with an anxiety problem. All four are competently aggressive at their jobs and good hearted. Interestingly, the author makes most characters slightly sexy without digressing into any physical descriptions. An enjoyable urban-crime caper.

Not as good as most of his books

The story seemed to be a lot different than his other books and I did find it very interesting

Johnathan McClain is the best!!!

Although I have my favorites like Richard Ferrone, I can't imagine a better narrator for this story. He caught every nuance of Linwood Barclay's wit and emotion. The plot was wonderful and the characters were original. A funny parallel to America's current El Supremo was also on display.
I wish McClain would do more mystery novels. I would like to hear him do a book by Tom Wood.