We’re delighted to be sharing Elena’s thoughts about The Lock In by Phoebe Luckhurst.
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- ASIN : B08HMBX7W8
- Publisher : Penguin (27 May 2021)
- Language : English
- Print length : 400 pages
Meet housemates Ellen, Alexa and Jack. They’re broke. They’re lonely. They’re hungover. And things are about to go from bad to worse . . .
Whilst nursing The Hangover from Hell, Ellen stumbles downstairs to discover the kitchen slowly filling with water.
Panic quickly sets in, and the three flatmates find themselves in the attic desperately attempting to switch off the water supply. But when Ben, Alexa’s Hinge date from the night before, walks in, the door slams, the handle breaks, and all four of them are trapped.
As the long hours tick by, Ellen nurses her sore head whilst Ben and Alexa really get to know each other, and Jack plans an unorthodox rescue mission.
But soon Ellen wonders if Ben really is a stranger after all. She is sure she knows him from somewhere . . .
Will these housemates ever get out of this attic? Will they survive the wrath of Elias The Evil Landlord? And will Jack please stop live-tweeting this whole fiasco?
Welcome to The Lock In.
This is a hilarious story of housemates and hangovers and friendship and dating as four twenty-somethings discover what The Worst morning-after-the-night-before really looks like . . .
Fans of Dolly Alderton, Beth O’Leary and Mhairi McFarlane will LOVE this oh-so relatable tale of love, landlords and what can happen behind locked doors.
Book Review
Ellen wakes up one morning to find that the kitchen she shares with her two other flatmates, Alexa and Jack is flooding.
Not wanting to contact their unhinged landlord, Elias, she tries to find the source of the leak. This eventually leads them to the attic.
Joining them is Ben, Alexa’s Hinge date and while up there he unwittingly breaks the door handle leaving them locked into the attic.
The kitchen is slowly filling with water and there is no access to any mobile phones so they are truly stranded.
Whilst trapped in the attic they are forced to confront each other in microscopic detail.
The Lock In is a wonderfully funny story with an interesting premise and I loved the characters all locked in together.
My favourite is Jack who was clearly extremely uncomfortable in that unorthodox situation.
I wondered how the story would evolve as they are locked in quite early on in the book and as all the action takes place in one room but Ellen and her housemates kept me interested as they all have real likeable and not so likeable qualities.
The writing is smart and very funny! It reminded me of what it was like living in London in my twenties and sharing accommodation with friends.
There were parts where I laughed out loud at and I identified with the reality of their situation as flatmates.
I read this voraciously and got totally absorbed in the characters’ funny, messy lives.
I love this kind of book and the author’s writing style so this was a brilliant read for me.
Phoebe Luckhurst is a journalist, author and editor based in London. She is the Features Editor of the Evening Standard, for whom she also writes a column, and has written features for publications including The Guardian, ELLE, ES Magazine, Vogue, The Sunday Times Style and Grazia. Her first novel is The Lock Inehich will be published by Penguin Michael Joseph in May 2021 (digital) and Hardcover (July 2021). She is currently working on her second. Twitter @phoebeluckhurst
