S. L. GreyReviews

I didn't like this one as much as the previous two books. The majority of the book takes place in the upside and my favorite parts of the first two books were when the main characters were stuck in/exploring the downside. Also, the creepiness and grossness was nonexistent. It was just lacking something that the previous books had, but I can't quite put my finger on what it was exactly.

This book takes place, for the most part, in the Modification Ward of the Downside that is only mentioned briefly in the first book. I liked that we got to see a little more of how the Downside works, and I loved the references to The Mall. It wasn't as creepy and gross as the first book, but it was just as enjoyable.

I really enjoyed this book! It was creepy, gross, and disturbing. I've worked in malls so I understand how they can feel "off" after hours or in the service corridors. The way the characters developed and grew was realistic. I kinda want to go to the mall now.

This story was a little slow to get going, and at first I thought I was going to be disappointed in it. I don't know when I've been so wrong.
When the book begins. the home invasion has already occurred and Mark and Steph are living in the aftermath. They have somewhat grown apart in the marriage, partially due to the break in, and partially because Mark had already faced some traumatic events before the break in ever occurred. The story is told in alternating points of view, switching back and forth between Mark and Steph. They no longer feel comfortable in their own home and do not seem all that comfortable with each other, at least not enough to confide in.
A friend suggests a getaway, but money is tight since Mark is the sole provider and Steph is a stay at home mom to their small daughter.
When an opportunity presents itself to stay in Paris free via a house swap website it sounds like a dream come true. They head off with high hopes that this will be just what they need to reconnect with each other and to put the trauma of the past behind them.
Those hopes are short lived. At this point the story picks up speed from a slow build to an avalanche of terror and suspense. From the minute they arrive there is a feeling that something is just plain wrong. The apartment is not at all what they expected and the building itself appears abandoned, except for a strange woman upstairs who has never heard of the people who supposedly live there, and who tells them this building is "not for living."
Circumstances go from bad to worse and the creepiness factor rises exponentially.
I have been reading adult horror since I was 11 years old and it takes a lot to scare me. S.L. Grey has succeeded in doing just that with The Apartment.

I received an advance copy for review

I listened to this on Audible. It has two narrators, Nicholas Guy Smith and Fiona Hardingham. I thought they were good with Ms Hardingham being the stronger narrator. I would listen to them again.
This story kept me listening. I was thinking it was a thriller but, after listening to it, I think of it as more paranormal horror. After a home invasion a couple decides to swap houses with a couple in another country. They really can’t afford a getaway so they think a house swap would be an ideal way to get over the trauma of the home invasion. They meet the other couple online and exchange home photos. An agreement is reached and they are off on their getaway. So far, it sounds good. Then they arrive to find the apartment is nothing at all like the photos. They would like to go to a hotel but aren’t able to. They stick it out in this horrible apartment. Cautionary tale of house swaps, right? Then it gets super strange. The husband finds buckets of human hair in the closet for one strange thing. It gets worse from there. When they return home, they find that whatever that was in the apartment has followed them. Yikes!
I loved the idea of a house swap. Has anyone not watched a Christmas movie where someone swapped houses? I loved those movies! They had me convinced of how fun it could be. Until I listened to this book, that is. Oh my goodness, you need to listen to this during the day! All the romance of house swapping will go right out the window. I’ll stay home, thank you very much.

I had to laugh at one of the other reviewer's description of this novel as "non-stop horror"...no. Not so much. Not even close.

I'm a massive, massive fan of one-half of the two authors that comprise the "S.L. Grey" name. Sarah Lotz is, in my opinion, a terrific author. Haven't read anything by Louis Greenberg, the other half, and this book did nothing to push me toward seeking out any of his work.

This story was just a really big miss for me. Little was explained, little made sense, nothing was scary, and overall, the entire story was, with a few exceptions, shockingly mundane. I think the biggest miss for me was the fact that we only got the surface of everything. The death of the first daughter, the loss of the first wife, the impact of some of the bigger events of the story.

Instead, we were treated to pages of hand-wringing, of "oh well, we're in Paris, let's make the best of this", of "she loves me, she loves me not."

Had someone handed me this as a freshly-printed manuscript, I would have suggested that the author had written a story just as it occurs to them, with little attention to actual plotting, suspense, or character development. It felt very much like a series of hastily-created scenes barely strung together with any coherence.

They're here, and this happens.
They go there, and that happens.
They're over here, and this happens.
They go home, and this happens.

Nope.

It was supposed to be a quick trip to the mall, make the deal, score a hit and get back before anyone noticed that she, and the kid she was looking after, were missing. But after returning from her dealer to Only Book, the store she left the kid waiting in while she made her transaction, she discovered the kid had disappeared.

A run in with mall security should have been just what she needed, they would find the kid and she could leave, however they are not as helpful as she hoped. Worse still they are threatening to call the cops and with the stash in her pocket there is no way she is going to risk getting taken in. To find the kid she is going to have to take matters into her own hands.

When he left for work that morning he never imagined his day would end being held at knife point by a drugged up girl, forced to search behind the scenes at the mall for a kid that has probably already been found is long home by now. But as the detour through the mall becomes more and more dangerous and surreal, he realises he has more important things to worry about.

The mall became a labyrinth, it shouldn't have been possible, he knew the mall and none of these turns and corridors existed. But here they were being chased by monsters in the dark, stumbling over dismembered mannequins and being confronted by a distorted version of reality. Suddenly getting out is not a question of how by why.

The Mall is a gritty, raw and provocative story that turns society inside out and strips it down to expose its discarded, scared and rotting core. Through drugs, violence, consumerism and days spent in a nightmare world on the run for their lives, Rhoda and Dan discover that the life they once had is no longer the life they wish to lead. A thought provoking and chilling read.

Most of my problems with this book originated with this statement in the book's synopsis:

"The Apartment is a terrifying and tour-de-force of horror, of psychological thrills, and of haunting suspense." I'm sorry to report that for me, it was NOT any of these things.

A South African couple survives a home invasion/robbery physically unscathed but emotionally beaten and drained. At the suggestion of a friend, they decided to do an apartment swap with another couple from Paris. They have basically no money since the robbery and this is a good way for them to get out of their house on the cheap. Instead of being the romantic vacation they had hoped for, they arrive in Paris to find a nearly abandoned building and a disgusting, filthy apartment.

My issues start right here at the beginning of the story. After having their home invaded and robbed by strangers, why oh why would they want to turn it over to another set of strangers? That made no sense to me. (There are a few other things that bothered me about this as well, for example, the couple buying the swappers fancy sheets and whatnot before they leave, when they have NO money!)

Up to this point, I was engaged with the story and I figured the good stuff, (you know, the aforementioned tour-de-force of horror), would happen once they got settled into the Paris apartment, but no. Paris turns into a nightmare for them financially due to credit card problems, and they have an ugly run-in with the only other resident of the building, Mireille. There are also a few unsettling incidents in the apartment, but again, nothing really horrific.

When they returned home early from their trip, I couldn't figure out where the story was going, but once it finally got there, I WAS satisfied. I liked how the story was related- with alternating chapters between Mark and Stephanie, and I admit to enjoying the denouement very much. However, it took way too long in getting there and again, (I know I'm harping), it was not a tour-de-force of anything, except maybe for boring.

Without that tagline raising my expectations, I might have enjoyed this novel more, but I was expecting to be WOWED and it never happened. By the time things DID happen I was so bored their impact was severely diminished.

Of course, all of this is just my opinion, your mileage may vary.

*Thanks to Edelweiss, Blumhouse Books and the author for the free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*

wish i'd known this was the first of a series before reading this. on its own it's just absurd and pointless.

Claustrophobia has never been scarier!

S.L. Grey teamed up again to bring to life a creepy thriller with weird characters. They placed those characters into the worst situations imaginable, and allowed the strange results to run wild. Under Ground explores a horrific situation, made worse when certain events occur, which in turn spurs on the (sometimes) dormant fears of some of the fine folks trapped under ground. This is to be expected, though, considering that most people who invest in underground condos - in the event of an apocalyptic travesty - aren't always the most logical thinkers in the world. Nevertheless, this old-school concept is turned into a modern nightmare. And it's AWESOME!

Under Ground is written in multi-perspective, which means we get to see the story out of almost everyone's point of views. Some people might not like this element of the book, and at times even I thought an omnipresent point of view would have worked better, but it's really the worst part of the book. The characters have distinct personalities, all of them unique in their own ways. The writing style is fast-paced, making the book easy to devour. But what I enjoyed the most was the ending. OMW that ending! I can't divulge my thoughts on it, because ... SPOILERS ... but I need to give the authors kudos for that thought provoking ending. I DID NOT SEE IT COMING.

S.L. Grey does not disappoint with Under Ground. Horror aficionados will get a kick out of this book, thriller lovers are in for a treat, and fans of dystopian novels will enjoy it, too.

Review originally posted on:

At first, I thought this would be another yawn-fest. Kid gets lost, unlikable babysitter needs to find kid, unlikable loser can't remember kid being in the store... blah, blah, blah... You know, the type of books that really shouldn't be categorised under horror/thriller? Well I was wrong. It took me a while to get into the book, but when I was past the first couple of chapters things quickly changed and I was drawn into The Mall's bizarre twists and turns. The spooky atmosphere jumps off of the pages, envelops the reader in its shroud of mystery, and then screws with the reader's mind just for the hell of it. It's bloody brilliant!

Like I said, it takes a while to get into the book, but by golly, once you pushed through the introductory chapters, you're going to be in for a ride of your life, coming straight from a seemingly unknown mall situated in Johannesburg. Not to mention, the mannequins (Doctor Who fans will remember how creepy mannequins can be), freaked me out! I'll never look at a mannequin the same way again.

Okay, but The Mall isn't just about a weird horror story with creepy characters. S.L. Grey (a collaboration between Sarah Lotz and Louis Greenberg) actually has more to say than what meets the eye. With consumerism, drugs, violence, and negligence present between the lines, it's obvious that this book is much more intelligently written than similar horror novels. Granted, you don't have to dissect the book to enjoy it though...
So, what did I think? Well, my suggestion is that you push through. It starts off a bit lame (the writing is excellent, the plot just kind of drags on for a while), but when you finish the book you're going to sit there and swear off mall's for quite some time. In other words, horror junkies, this is a definite must-read.

(review originally posted on www.tentaclebooks.com)

I’ve read some pretty creepy books in my time, but The New Girl by S.L. Grey is in a whole different category when it comes to horror. Hell, it takes a very special blend of crazy to come up with such a riveting, suspenseful and exceptionally creepy plot, in my opinion, but I am definitely not complaining. The New Girl is a nail-biting book that revolves around a rather odd-looking new student that attends Crossley College. She looks like an outreach student, one that is simply there to fill the quota of the private school, but what Tara – an American teacher with a past and a weird obsession with reborn dolls – soon comes to realise is that nothing is quite as it seems. Of course, Tara wasn’t the only one who noticed the girl, Ryan – a predator – has also seen the new girl walking around like she doesn’t belong and he’s taken quite a liking to her. Unfortunately for him, she’s much more dangerous than she looks and in the end he’ll soon fall victim to something other than “urges”.

The New Girl is based in South Africa and has a real otherworldly flair to it that is not only unique but truly a breath of fresh air. Sure, we have our “American moments” with the slang and such, but that’s simply Upside speak. The real trouble’s far below the surface where the rules don’t necessarily apply – especially when it comes to grammar.

The New Girl is the third book in this series. With its predecessors, The Mall and The Ward, both critically acclaimed works, it’s logical to read them first, however it’s not vital. Nevertheless, the moment that you’ve finished reading this spectacularly crafted novel, you’re going to want to read the rest of S.L. Grey’s works.

I loved this book. I loved the fact that I blurted out in the middle of the night: “Jesus, this shit’s whack!” while the shadows danced and the darkness tried to push through the artificial light. I loved how S.L. Grey was able to mix together a fictitious fear alongside a very real threat, while keeping in mind the South African lingo (Parktown prawns anyone?). In other words, The New Girl was absolutely PRIMO! Everyone who loves horror should get their hands on it, and those who are in the mood for something a bit different is in for a huge, albeit creepy, surprise…

(review originally posted on www.killeraphrodite.com)

I'm conflicted on this book - 3 or 4 stars? It did disturb me enough that I had to take a couple of breaks while reading, especially from about 1/2 through to 3/4 of the way to the end. The amount of craziness and unfortunate events in the apartment in Paris were disturbing (plus the hair!), but the couple's return home is when the book amped up the creep factor, in my opinion. The alternating narrators also served the author well, until the last 1/4 of the book. The switching of narrators only confused me at the end instead of adding more information to what was happening. When finally revealed, the "origin story" of the Paris apartment was disappointing and the ending felt rushed and unresolved to me. So, do I give it 4 stars because it did creep me out or 3 stars for the disappointing ending?

House Swaps & Home Invasions...

The Apartment is about a couple- Mark & Steph, who live in South Africa, and have been struggling to recover and get their lives back on track after they were the victims of a home invasion. In an attempt to get away from their home which they don't feel comfortable in now, they sign up with a house swap agency and head to Paris. When they arrive, the house is not as advertised- it's a complete dump and abandoned with the exception of one eccentric old lady; and the couple who was suppose to stay in their house is a no-show...

>>Minor spoilers from here on outFirst of all, I think this story started off all wrong. It presented a traumatized couple having major issues recovering from an "attack" but it doesn't give you any details "upfront" on this supposed attack so I couldn't empathize at all with what they were going through because I wasn't clued in. When the authors (Sarah Lotz & Louis Greenberg a.k.a. S.L. Grey) finally did explain the home invasion there was absolutely no suspense or horrific actions on the part of the intruders so I still didn't feel any empathy toward Mark & Steph- if anything I felt like their behavior was somewhat irrational bordering on nuts. Especially when in the midst of the invasion, Steph tells the intruders not to hurt their little girl- Hayden, so the intruders look in Hayden's room and see her sleeping so they shut the door so they don't wake her. Does that sound like an evil intruder set on harming someone to you? To me, it makes them come across as the least scariest bad guys ever which negates this couple's horrific experience even more. I think the story would have been better if it immediately opened with an intense and "realistic" home invasion -in progress, so we readers are cued in from the very beginning about what's causing this couples extreme fear and obsessive behavior.

Mark & Steph's behavior then turns even more unbelievable when they get to this dump in Paris and don't see anything wrong with the situation so they just continue their stay in this awful apartment. Who does that??

After that the story just goes even further downhill from there. The major problem being, that there were way too many threads opened up but none of them were fully fleshed out or tied together properly. To name a few...1) We have the most mediocre "home invasion" ever 2) along with the nicest "bad guys" I've ever seen 3) the elusive safe the intruders were looking for which we never heard anymore about 4) The crazy old lady living in the dump in Paris 5) which also turns out to be- the 'haunted' dump in Paris 6) the mysterious house-swap couple that we never learn anything about 7) Mark's deceased daughter, Zoe's, malevolent ghost 8) the unhinging of Mark 9) the hair aka lifeblood  in Paris & South Africa (don't even ask- lol). I could go on & on but you get my gist.

The book is touted as a psychological horror story but I honestly got the feeling that the authors couldn't come to an agreement on what kind of story they wanted to write, so they just threw in a little of bit of everything and a lot of nothing! If you were planning to read this one, I would save yourself the time and find something else.

*I received this ARC from Edelweiss & Blumhouse Books in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

**I read this for my 2016 Halloween Bingo: ~Genre: Horror~ square

I didn't love this book but I didn't hate it. The ending felt strained and like it was a screenplay turned novel, but also the ending was way overplayed in a lot of Japanese horror and the American remakes.

Not as good as Sarah Lotz's standalone novels, but still tense and interesting, maintaining that perfect balance between supernatural and realistically plausible.

Typical haunted house/apartment novel. Plenty creepy but a bit predictable.

Review from Tenacious Reader: http://www.tenaciousreader.com/2016/10/04/review-the-apartment-by-s-l-grey/

Looking for a fantastically creepy book to start off October? The Apartment by S. L. Grey may be just what you need. It is a haunting tale told through alternating perspectives from husband and wife, Marc and Steph. Both have been traumatized and then things start to get …. creepy.

I’ve read Sarah Lotz’s The Three and Day Four and loved them both. This is the first time I’ve read one of the books she co-authors with Louis Greenberg under the pen name S. L. Grey. It definitely did not disappointed and makes me think twice about house swapping for vacation.

Marc and Steph’s relationship is definitely in need of work. In addition to dealing with the house invasion, Marc also has a traumatic history involving his first family, before he met Steph. So, when the opportunity arises to “get away” and take the honeymoon they never had, they leave their young daughter behind and head to Paris hoping this will get them back in touch with each other, make everything good again.

Unfortunately, once they get to Paris, they encounter one problem after another, and their romantic, relaxing time away starts to feel more like hell. The apartment is nothing as advertised, in a virtually abandoned building (the only resident being a woman living up stairs, who like as not, is a squatter. The relationship issues they had before arriving seem to be compounded rather than resolved. And amid it all, things get creepier and harder to explain.

The alternating perspectives are interesting as this couple, at least at times, seems to be growing apart rather than closer. The different perspectives make you question if either narrator is fully reliable. From one perspective you may question the sanity of the other. From the other perspective, you may wonder what supernatural forces could be in play. It is a book where you question everything and trust just about nothing.

My only slight criticism while reading this was in the beginning of the book, the amount of emphasis and reinforcement that was directly used to let the reader know how traumatized this couple was by a recent home invasion. It almost felt overly dramatic (I’m not trying to trivialize it, I just felt the level of emphasis actually dampened the level of drama, at least for me). It wasn’t major, but I wonder if a little more showing, a little less telling for that one tiny aspect of the book could have been effective without repeating reminders about their traumatic event. But it wasn’t something that deterred my enjoyment, so I would consider this a minor thing.

I don’t know about Louis Greenberg (I have yet to read his solo work), but I am convinced Sarah Lotz doesn’t want her readers to be comfortable on vacation or holiday. First planes in The Three, then cruiseships in Day Four, now house swapping in The Apartment … all have new level of creepiness!

The Apartment is fantastically haunting and shuddersome, making it a great choice of book to set the mood as we head in to the fall season, prime time for all things creepy, supernatural and haunting.

OMG. I am so upset. Instantly, I gravitated to this book due to the summary. It had me so intrigued. Yet, I have to say that this book is a major letdown. When I first started reading this book, it was alright. I was a little lost because the story started after the events of the break in had happened. So Mark and Steph were dealing with the aftermath. There was already tension between Mark and Steph. Even though I did not know them well I got this instant vibe about Mark that turned me off to him.

When Mark and Steph went to Paris I thought "Ok, now the story is going to begin". No, I was wrong. The strange events that happened to Mark and Steph were such a bore that I think I slept. It was apparent that I was not going to get a scare from reading this book; even a goosebump. I skipped to the last chapter of the book and was glad I spent no more time on this book.

Mark and Steph live happily in a nice house in South Africa with their daughter Hayden. Their peaceful life is marred by a home invasion that ending with stolen items but no physical injuries. The psychological harm has taken its toll and the family no longer feels safe in addition to hidden resentments that cropped up as a result. Steph is desperate to get away and heal, so she jumps on the chance to do an online house exchange for a week where she and Mark stay at a delightfully quaint French apartment and the French couple stays in their house. When they arrive, it isn't quaint, but empty, shoddy, and home to vagrants. They also feel a more sinister presence, but don't have the money to stay anywhere else. They will wait out the week. What's the worst that could happen?

When I heard about this book, I was excited that Blumhouse Productions is getting into horror. The studio can be innovative and creative, but their films are overall hit and miss. Anyway, this story has a lot of good things going for it. The family could be any middle class family that struggles financially and suffered such a psychological and monetary blow in the home invasion. A lot of people can relate and I found them mostly sympathetic until they started falling apart. The structure of the narrative alternates perspectives between the couple in every chapter, sometimes backtracking or leaping forward in time. The type of nefarious presence used is interesting and not well defined. Even after reading the story, I couldn't tell you specifically what is was. The rules governing it were unique and made sense. The decision to cut away from the violence made the book more compelling and allowed the reader to make what happened as gruesome as they could imagine. Only in one instance was it a little confusing to the plot.

My biggest problem with the book is Steph. So many wives in horror books and films are stereotypical, unsympathetic shrews. I'm not sure if it stems from the misogynistic view of marriage that these women were awesome and then turned horrible after giving birth and a few years of marriage. It's gross. Anyway, she is simply awful. She has a deep seated resentment of Mark's behavior during the robbery. If he had fought back like she wanted, one or more of them would have probably died. She doesn't have empathy or patience for his extended grief over his daughter's death from a previous marriage. He has problems getting close to Hayden because of his grief and Steph takes offense instead of being understanding. She attributes his behavior to hatred or resentment, creating this bizarre imagined conflict between the two. I assumed she didn't know about his grief by her behavior, but then she mentions it and I lost all sympathy for her. The entire situation is her fault because she didn't thoroughly research a place in Paris or ensure the one she chose had some reviews first. On top of this other moronic behavior, Steph completely avoids voicing her concerns or feelings until they explode out. All of this could have been avoided with some honest conversations and good research. Steph is the real villain of this whole piece.

The Apartment started out as very promising, creepy horror. The writing is pretty good and engaging, but it totally falls apart with Steph, the most infuriating character to read about. It's a disturbing trend in films that mothers and/or wives are unsympathetic shrews that only serve to make the main male characters look better and have understandable resentful feelings towards her. Other than that, the book has an interesting concept in an unspecified nefarious presence with its own rules. It never becomes over explained and I like the mystery surrounding it. It would be easy to write a completely different book about the same presence. I would give Blumhouse Books another chance even though I had some real problems with this one.

This book was just OK. It was kind of confusing at times as to what was happening. Was the french girl real or not? I had just decided that she wasn't then it seemed like the young men in Mark's class saw her. I got to the end and was still not really sure what exactly was going on. Why exactly did the woman in Paris do what she did? I feel there should be more of an explanation as to how the "problem" ended up where it did (I'm trying not to say any "spoilers" for those that have not yet read this book). I have a feeling that this is one of those books that you either like or not.

Please read my full review here: http://realbooks4ever.tumblr.com/post/117489507014.

Please read my full review here: http://realbooks4ever.tumblr.com/post/117489507014.

Dan is an Emo loser who works in a giant bland mall in Johannesburg and Rhoda (a strung out junky) is about to seriously ruin his day, dragging him through back corridors searching for the lost kid she was babysitting. Which is bad enough, but then they get lost, some psycho keeps sending text messages and the power goes. Then something starts chasing them in the dark...

I don't usually like horror novels, grotesque but dull is my usual impression and this proved no exception (use the fact that I also thought this about Dawn of the Dead as your gauge). However I can see it has positives for fans of the genre. It is a refreshing new take on the consumerism/horror melding and it does have some nice set pieces, particularly the descent into hellish mall. Darkness and mannequins sure, but also blinding mirrors and dark water and the lost dregs of society. The other mall with its amusing slogans and grotesque inhabitants, are suitably twisted and eerie.

What I can't forgive is it commits the cardinal sin of the genre: characters that are far too stupid to live. Seriously I nearly threw the book at the wall. They are also unlikeable and, I admit I might be picking holes here, but I didn't find them particularly believable either. Talk about twisting to fit the predictable ending. I could rant on but I won't, I don’t think it’s a terrible book but just a very bad fit for me

I can't recommend it but horror fans might want to check out other reviews.

I bought this book for the Kindle as part of Amazon's 12 days of Kindle promo. In a nutshell Rhoda (a tough girl with a bad coke habit) 'loses' a child in a shopping mall and is convinced that Dan the emo assistant in the book shop can help her find him, so she forces him into the back corridors of the mall after it's closed. The corridors make no sense with twists and turns, going deeper and deeper underground. They are chased by a snorting, stinking creature whilst at the same time receiving mysterious text messages even though their phones are out of range.

After a series of near misses with revolting people and creatures, they find themselves back in the mall; only this time it looks different. The shop assistants are chained to their counters (unless they are on a 'moist' or a 'victual' break) and the shoppers literally shop 'til they drop. McColon's is the venue of choice for assistants to take their victual break. The poster on the door reads Clog your intestines with crap so that you don't get hungry. Want to know more? You'll have to read it to find out.

I'm not sure if I'd describe this a horror or a very very black commentary on consumerism. Either way I enjoyed it, would not have been disappointed even if I'd paid full price for it and would certainly recommend it. Read it... by the way, would you like starchsticks with that?