Lock Every Door: A Novel

How does Jules’s lack of family influence how she sees herself throughout the novel? In what ways does her traumatic familial past influence her sense of isolation at the Bartholomew?

How do Jules’s impressions of the Bartholomew’s residents evolve over the course of the novel, and why? Consider characters including Greta Manville, Nick Bartholomew, Leslie Evelyn, and Marianne Duncan. How does Jules interact with them when they first meet? How do Jules’s interactions with these characters change once she starts investigating the Bartholomew?

How does Jules’s relationship with Heart of a Dreamer contribute to her outlook on life? What role has it played in her childhood and throughout her adulthood? Why does she remain attached to the book’s fantastical story even after her sister’s disappearance and her parents’ deaths?

What influence does the setting of the Bartholomew have on the mood and tone of the novel? Consider elements like the narrative descriptions of the building’s appearance and location, residents, and code of conduct in your reasoning.

In what ways does the author use the Bartholomew as a microcosm for US socioeconomic and sociopolitical systems? Compare and contrast the ways in which status and class play into the Bartholomew’s culture versus that of the larger United States? What does the building’s history suggest about the author’s approach to wealth disparity in the US?

Compare and contrast Jules and Ingrid Gallagher. In what ways do their similarities and differences affect their behavior in the novel? In what ways does the evolution of their dynamic impact Jules’s psyche?

In what ways does Jules’s time at the Bartholomew distort her perception of reality? How does the setting impede her ability to distinguish between truth and fiction?

Consider the challenges Jules faces in her professional, social, familial, and financial spheres. How do these challenges make Jules vulnerable, and why? What larger point is Riley Sager suggesting through his depiction of Jules’s struggles?