Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay

 

Four people plunge to their death in an elevator in New York.  While the accident is reported, it is assumed to be just that, a horrific accident.  Then the next day, another death, this time of a Russian diplomat.  Suddenly the mayor is getting nothing but questions about elevators at his press conferences, especially from his arch enemy, a reporter named Barbara Matheson.  Matheson seems to spend all her time looking for stories to disparage the mayor and this is a big one.

Suddenly, everyone is unsure about the elevators in a city that relies heavily on them.  When the mayor shuts down all the elevators until they can be inspected again, it causes other issues.  Disabled people are stuck in their apartments.  Heart attack deaths occur as people try to climb forty or more sets of stairs.  Some elevators are found to have boxes attached to them that allows them to be manipulated from elsewhere.  Who is behind this scheme and when will it stop?

This is my first Linwood Barclay novel.  He is a Canadian former journalist who now writes thrillers.  This one will hit home for many people as fear of elevators is a common phobia both for those with claustrophobia and those who need to always be in control.  The plot has lots of characters, the mayor, his son, Barbara and her estranged daughter, the mayor's staff and several police assigned to the case.  The plot turns on how the various characters react to the continuing elevator incidents and the investigation into who is responsible.  This book is recommended for thriller readers.