Book Review – The Apartment

After experiencing an armed robbery in their home, Stephanie and Mark are struggling to come to terms with their trauma. They decide to arrange a house-swap with the Petits from France.

When they arrive in Paris, they are met with a rude awakening. The apartment is old, dusty and full of mildew. The building appears to be empty. They look around and find only one other occupant, Mirreille who is an artist. They try to contact the Petits, but to no avail. The apartment is oppressive and downright spooky. Mark goes to the bank to activate his credit card, only to discover this should have been done before they left. This seriously limits their finances.

After sight-seeing in Paris they decide to cook dinner in the apartment. Mirreille invites herself to join them and the night is a disaster. Totally unsettled, they make arrangements to return home earlier. Home does not offer the comfort they need. Mark is seeing visions and becoming increasingly unbalanced.