Onyx reviews: Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay

Reviewed by Bev Vincent, 07/16/2019

Linwood Barclay's latest thriller opens with what might be world's first fatal elevator pitch. A young man, disguised in Fed-Ex delivery apparel, wants to get his script into the hands of an agent. When they end up trapped in a stalled elevator together, she gives him the chance to pitch his idea. It doesn't go well. After his feeble presentation strikes out, the elevator acts erratically before falling dozens of floors, killing everyone on board.

This is only the first of three fatal incidents involving elevators in this "vertical city" in as many days. Two might be written off as coincidence, but three? Someone must be sabotaging elevators, of which Manhattan has over 70,000. Mayor Richard Headley is put in the difficult position of having to announce that one of New York's main forms of conveyance might not be safe. That would mean millions of people would have to walk up and down some of the tallest buildings in the country, as well as closing popular venues, like the Empire State Building, to tourists. The aged and the infirm will especially be in jeopardy.

No one claims responsibility for the attacks, but that doesn't mean they aren't acts of domestic or foreign terrorism. A group known as the Flyovers, who have a vendetta against the elites living on the coasts, have been launching highly visible acts of terrorism lately, and the organization's leader happens to be in New York when the elevator mishaps take place. The aspiring screenwriter's disguise makes him a person of interest, even though he died in the incident. On the other hand, the sole victim of the second act of sabotage—who dies in a particularly grizzly manner—was a Russian scientist with valuable information about her country's secret research. The other incidents might have been a smoke screen for her murder at the hands of a Russian assassin.

Is there any connection to the car bomb that went off in a taxi outside a hotel? Or to the jogger whose body was found on an elevated walkway, mutilated to make identification difficult? The lead detective on that case, Jerry Bourque, has recently returned to active duty after an incident that left him with panic attacks and a possibly psychological case of asthma that has him relying frequently on an inhaler. If the investigation involves climbing multiple flights of stairs after the city's elevator's are all shut down, he's going to be at a serious disadvantage.

Connecting the dots is journalist Barbara Matheson, a constant thorn in Headley's side at news conferences and a friend of one of the victims of the first incident. She is a dogged reporter who poses such a threat to the mayor's re-election campaign that Headley assigns an aide to dig up dirt to discredit her. Matheson's only possible weakness comes in the form of her adult daughter; Matheson abdicated raising Arla to her parents in favor of her career and their relationship is strained as a result. Headley understands family vulnerabilities: his own son, a member of his staff, is a regular source of embarrassment.

There are suspects aplenty, but the culprit will only be uncovered when the motive behind the elevator sabotages is disclosed. Readers may think they're on the trail of the killer, but Barclay is always at least one step ahead all the way through the book, which culminates in a thrilling climax at the top of the city's second tallest building. Barclay turns a clever "elevator pitch" concept into a harrowing and compelling thriller that will leave readers exhausted but satisfied. In this era of internet-connected devices, it's all too plausible to think that one of our most claustrophobic conveyances could be hijacked for nefarious purposes.