Thrillers & Suspense
![B. A. Shapiro - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_b_a_shapiro.jpg)
Metropolis: A Novel
The New York Times bestselling author of The Art Forger delivers a spellbinding and moving novel about what we hang on to, what we might need to let go, and how unexpected events can lead us to deeper truths.
Six people, six secrets, six different backgrounds. They would never have met if not for their connection to the Metropolis Storage Warehouse in Cambridge, Massachusetts. When someone falls down an elevator shaft at the facility, each becomes caught up in an intensifying chain of events.
We meet Serge, an unstable but brilliant street photographer who lives in his storage unit, which overflows with thousands of undeveloped pictures; Marta, an undocumented immigrant finishing her dissertation and hiding from ICE; Liddy, an abused wife and mother, who recreates her children's bedroom in her unit; Jason, a former corporate lawyer now practicing in the facility; Rose, the office manager, who takes illegal kickbacks to let renters live in the building; and Zach, the building's owner and an ex-drug dealer, who scans Serge's photos as he searches for clues to the accident.
But was it an accident? A murder attempt? Suicide? As her characters dip in and out of one another's lives trying to find answers and battling societal forces beyond their control, B. A. Shapiro both questions the myth of the American dream and builds tension to an exhilarating climax. Taut and emotional, Metropolis is impossible to put down and impossible to forget.
Six people, six secrets, six different backgrounds. They would never have met if not for their connection to the Metropolis Storage Warehouse in Cambridge, Massachusetts. When someone falls down an elevator shaft at the facility, each becomes caught up in an intensifying chain of events.
We meet Serge, an unstable but brilliant street photographer who lives in his storage unit, which overflows with thousands of undeveloped pictures; Marta, an undocumented immigrant finishing her dissertation and hiding from ICE; Liddy, an abused wife and mother, who recreates her children's bedroom in her unit; Jason, a former corporate lawyer now practicing in the facility; Rose, the office manager, who takes illegal kickbacks to let renters live in the building; and Zach, the building's owner and an ex-drug dealer, who scans Serge's photos as he searches for clues to the accident.
But was it an accident? A murder attempt? Suicide? As her characters dip in and out of one another's lives trying to find answers and battling societal forces beyond their control, B. A. Shapiro both questions the myth of the American dream and builds tension to an exhilarating climax. Taut and emotional, Metropolis is impossible to put down and impossible to forget.
Editorial Reviews
"An ingeniously plotted hybrid social/suspense novel . . . [Shapiro] takes her time loading the bases, and in the last inning, she hits it out of the park."
-Shelf Awareness
"Metropolis has all the elements I love in a novel: fascinating characters, a pace that crackles with tension, and a deeper message that will resonate with everyone. Once again, B. A. Shapiro weaves a unique and riveting tale."
-Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of I Know a Secret
"A rich and gripping journey through intersecting lives, a nuanced exploration of characters who share nothing in common-but almost everything too. Inventive and immersive, it's a page-turner of novel that will also make you want to slow down and soak it all in."
-Lou Berney, Edgar Award-winning author of November Road
"In Metropolis, Shapiro is the literary equivalent of a master juggler, writing with tremendous compassion and a wonderful knack for storytelling. Her characters whirl together within the confines of a self-storage unit and, though at its core is a mystery, its beating heart is their stories. It is a dazzling performance and a novel that will stay with me for a long time to come."
-Mary Morris, author of Gateway to the Moon
-Shelf Awareness
"Metropolis has all the elements I love in a novel: fascinating characters, a pace that crackles with tension, and a deeper message that will resonate with everyone. Once again, B. A. Shapiro weaves a unique and riveting tale."
-Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of I Know a Secret
"A rich and gripping journey through intersecting lives, a nuanced exploration of characters who share nothing in common-but almost everything too. Inventive and immersive, it's a page-turner of novel that will also make you want to slow down and soak it all in."
-Lou Berney, Edgar Award-winning author of November Road
"In Metropolis, Shapiro is the literary equivalent of a master juggler, writing with tremendous compassion and a wonderful knack for storytelling. Her characters whirl together within the confines of a self-storage unit and, though at its core is a mystery, its beating heart is their stories. It is a dazzling performance and a novel that will stay with me for a long time to come."
-Mary Morris, author of Gateway to the Moon
Readers Top Reviews
Diane HLouise K.
Metropolis is a five-story storage facility in downtown Boston. Six strangers are connected with it in mysterious ways. All have issues to be resolved. Then an incident happens at the facility shining a light on some of the shady dealings happening there. If you enjoy in-depth character studies of people having hard times, Metropolis is the perfect book for you. However, I was expecting more of a traditional mystery to solve. So, depending on what you are looking for in a book, your rating may be higher than my 3 stars. By the way, The Art Forger by the same author is an awesome historical fiction mystery that you shouldn’t miss! Thanks to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.
kathleen gDiane H
Zach owns the storage facility that hosts the six diverse people who tell their stories in this novel about how we live and the value we place on our stuff. Someone has fallen to the bottom of the elevator shaft- no spoilers from me- and each of the characters has the chance to provide their back story and their present on the way to the answer, Serge, Rose, Liddy, Marta, Zach, and Jason each have a reason for being there. It will make you think every time you pass one of these facilities. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.
M BeckwithM Beckw
“A repository for memories and treasures and secrets and junk. Things to be honored. Things someone forgot about or was just too lazy or sentimental to throw away. And all these people. Did they know each another? Were there friendships, love affairs?” With elements of the board game Clue, the TV show Storage Wars and some Gordon Gekko sprinkled in just for fun, I could almost hear the units’ metal doors rolling up. B.A. Shapiro had this reader hooked from the first page of her enthralling new mystery, Metropolis. The plot swirls around a horrific accident which occurs at the Metropolis Storage Warehouse in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and encompasses six unforgettable characters. A brilliant undocumented immigrant, a former drug dealer-turned property owner, an affluent and abused wife and mother, a down on his luck attorney, a street photographer, a struggling office manager - all searching for something or someone. Their stories intersect, creating a web of desperation, lies, and love, which steer the story toward a propulsive and somewhat unexpected ending.
