The Lock In

LoveReading Says

The Lock-In is the debut novel from Phoebe Luckhurst (also a journalist, Features Editor for the Evening Standard) which has been listed for the Comedy Women in Print Prize. I’ve seen its playful pastel cover everywhere this year from its brilliant publicity campaign from Michael Joseph (Penguin) publishers, who have been positioning it next to the comforting and relatable love stories of Mhairi Macfarlane and Dolly Alderton.

I first heard about it when it was sold during lock-down, when being trapped in a room with your flatmates and a hook-up felt perhaps more thrillingly likely.

It’s there in the title, really! The first chapters of the novel feel a bit like a one-act play – seeing how the different characters respond to the grounded situation of being locked in an attic while water rises in the basement. It prompts a fun thought experiment for the reader about what you would actually do in this situation, like when the characters debate what to write on an SOS sign – they want it to seem real, but still seem funny enough that people would bother to interrupt their day to rescue them: ‘Jack agreed that, on the basis of this sign, he’d definitely try to rescue the people stuck in the attic.’ 

The highlights are when they start going more Lord of the Flies up there: when we realise that they all have different motives for wanting to escape, or indeed, stay in the attic for longer, and lying to each other. 

I was worried that the ‘twist’ of someone being an old flame might be somewhat lost on the fact that it’s on the cover (!) but rest assured there are further twists on this thread. Those who remember MSN romances will enjoy the stomach dropping retellings of changing your status updates to ‘poignant lyrics’, and a first crush saying over that blank cursor ‘ok admission time / i have feelings for you’.

Reviewed by Billy Lindon
Lily Lindon (Billy) is a writer, editor, and bookseller living in London.
More reviews by Billy Lindon

About The Lock In

Do you fondly remember messaging your crush on MSN after school?Miss those shoes that never recovered from the sticky floors of your hometown nightclub?And can't stand your spare-room housemate after lockdown?!Then escape with this year's most feel-good read!_______'THE YEAR'S MOST ORIGINAL ROMCOM' ELLE'David Nicholls for millennials' i'Made me smile, laugh, cringe and inwardly cheer' 5***** READER REVIEW'Found myself wincing and laughing with familiarity' EMMA GANNON'Hilarious' Evening Standard, 'Best New Books in 2021''Funny and compelling from page one!' LUCY VINE_______ Ellen and Alexa have survived hangovers, dodgy landlords and most of their twenties together.But can they survive this?While nursing The Hangover from Hell, a flooded kitchen leads best friends Ellen and Alexa, and hapless housemate Jack, into their attic to turn off the water supply.But when Ben - Alexa's date from the night before - walks in, the door slams, the handle breaks and all four are trapped.Cue the Worst Ever morning-after-the-night-before.As the hours tick by, Ellen nurses her sore head and watches as her best friend falls for this handsome stranger.Only for a horrifying realization to hit. She is sure she knows Ben from somewhere.Frantically searching her memories, Ellen pieces together exactly how they've met before.Is Ben really who she thinks he is?And, most importantly, what on earth is she going to do about it . . .This is a hilarious story of housemates and hangovers and friendship and dating as four twenty-somethings discover what The Worst morning-after-the-night-before really looks like . . .Fans of Beth O'Leary, Mhairi McFarlane and Dolly Alderton will LOVE this oh-so relatable tale of what can happen behind locked doors AS SEEN IN GRAZIA_______'The Lock In is a dream read: an immaculately plotted romcom which vividly captures both late teenagehood and twentysomething houseshares' i'I LOVED this book . . . I highly recommend The Lock In' CARRIE HOPE FLETCHER'Beautifully written, warm and fun with a dose of early noughties nostalgia' Laura Kay, author of The Split'I cannot recommend this book enough!' 5***** READER REVIEW'A funny, joyful hug of a book! A nostalgic, pitch perfect ode to the awkwardness and hilarity of yearning teenage years and house sharing in your twenties' Cressida McLaughlin'Immensely readable, witty and well-crafted . . . a very millennial tale of love, loneliness and friendship' i

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