“Metropolis Storage Warehouse.One hundred and twenty-three years old. Six stories high. Ninety feet wide. Four hundred and eighty feet long. Almost four hundred storage units of various sizes and shapes; some even have windows”.

In May 2018, thirty-seven-year-old Zach Davidson, owner of Metropolis Storage Warehouse in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is in the process of auctioning off the contents of twenty-two abandoned units in the storage facility before ownership changes hands. In January of the same year, an elevator accident resulted in legal trouble that cost Zach his ownership of the storage facility. In the process of the auction, Zach is surprised to find five of the units “staged” in arrangements one would not expect in a storage facility. As the narrative switches between past and present, we find out that unbeknownst to Zach, Rose, who managed the property, had an arrangement with the renters of these units in exchange for an additional fee which she pocketed. The five units in question housed the office of a Harvard educated lawyer, the studio of a photographer, a pied-à-terre of a wealthy socialite who also rented another unit to preserve her children’s room in its exact setup, the living arrangement of a Tufts University doctoral student who due to an administrative mistake is now evading deportation and is being pursued by ICE. In other words, people were living and working out of their rented units!

As the story progresses we discover more about these characters, their backstories and how their stories intersect and about the mishap that occurred in January 2018. Was it an accident, attempted murder or attempted suicide? Were any of the renters involved or responsible for the mishap? Why is Zach being forced to sell the property?

B.A. Shapiro’s Metropolis is a unique and engaging novel. The premise is very interesting and it features a diverse cast of characters. With its well-developed plot with a few unexpected twists along the way, the story hooked me in from the very first page and I could not wait to see how the story progressed. Initially, it took a bit to get used to the multiple PoVs but given each of them had quite distinct voices and engaging storylines, the narrative flowed seamlessly to the end. The author manages to touch upon many important themes such as homelessness, mental health, immigration, spousal abuse, drug trafficking and much more. Marta the doctoral student and Jason the lawyer were my favorite characters and I would have liked it more if the backstory of Serge Laurent, the photographer had been developed with more depth but overall I think the author did a good job of establishing all these characters and their stories and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about them. ( )

I really enjoyed the premise and setting for this - a storage room building with six people who rent storage rooms or are otherwise connected to the building all work through challenges that come up when an accident happens at the storage building. There's a little domestic drama, a little immigration/legal system drama, a desperate mother, an owner in over his head, this has it all just like "New York's hottest club". ( )

Rating 4.65

While I was familiar with her previous books, the plot, characters and engagement of this one are just what the doctor ordered.

Set in Boston, we learn about Zach, a former drug dealer gone legal who purchases a four story storage facility called Metropolis. Run by Rose, mother to several children and for the most part efficient with the business, things get crazy a few years after when several of the tenants use their units to live or do business and in some case, hide.

Married to a greedy billionaire, Liddy is mother to twins who her husband Garrett Haines sent off to a Swiss boarding school. Devious and back stabbing he treats her more like an employee than wife and over time she decides to move from the luxury condo to two of the larger storage units. Parallel, we meet Jason, a former corporate attorney who uses his unit as an office and shifted his direction to immigration law.

Marta, an extremely bright PhD candidate is on the run from immigration due to a misstep she made with procedures. Like Liddy, she hides in a storage unit to work on her dissertation. When the two women meet, an immediate bond forms and desire rises.

Needing to get his way, Haines hires a detective to keep tabs on Liddy while Jason works with Marta on her case. Zach discovers remarkable photography done by Serge Laurent along with his Rolleiflex camera in a unit whose rent is past due. Unable to find him, Zach is shocked by the remarkable photos and discovers countless undeveloped film rolls. Inspired, he decides to take up photography and in the process, develop the films.

Garrett shows up at Metropolis and abruptly barges in on Liddy causing her to go ballistic. As they have a verbal battle in the hallway she shoves him toward the elevator door which swings inward and watches as he tumbles two stories down the shaft. Finger pointing ensues, law suits filed, Rose's 14 year old son is shot during a criminal act and the story spins out of control.

The combination of carefully developed characters, well thought out plot with themes of love, forgiveness and redemption make for a great reading experience. Highly recommended for fans of mystery, drama and happy endings.

This is an offbeat novel about a huge storage facility in Cambridge, MA (which does actually exist) and some of the people who live in their storage units (illegally), practice law out of their storage unit (which is legal) or work there or own the building. When you think about it, it is kind of fascinating to speculate what could be contained within all of those anonymous storage units. The story is a little dark and gritty but overall, an interesting read. ( )

Anyone who's been to MIT or down Mass Ave in Cambridge near it has noted the gigantic, hulking behemoth 140 room Metropolitan Storage Warehouse, built in 1894, and wondered about the mysteries within. The author has written an imaginative story featuring five residents (not legal) and the office manager and owner. There's a wealthy, unhappy socialite, an attorney forced to resign from his firm, a grad student refugee, and a street photographer. Each has their reasons for living at the Metropolis, and each lives in fear of discovery, as circumstances pull them together when a brutal accident threatens their safety. The disparate stories are knitted well together as the reader enjoys the twists and turns. You don't have to live in the area to enjoy the novel, but it helps! ( )