Metropolis, B. A. Shapiro, author; Erin Spencer, Will Collyer, Ana Osorio, Hillary Huber, Mirron Willis, Sean Pratt, narrators. This novel centers around an upscale five-story storage facility, called Metropolis, also referred to as The Castle, by others, and the people who rent space there. It is owned by Zach Davidson, a man who dabbles at things, but somehow has not found his true purpose in life. As a result, he has allowed a woman, Rose Gentilini, who has little more than a high school diploma, to run the business for him. He has provided her with very little oversight for the previous decade. After an unfortunate disastrous “accident” involving a broken elevator, Zach is in danger of losing the entire facility. It is discovered that Rose forgot to have the elevator inspected, because of family problems, but there is further suspicion that the elevator might have been tampered with deliberately, by an outsider. Perhaps someone wanted the victim to fall through the broken door and down the empty shaft. There is an investigation. As a result, Rose loses her job. All of the storage units have to be emptied, and the contents of those abandoned are to be auctioned off. In the past, it seems that Rose had began to take chances, in order to make ends meet. Her husband Vince suffered from PTSD from his military service, and she was the main breadwinner. She bent the rules by illegally renting some of the units as living spaces and keeping the money for herself. Jason Franklin, a lawyer who violated attorney-client privilege in order to turn in some dishonest lawyers at his firm, was rewarded by being fired for embarrassing them. To retain his license, he didn’t fight them, and instead, he installed his furniture at Metropolis and attempted to work from there. He is kind and helps those he meets at the facility, who are in need of legal services, even pro bono. Liddy Haines is a privileged, unhappy woman who is controlled by her very successful and wealthy husband, W. Garrett Haines, the third. Liddy sometimes confides in Rose about his cruelty. Rose would like to be Liddy’s friend and is flattered. Liddy has created a shrine at Metropolis, to her two children Robin and Scott, because Garrett has shipped them off to boarding school against her wishes. Marta Arvelo, whose real name is Mercedes Bustamante, is an illegal alien waiting for asylum because of an administrative error. She is a doctoral student hiding from ICE, whose agents are portrayed very unkindly by the author. She is, ironically, writing her thesis on “Race of Life”, documenting how one’s background influences one’s success. Jason Franklin tries to help her retain her legal status. Liddy and Marta develop a strong relationship, as well. He also advises Liddy, at times. Both Marta and Liddy have living quarters at the facility. Serge is an emotionally challenged young man, from a dysfunctional ulta religious home, who takes pictures of people unawares, and does not allow anyone else to see them. He lives in his unit. Zach buys the photographs in his abandoned unit, during the auction, when he discovers one of himself. None of these characters recognizes or accepts responsibility for their own actions, rather they make up reasons to excuse their behavior, even when it is reprehensible. They seemed selfish and demanding. The novel opens up a world of questions? Who puts things in storage? What kinds of things are in storage? What were the lives of these people like? Did they matter to anyone? Why would they abandon their belongings? Should someone have tried more seriously to find their whereabouts. Did someone actually tamper with the elevator intentionally, and if so, why? What lengths are people willing to go to, to save or protect the people they love? Secrets, deception and lies seemed to motivate most of the characters in the novel. The underprivileged and the privileged lived outside society’s norm and committed every sin imaginable from minor to major infractions, from illegal immigration to attempted murder. Few of them were likeable.