Tag: #baparis

Book Review: Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris

RATING: 4 out of 5

BRING ME BACK by B.A. Paris is the third psychological thriller from this author that I have been excited to receive and read. This author has a writing style that pulls you in and presents you with many surprising twists and turns.

On their way home from vacation, Finn and Layla stop at a highway rest stop in France. When Finn returns to the car, Layla is gone. With no cell service, Finn drives to the nearest police station to report what happened, but not everything.

Finn attempts to move on with his life and eventually meets Ellen, Layla’s older sister. Their shared grief brings them closer together. Finn tries to see Layla in Ellen, but they are very different and even with those differences or because of them, Finn becomes involved with Ellen.

Ten years later, when Finn and Ellen announce their engagement, Finn begins to receive emails and little Russian dolls that only have significance to Finn, Ellen and Layla. Finn does not know what to believe. Is Layla alive? Where has she been? Why is she making contact now? Secret messages, hidden secrets, clues and warnings all ramp up the suspense as Finn tries to discover the truth about Layla.

This was not my favorite by this author. That said, I was compelled to continue reading until the end. The first part of this book had me turning the pages, but for me it bogged down in the middle. It does pick up the pace again towards the end. The plot bounces back and forth from present to past to reveal the twists which this author is exceptional at producing. I was able to guess a part of the resolution, but the ending was unexpected and I was not really happy with it, but that may not be true for all readers. This thriller is one that I expect many readers will have mixed feelings about. I can recommend it as an intriguing thriller read, but not my favorite from this author.

Thanks very much to St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: The Breakdown by B.A. Paris

RATING: 3 out of 5 Stars

I was a huge fan of B.A. Paris’ “Behind Closed Doors” and was anxious to read her next release.

THE BREAKDOWN was a letdown for me. I did finish reading it and was pleasantly surprised by a tiny plot twist in the ending, but the main character’s overall responses and reactions to what was happening to her were repetitive and wore very thin by halfway through the book. I believe I would have enjoyed it more if it had been a tighter plot and novella length.

The story is told by Cass, who returns home on stormy night via a road through the woods. She almost wrecks avoiding a car pulled to the side. She stops, but when the driver doesn’t come to her car, she continues home and forgets about it. She is later horrified to realize the woman in the car was a new friend that was murdered sometime later that night in her car. She is wracked with guilt and tells no one, not her husband or best friend, who worked with the murdered woman.

The reader also learns that Cass has been forgetting small things and is worried that she may be experiencing early onset dementia like her mother. This makes Cass a possible unreliable narrator. As she becomes more afraid and paranoid some of her reactions are just not believable. This is when I would have liked less Cass and fewer pages.

I finished to see if my assumptions were correct and they were. There are not that many characters in the story, so it is not hard to figure out, especially if you read a lot of this type of book. As stated earlier, there is a small plot twist at the end that did surprise me, but there is a lot of emotional drama to get through for the surprise. This was just an average thriller for me.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

behind-closed-doors

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS by B.A. Paris is definitely be one of my favorite psychological thrillers this year! I find it hard to believe this came from a debut author. The author had me completely engrossed. I devoured this book in one sitting!

Jack and Grace appear to be the perfect couple. Jack is a successful attorney for domestic abuse victims who has never lost a case. Grace is the gracious hostess, superb cook, talented painter and gardener with green fingers. In the eighteen months they have been married, you never see them apart. The perfect couple or is it only a façade?

Grace tells her story alternating between the Past and the Present. She is a successful buyer for Harrods and has complete responsibility of her younger sister, Millie who has Down’s syndrome. Then she meets Jack. She is lonely and he is perfect in every way. He is attentive to both her and Millie. The two come together quickly and Grace soon learns after the marriage that Jack isn’t who or what he seemed. She must find a way to get away from him before Millie is due to live with them and he destroys them both.

Every single scene and narrative in this book shows how Grace, or any woman, can become isolated, controlled or abused both physically and mentally. You see the escalation and signs and keep praying for Grace to escape, but Jack is such a controlling and scary psychopath that you don’t know how she will do it. Her fear keeps you turning the pages because you just have to know what happens. I also loved that this author did not dismiss Millie as a stereotype.

Intense, psychological thriller is the perfect description of this quick, must read!