Review: THE PRISONER, B. A. Paris

• 
   this edition from my local library
  
• published by Hodder & Stoughton UK 2022
• ISBN 978-1-399-71022-0
• 365 pages
• Richard & Judy Book Club pick for 2023
  

Synopsis (publisher)

Secrets. Suspicion. Survival

THEN

Amelie has always been a survivor, from losing her parents as a child in Paris to making it on her own in London. As she builds a career for herself in the magazine industry, she meets, and agrees to marry, Ned Hawthorne.

NOW

Amelie wakes up in a pitch-black room, not knowing where she is. Why has she been taken? Who are her mysterious captors? And why does she soon feel safer here, imprisoned, than she had begun to feel with her husband Ned?

In true B.A. Paris style, The Prisoner is a gripping survival story, a twisted tale of love and at its dark heart a thriller to keep you up all night. 

My Take

If you haven't met this author before, put her on your list. 

The narrative swaps quickly between Past and Present. and is told mainly through the eyes of Amelie, who is initially rescued from the streets of London by Carolyn who first of all gives her a home and then gets her a job in a popular magazine. She feels like she has been given a second family. But after she agrees to spend a few days in Paris with Ned, everything goes sour.

Short snappy chapters build the tension. When Ned and Amelie are kidnapped, she is not sure what they have done nor who the kidnappers are, or what they want.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

• 4.5, BRING ME BACK  
• 4.5, THE THERAPIST
• 4.6, THE BREAKDOWN

Review: THE BREAKDOWN, B.A.Paris

• 
  This edition made available as an e-book on Libby by my local library
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press (18 July 2017)
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250122465
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250122469

Synopsis (Amazon)

If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust?

Cass is having a hard time since the night she saw the car in the woods. It was on the winding rural road, in the middle of a downpour, and a woman was sitting inside―the woman who was killed. She’s been trying to put the crime out of her mind; what could she have done, really? It’s a dangerous road to be on in the middle of a storm, and she probably would have been hurt herself if she’d stopped. Not only that, her husband would be furious if he knew she’d broken her promise not to take that shortcut home.

But since then, she’s been forgetting every little thing. Where she left the car; if she took her pills; even the alarm code.

The only thing she can’t forget is that woman, the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt.

And the silent calls she’s receiving, or the feeling that someone’s watching her…

My Take

Cass Anderson is haunted that her mother suffered from early onset dementia and is worried that she is going the same way. She seems to forget so much: online shopping that she's done, arrangements inviting people to a meal, her purse when she goes shopping, where she parked her car, and so much more.

She is lucky her husband and her best friend are so supportive isn't she? But then she visits a doctor who puts her on pills, and instead of getting better, she seems to be getting worse.

And then there is the murder of the woman in the car, and Cass is worried that the murderer is stalking her.

A nailbiter of a book, with a resolution you won't expect. 

This is another author to watch.

My rating: 4.6 

I've also read

• 4.5, BRING ME BACK  
• 4.5, THE THERAPIST 

Review: THE THERAPIST, B. A. Paris

• 
  this edition provided as an e-book on Libby by my local library
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HQ; International Edition (January 1, 2021
• Length ‏ : ‎ 362 pages 

Synopsis (Amazon)

When Alice and Leo move into a newly renovated house in The Circle, a gated community of exclusive houses, it is everything they’ve dreamed of. But appearances can be deceptive…

As Alice is getting to know her neighbours, she discovers a devastating, grisly secret about her new home, and begins to feel a strong connection with Nina, the therapist who lived there before.

Alice becomes obsessed with trying to piece together what happened two years before. But no one wants to talk about it. Her neighbours are keeping secrets and things are not as perfect as they seem…

The million-copy Sunday Times bestselling author B A Paris returns to her heartland of gripping psychological suspense in this powerful tale of a house that holds a shocking secret.

My Take

Alice is sure that she has been totally honest with Leo, kept nothing back from him; after all, she is convinced she wants to spend the rest of her life with him. But then she finds that he hasn't been totally honest with her. He has tried to keep something back, hoping she won't find out, or at least, if she does find out, she will get over it quickly.

This novel turned out to be a real page turner. To me Alice seemed a bit neurotic, but then we find that although she has been honest with Leo, she has a big secret that the reader is not privy to. Also her need to know what happened two years before makes her suspect everyone, and blindsides her to the real truth.

A good read. I must read more by this author.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.5, BRING ME BACK  

Review: BRING ME BACK, B. A. Paris

• this edition published in 2018 by HQ, Harper Collins Publishers
• ISBN 978-0-008-26894-7
• 338 pages
• source: my local library

Synopsis (publisher)

Finn and Layla: young and in love, their whole lives ahead of them. Driving back from a holiday in France one night, Finn pulls in to a service station, leaving Layla alone in the car. When he returns, minutes later, Layla has vanished, never to be seen again. That’s the story Finn tells the police. It’s the truth but not the whole truth.

Twelve years later, Finn has built a new life with Ellen, Layla’s sister, when he receives a phone call. Someone has seen Layla. But is it her or someone pretending to be her? If it is her, what does she want? And what does she know about the night she disappeared?

My Take

An intriguing plot with plenty of mystery for the reader to work on.

Twelve years ago Layla disappeared after an argument with Finn on the way back from a holiday in France. But what Finn told the police about what happened that night was not the entire truth. The story then jumps from the night of the argument in 2006 to the current time in 2018.

In the chapters in Part One, Finn is the narrator, and the chapters switch rhythmically between "Now" and "Before". Now it appears that Layla may have returned, confirmed by a sighting, a trail of Russian dolls, and text messages on Finn's phone. At first Finn is not sure who is sending the text messages and begins to think they must be from Layla. We always know whose voice it is, but just to make sure we don't get lost, each chapter heading shows the narrator's name.

Part Two introduces Layla's voice in alternate chapters, with Finn's thoughts in the other chapters.

It is an interesting structure but towards 250 pages I began to get impatient for the plot to conclude.
My brain was working overtime to rationalise the plot strands, to come up with a scenario that fitted all strands. When I finally got to the end, I discovered I was partly right and partly not. I guess that is the sign of a good story.

The other thing that the reader has to take into account is the significance of the title, something we often neglect. This was a title with acute meaning.

My rating: 4.5

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors, B. A. Paris, grew up in England but has spent most of her adult life in France. She has worked in finance and as a teacher. She has recently moved back to England.