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We still have quite a ways to for summer, and the long stretch of days means you might want to get in some summer reading before the hustle and bustle of back to school! Or, you might want to squirrel away a new book for the free time you may have once the kids head back.
As I’ve talked about before, I am a voracious fiction reader. I always try to make time in my schedule for at least a few minutes to disappear into another world. My book will accompany me to the bathroom, the hair dresser, that pedicure appointment and waiting rooms but mostly, it’ll be 5-30 minutes of reading before I’m off to sleep. (Longer if the book is a page turner or we saw some terribly horrible movie just before!)
In fact, the pile of books beside my bed is tall, my bookshelf is overflowing, and I have a table of books on my nightstand…not to mention 700 books downloaded on Kindle, mostly fiction. I like to download samples and free ones to see if I like them before committing. Yea, you could say I’m a bit of a book junkie!
I just cleared out this bookcase. The other half of what was in it waiting for a yard sale…
I also like all kinds of books. If it’s well-written, there’s no genre I’ll turn away. I’ll keep coming back for authors who live up to my high standards for fiction. This year, I’ve gotten back into thrillers. Want a good thriller that keeps your finger turning pages and kept me satisfied this fussy reader? Then check out Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris.
Behind Closed Doors Review
Grace and Jack seem like the perfect couple, but we sense something amiss as we watch Grace navigate a dinner party they’ve thrown in their luxurious home. She is stressed and quite worried about the event going off perfectly – not just successfully, but without a single flaw. Her tension over the party’s complex menu and polite small talk tells us that perhaps their life is not so perfect.
It’s not. In fact, Grace is living in the middle of a hellish nightmare, created specifically for her by her husband.
Before we get too comfortable – or rather, uncomfortable – at the party, Behind Closed Doors flashes back to the past, before the couple meets. We see career woman Grace and learn about her family. She has a sister, Millie, who has Down syndrome and was largely unwanted by her parents. Fortunately, her sister adores her. Grace is content with her life, though she longs to meet someone she can marry and find a way to take care of her sister as she grows older. When she meets Jack, she is swept off her feet. He seems perfect: a well-off lawyer, incredibly handsome, kind to her sister and generous to a fault.
What could be better than that?
But Jack is not at all what he seems – something that Grace learns upon setting off for their honeymoon in Thailand, which I thought was a really odd place to honeymoon even if the groom works there often. Their troubles begin on the wedding night and grow to epic proportions. Tension builds throughout the book as Paris transitions the reader from the strained present to a happier past that gets more fraught with danger page by page. That leaves plenty of opportunities for cliffhangers, so you’ll be turning those pages quickly to see how it ends.
As the past and present timelines converge, I did get a little confused around the point of Millie’s birthday party, so I recommend you keep in mind which chapter is which, or read the last few chapters all at one sitting. However, I found the writing, all in first person, well done – no easy feat! I also like the way Millie turns out to be one of the cleverest characters in the book. She sees things as they really are from the first inkling she has of Jack’s true nature, and doesn’t compromise but plays things cool. This is one of the reasons I found this book appealing.
I actually had a much, much higher pile here just recently…
Will Grace find a way out of her dangerous dilemma? Are Jack’s plans for her sister just as sinister? Will there be a very happy or very unhappy ending to this book? You’ll just have to read it to find out! You can start right now by downloading the first five chapters for free!
What sort of books are on your reading list?
Other books by B.A. Paris:
