Behind Closed Doors: A Novel

One of the best stores of 2016 hands down! I actually downloaded this book early and just got around to reading it a week ago and once I started I could not put it down unless absolutely necessary and since I have to work a full time job and be a wife and mommy that was often however, whenever I could read this book was in my hand. This book has been getting a lot of hype and for good reason. This is a skin crawling, chilling, suffocating, impossible to imagine story and yet it's written so well that it's damn hard to put down. It switches between past and present which I like although sometimes I'll have to go back and reread a couple things to get my bearings but it's put together extremely well. Let's start with, I have never wanted a character to die as much as I wished Jack would. From the very beginning I loved Grace. She was sweet, independent, and absolutely adored her sister Millie. When she met Jack she thought she had met her soul mate. He was wonderful, charming, and seemed to adore her sister as much as she did. He had a successful career as a domestic volience attorney for women and had never lost a case. He wanted to marry Grace, build her a dream house, and even have her mentally disabled sister living with them. Dream come true, right? Wrong! After they are married Grace learns the awful truth. Jack isn't who he says he is. He's an evil monster of a man who now owns her. Grace and Jack put up a good front around people, they come off as the perfect couple but behind closed doors is a completely different story. It's true what they say, you never really know what goes on behind closed doors. This story kept me on my toes and I'm not ashamed to say it scared the living hell out of me. Jack is a vile, horrible, man and the entire time I was reading this book I couldn't help but pray he that he gets what's coming to him. The only real down side for me was how the book ended. I mean it's a great ending however it had me flipping an extra couple pages and I even turned to my husband and said, "That's it?!" It would have been nice to know how the characters continued on after the ending. An epilogue would have been a nice addition to this story I believe. Other than that I have no real complaints. The story was well written, fast paced, the characters were well developed, and I feel like they didn't spend too much time in one area or another. B.A. Paris hit it out of the park with her first novel and I applaud her. Although, I'll tell you this right now if they make a movie out of this novel I WILL NOT be watching it. NO way, NO how! For those who worry about possible triggers this could definitely have a few. There were moments where I was holding my chest in anticipation of what was coming next however, I couldn't stop reading. If you haven't bought, downloaded, or read Behind Closed Doors yet I suggest you get this book in your library immediately! I downloaded the e-book then loved it so much I bought the hardcover as well. I'm serious, buy it now!

Behind Closed Doors? Well, that was one frightening and super creepy psychological thriller. It made my stomach queasy and my palms sweaty. I tore through it so that I could get rid of those feeling of unease as quickly as possible. 4 stars. If you have ever dated someone who you felt controlled you, manipulated you, or tried to isolate you from friends and/or have you rely solely on them, well then, this book is bound to have made you feel ill. I know it did that to me, and I only dated someone like that for two months. It took me two month to get out of it because I grew up with the guy and thought I knew him (though he had previously moved away for several years). Turns out, I didn’t know him. But I learned who he was fairly quickly, and being strong willed and independent, I got out of it and though it was very scary, I prevailed. I still find myself looking over my shoulder sometimes and get chills every time I think of it. And this book: it gave me chills just reading it. I can’t imagine what it is like to read for others who have been through worse experiences than mine. In Behind Closed Doors, Grace falls for Jack quickly. He is the perfect gentleman and he sweeps her off of her feet. And he takes Grace’s sister, Millie, who has Downs, under his wing and treat her like his own. It melts Grace’s heart. And she is immediately smitten. Six months later, Grace and Jack marry, with nary a sign of anything wrong. After the wedding, Grace realizes that her relationship with Jack is not what she thought it was. Jack no longer has to hide his true self anymore: He is a controlling, manipulative man, who isolates Grace from everyone and everything, he mentally abuses her and threatens her with the one thing that he knows makes her powerless: Millie. Defenseless, her public persona becomes that of a “Stepford Wife” and all of their friends are envious of their relationship and of their perfect marriage. Little do they know, looks are deceiving and for Grace, there appears to be no escape. Grace, however, is resilient and she has a fighting spirit and will do anything to protect the one person she loves the most. Behind Closed Doors is a fantastic, stomach churning psychological thriller. It’s not for the faint of heart. Alternating between the past and the present, B.A. Paris does a great job in keeping the readers in suspense. The characters are phenomenally well written, and the ending: well, I loved it. I happened to read this novel after B.A. Paris’ The Breakdown and I thought that was absolutely stellar and felt immediately connected to the character of Cass, and I didn’t feel the same way about the characters of Grace and Jack in this novel, which is the reason for the 4 v 5 stars rating. All in all, this was a great read and I enjoyed it, even though it gave me the creeps.

I hate when a book seems to have been deliberately hyped up to sound like the next best thing since sliced bread, as they seldom deliver. And although I love reviewers, and am very grateful to them, I am lazy and rarely moved enough to write a review myself. But this book is truly exceptional. It's written in a lovely, easy style and the story is told cleverly; teasing the reader into just one more page, just one more chapter... Even when I wasn't actually reading it I found myself thinking about the story. And I went to bed early tonight, specially, just so that I could have a nice long read. And the ending was so perfect, so satisfying, that I found myself reading the last page twice to prolong the pleasure. (I do so hate writers who think it's okay for the reader to make up their own ending - there's so many of those books around nowadays. I've paid to be told a story, and that should include a beginning, a middle and a proper ending, or I feel shortchanged). The story was entertainingly told, gripping without being scary or gruesome, perfectly edited (not one typo - another rarity) and ultimately satisfying. Well done, B A Paris - I've just pre-ordered your next book, and I never do that. I must say I feel sorry for some of the reviewers here who have nit-picked their way through this author's work. It seems they don't know how to read for their own entertainment any more, and that somehow they've been appointed unofficial editors of whatever they're reading. Lighten up, folks. This isn't an affidavitt or a news report, it's make-believe. Read for pleasure, enjoy the story, step out of your own lives and forget your workaday responsibilities and get lost in the drama and peril of fiction. Stop worrying about the words used (lawyer/solicitor) and accept the joy of how those words were used - to tell a good, entertaining story.

Awesome. Very few books I liked. This is one of them. Trust me fear instills inside readers mind and you feel the pain of the protagonist until end. You will feel it’s not a made up or movie ending rather true.

This book gripped me, and I listened to it in one go -- more or less. If you're a fan of the tv series 'criminal minds' you'll probably enjoy it, although it isn't as gory as the tv series. There's a lot of suspense, though, the atmosphere is oppressive and scary, and the whole situation seems so very hopeless. I've seen other readers compare it to Gone Girl and Girl on the Train. I can't do that, because I have read neither. I don't think all these comparisons to other books are fair anyway, except for giving a potential reader a hint of the direction the book takes. This book is fast paced, scary, and I couldn't switch it off. Georgia Maguire as the narrator was an excellent choice, she created the exact atmosphere which compelled me to listen to this book within just one day.

This book made me so mad! But in a good way. It quickly takes you into the lives of the characters - one of whom is so detestable, that I was walking around in a grumpy kind of haze for a few days, wanting to take out my irrational anger at a fictional character on passers-by. The twists and turns and clever plot kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book. It's a breathtakingly good book - and the end won't leave you disappointed either.

A great and well structured psychological thriller! It held emotions and attention from start to finish! I think this book is well written and very interesting for those involved in inusual plots. Very very suggesting! Good job!