Author: B A Paris
Genre: Suspense Thriller
Rating: * *
Publishers: HQ
(Feb 11, 2016)
Paperback: 352 pages
ISBN: 978-1848454125
A debut psychological thriller you cannot miss`If you love The Girl on the Train read Behind Closed Doors' - ELLE magazine.
Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace. He has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You might not want to like them, but you do.You'd like to get to know Grace better. But it's difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are never apart. Some might call this true love. Others might ask why Grace never answers the phone. Or how she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn't work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. And why there are bars on one of the bedroom windows. Sometimes, the perfect marriage is the perfect lie.
The new book by bestselling author BA Paris, The Breakdown, is out now`This outstanding novel will leave you breathless.'-Bella
Reviews
`If you love The Girl on the Train read Behind Closed Doors.'- Elle`The tension builds almost unbearably'- Good Housekeeping`This outstanding debut novel will leave you breathless.'- Bella`This one is 2016's answer to Gone Girl. `Nuff said.'- Women's Health UK`It took me just an afternoon to read this book and by the end, my heart was pounding. If you like fast and frantic stories, you'll love this.'-The Sun`Brilliant, chilling, scary and unputdownable'-Lesley Pearse, bestselling author of Without a Trace`Behind Closed Doors' is an intriguing, sharply gripping debut thriller'- Lovereading.co.uk'BEHIND CLOSED DOORS is both unsettling and addictive, as I raced through the pages to find out Grace's fate. A chilling thriller that will keep you reading long into the night.'-Mary Kubica, bestselling author of The Good Girl`Behind Closed Doors gives us a glimpse into the realities of a `perfect marriage', with addictive and heart pounding moments guaranteed to have you looking at your friends and neighbors differently.'-Margaret Madden, Bleach House Library'An utterly compelling journey through the darker side of the human psyche. Your blood will run cold but you won't be able to stop reading, I promise you that.'- Sarah Harper, Lovereading reviewer`This has been one of my best reads EVER and will be huge in 2016. Congratulations to B A Paris on a remarkable debut book'- Shelley Bennett, THE Book Club member`This book just has to be huge in 2016. I flew through it in two breathless sittings. Quite simply: astounding.'- SJI Holliday, author of Black Wood.
*******
Ok, now I love a good psycho thriller as good as the next person and I was sorely disappointed in this. Yes, it kept me reading, mainly cause I kept waiting for that twist that made it "breathless", "heart pounding", "chilling", or "simply: astounding". I mean 74% of the nearly 3500 people averaged it a 4* review on Amazon. Could that many readers be wrong? Surely not! So therefore, it must be me!
The characters were flat, I felt like the story was spoon fed to me rather than it actually happening, and what was psychological or thrilling about it? We knew who the bad guy was and why he was the way he was. Nothing surprising at all.
I found it very similar to other books and movies I've read and seen. There was no twisty ending or saving reveal, it simply after attempting (and failing) to build suspense, ended abruptly. Maybe, I've become jaded after reading so many great books but this one was not in any way remarkable. It was not the next "Gone Girl" nor "Girl On The Train". I really think hyping a book like this just makes you that more disappointed when it fails. I mean seriously, have you read a book that was hyped as the next "Harry Potter" and been blown away? No, and I doubt we ever will. That's why these books are so unique. There is nothing out there comparable.
If I'd read this 30 years ago before I'd experienced the thousands of books I've read since, it probably would have rated a bit higher but there was simply nothing that was new nor twisty to this story at all. The only saving grace is I bought it used and can pass it on to someone else who thinks it's going to be the next "it" book based on the reviews.
3 comments:
I so agree with your review on this book. It was decent read but certainly not mind blowing. I'm so TIRED of books being compared to this one or that one as the hook to get you to read. I admit, I fall for it and then I'm usually disappointed.
This has happened to me too. For instance, Final Girls is getting rave reviews. I found it an okay read, but not that hard to figure out where it was going. Maybe those people hadn't read a psychological thriller in a while.
A thriller, to me is something that has you gripping the pages so tight that your hands cramp from the fear or anticipation of what's going to happen next. Have these 5* and 4* people ever seen "Fatal Attraction" or "Sleeping With the Enemy"? Do they read more than a handful of books a year? Somehow I doubt it.
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