Behind Closed Doors by B A Paris: Book Review for A Gripping Psychological Thriller

On the surface, Grace and Jack are the perfect married couple. They adore each other, and they are always together. Jack is an accomplished lawyer who has never lost a case, and Grace is the perfect housekeeper. They are rich, beautiful and in love.

Grace wishes.

In reality, they are always together because Jack doesn’t allow Grace out of his sight. She doesn’t have her own cell phone. She doesn’t have her own e-mail address. She almost has no opportunity to send anyone a message, to tell the truth about Jack. Almost…

Luckily for her, her sister with Down Syndrome is a lot smarter than people give her credit for. And one of the couple’s new friends, Esther, is very skeptical about perfection…

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Behind Closed Doors is a first person narrative told mostly in present tense. It constantly goes between back and forth between the present and the past (one present chapter followed by a chapter about the recent past), so that we find about what Grace is doing now to survive and escape, and why and *how she got herself in this situation in the first place. (*More on this in a bit, but there will be spoilers.)

Jack might be a smart psychopath with the perfect image, but Grace is resilient, smart and she has one very important thing to lose.

Jack is a formidable villain that is not to be underestimated. But he has gotten cocky with how much he has gotten away with, and Grace is too determined to let him win.

Spouses make the best villains. They have access to everything, and this leads to breath-taking claustrophobia.

Of course, we are on Grace’s side, impatient for her to hopefully give Jack what he deserves. But at the same time, we just don’t want the book to finish.

I finished the book the day I bought it and regretted it immediately. So I’m reading it again. It is that good.

*How Grace Got Here (Spoilers, you might want to skip this bit):

I won’t spoil the ending, but it should be noted that Jack didn’t just overpower and kidnap Grace. He seduced her, used her one big weakness against her and he showed his true colors only after they got married.

Now, I said “how Grace got herself in this mess.” I’m not victim-blaming, but she definitely made things too easy for Jack: She depended on him financially by taking his word. She married him after only three months. She quit her job because he wanted it that way. She had sex with him only once. I can go on, but Grace and Jack’s relationship will also be featured in one or two other posts.

Stay tuned.

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If you love your thrillers, and don’t mind the spouse being the evil villain, Behind Closed Doors is your book. You can follow author B A Paris on Twitter here.

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Do you like thrillers? Check out my review for The Girl on The Train.