Behind Closed Doors

Behind Closed Doors

by B.A. Paris

Genre: Thriller

Synopsis:  Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace.

He has looks and wealth; she has charm and elegance.  He's a dedicated attorney who has never lost a case; she's a flawless homemaker and a masterful gardener and cook, and she dotes on her disabled younger sister.  Though they're still newlyweds, they seem to have it all.  You might not want to like them, but you do.  You're hopelessly charmed by the ease and comfort of their home, by the graciousness of the dinner parties they throw.  You'd like to get to know Grace better.

But it's difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are inseparable.

Some might call this true love.  Others might wonder why Grace never answers the phone. Or why she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn't work.  How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim.   Or why she never seems to take anything with her when she leaves the house, not even a pen.  Or why there are such high-security metal shutters on all the downstairs windows.

Some might wonder what's really going on once the dinner parties are over and the front door has closed.

from the book jacket

Review:  I'm going to be honest...I could not put this book down and read it all in one day!  At first I was a little put off by the first chapter because there was something off about Jack and Grace but we didn't know what and they seemed too perfect.  But that was all part of the ruse.  We quickly learn that all is not what it seems and Grace is being held prisoner by Jack.  It takes a while to figure out exactly what happens but we are kept in suspense to find out if/when/how Grace is going to free herself and her sister Millie, who has Down Syndrome, from Jack's clutches.  The book alternates between present and past so we can get a glimpse as to how Grace and Jack met and what happened in their relationship and marriage early on.  Towards the end I was a little thrown off by how the past and present seemed to catch up to one another and the present jumped ahead in time so that the past was just a few days prior.  That transition seemed to come out of nowhere.  I also thought that the ending wasn't dramatic enough.  I was waiting for this really suspenseful moment and it didn't come. a little anticlimactic.  Thrillers are generally not my genre but this one I liked because I could see inside the people to see what motivated them and this was more psychological rather than action.  Jack was unlikable but Grace was likable albeit a little weak.  Overall this was a good thriller, not action packed, but one that will keep you reading all day and night.

Rating: 4 stars (although I really wanted to give it 3.75 stars)