Behind Closed Doors by B.A.Paris

My rating: 3/5 stars

“Behind Closed Doors” by B.A.Paris has split reviews, which puts me in a very complicated situation right now, not being able to pick a side. I liked thrillers and by the blurb, the book fits perfectly into this category, but it had its flaws that I will point further on.

Jack and Grace are the perfect couple, newlyweds. Everybody loves them, wanting to be as happy and perfect as they are. Jack is a successful lawyer, a very charismatic gentleman and Grace is beautiful, a sweetheart. What nobody knows is that inside their perfect home things are not as pink as they seem, because reality is much different. Jack is a psycho, who keeps Grace in a constant state of horror and terror. Grace has a little sister with Down Syndrome and he is using her to keep Grace quiet, telling that he will hurt her if she says a word to anybody. The book is practically Grace putting up to Jack and living this disturbing life. Everybody is asking how she will manage to set herself free and put a stop to this.

What went wrong in this book? It lacked the unpredictable. Although the plot was dynamic and had interesting characters, such as Jack, it didn’t surprised me with anything. I’ve read a lot of books like this and I wanted to see something extra to spice up the plot, but I couldn’t. The plot seem flat and it focused more on the characters, on Jack to be precised, than delivering something dynamic. There was no element of surprise, because we find out from an early stage who is the villain.

What I liked about this book? How the portrait of the perfect criminal was build and brought to us within the plot. You could feel that B.A.Paris was in a deep research state, wanting to draft Jack as accurate as possible. Plus, the reality of the happenings is really disturbing, because it brings real life on stage and it gives you a food for tough. Take it as an important life lesson and be aware of the things surrounding you. For example, if you just Google “domestic violence” you will see that every 30 seconds, a woman is a victim of her husband/brother/lover severe treatment.