★ 04/30/2018
Investment manager Finn McQuaid, the unreliable narrator of this outstanding Hitchcockian thriller from British author Paris (Behind Closed Doors), has settled into a comfortable routine in the small English community of Simonbridge, bolstered by financial success after landing a big client for his equities firm. But his tranquility is shattered when a friend phones to tell him that his old girlfriend, Layla Gray, who vanished 12 years earlier while the two were on holiday, has been spotted near the cottage they shared in France. Then his wife, Ellen, who’s Layla’s sister, discovers outside their home a Russian doll that she believes Layla stole from her when they were children. Finn, who has kept the actual circumstances of Layla’s disappearance a secret from Ellen, starts finding Russian dolls himself. The stakes rise when he begins getting emails purportedly from Layla. Paris plays fair with the reader as she builds to a satisfying resolution. Fans of intelligent psychological suspense will be richly rewarded. 400,000-copy announced first printing. Agent: Camilla Wray, Darley Anderson Agency (U.K.). (June)
Praise for Bring Me Back:
Named one of Good Morning America's "Best Books to Bring to the Beach This Summer" on GoodMorningAmerica.com!
A Bustle Best Books of the Week pick
A Lithub Crime Reads “Summer’s Most Anticipated” pick
“[Paris] builds a nice plot and brings some originality to the old ‘good sister, bad sister’ character dynamic.” —New York Times Book Review
“Paris once again proves her suspense chops with this can’t-put-down psychological thriller.” —Library Journal (starred)
"Outstanding Hitchcockian thriller...Paris plays fair with the reader as she builds to a satisfying resolution. Fans of intelligent psychological suspense will be richly rewarded.” —Publishers Weekly (starred and boxed)
"Compelling.” —Booklist
“A twisty and seductive new psychological thriller you won't want to miss.” —Bustle
“B.A. Paris is back with another twisted psychological thriller.” —The Daily Beast
“B.A. Paris is a consistent whiz at stitching any number of random events and devious characters into a winner of a plot.” —Toronto Star
Praise for the Breakdown:
“A story with a ratcheting sense of unease—a tale of friendship and love, sanity and the terrible unravelling of it.” —USA Today
“This novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat from page one.” —Book Trib, "Top 10 July Reads"
“B. A. Paris has done it again! The Breakdown is a page-turning thriller that will leave you questioning the family you love, the friends you trust, and even your own mind.” —Wendy Walker, author of the USA Today bestselling novel All Is Not Forgotten
“In the same vein as the author’s acclaimed debut, Behind Closed Doors, this riveting psychological thriller pulls readers into an engrossing narrative in which every character is suspect. With its well-formed protagonists, snappy, authentic dialog, and clever and twisty plot, this is one not to miss.” —Library Journal (starred)
“This psychological thriller is even harder to put down than Paris’ 2016 bestselling debut Behind Closed Doors; schedule reading time accordingly....A skilfully plotted thriller. With two in a row, Paris moves directly to the thriller A-list.” —Booklist (starred)
“British author Paris follows her bestselling debut, 2016’s Behind Closed Doors, with another first-rate psychological thriller....Tension quickly builds to a crescendo as Cass’s fears…become palpable.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Praise for Behind Closed Doors:
AUGUST 2016 INDIE NEXT PICK!
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS has been selected for the 2016August LibraryReads list!
REAL SIMPLE chose it as “Best Book of the Month” for August
“Hair-raising...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, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Good Girl
“Newlyweds Grace and Jack Angel seem to lead a perfect life in British author Paris’s gripping debut, but appearances can be deceiving...Grace’s terror is contagious, and Millie’s impending peril creates a ticking clock that propels this claustrophobic cat-and-mouse tale toward its grisly, gratifying conclusion.” —Publishers Weekly
“Making her smash debut, Paris [keeps] the suspense level high. In the same vein as Gone Girl or Girl on the Train, this is a can’t-put-down psychological thriller.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“A clever heroine.” —Kirkus
“Debut-novelist Paris adroitly toggles between the recent past and the present in building the suspense of Grace’s increasingly unbearable situation, as time becomes critical and her possible solutions narrow. This is one readers won’t be able to put down.” —Booklist (starred review)
“A frighteningly cool portrait of a serious sadist, Behind Closed Doors is a gripping, claustrophobia-inducing thriller... Read at the risk of running from every handsome British lawyer who crosses your path.” —Romantic Times
“B.A. Paris’s debut, Behind Closed Doors, is a chilling confirmation of the adage that no one ever really knows what transpires in other people's private lives....Paris has created one of the most heinous villains in recent memory, upon whom even the most pacifist of readers might wish torturous revenge. They’ll likely remain behind their own closed doors as they race through this thriller to see how, or if, the nightmare ends.” —Shelf Awareness
“A gripping domestic thriller…the sense of believably and terror that engulfs Behind Closed Doors doesn't waver.” —The Associated Press, picked up by The Washington Post
“If you’re hunting for a thriller to give you chills in August, look no further than this book, which is already a big hit in the U.K.” —Real Simple magazine
“Behind Closed Doors takes a classic tale to a whole new level…This was one of the best and [most] terrifying psychological thrillers I have ever read…each chapter brings you further in, to the point where you feel how Grace must feel. The desperation, the feeling that no one will believe you and yet still wanting to fight because someone you care deeply about will get hurt.” —San Francisco Book Review
“Paris grabs the reader from the beginning with a powerful and electrifying tale. Behind Closed Doors, a novel sure to make one's skin crawl, also reveals no one truly knows what does go on behind closed doors.”—New York Journal of Books
“B. A. Paris takes the cliché about not knowing what goes on beyond closed doors to a nightmarish place....Each chapter escalates the tensions and stakes faced by Grace in the nightmare that is her new ‘perfect’ marriage to Jack.” —Huffington Post
“This debut is guaranteed to haunt you — especially if you’re about to tie the knot. Paris’s thriller asks the question: ‘The perfect marriage or the perfect lie?’ Jack and Grace, the couple at the center of this totally enthralling novel, are so clearly not what they seem you’ll have no choice but to read and read and read until their darkest secrets are revealed. Warning: brace yourself.” —Bustle (10 New Thrillers to Read This Summer)
“This dark and twisted thriller will keep you on your toes and have you wondering exactly what goes on behind your neighbor’s door.”—Buzzfeed (“6 Thriller/Mystery Reads That Will Have You Sleeping With the Lights On”)
“Really freaking creepy. And really good. Until the end, which was an honest gasp and imaginary pearl clutching moment. Yes, that good. Reader, if you want to read the thriller that enthralled even this jaded soul, pick up Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris....Then draw the blinds and turn off your phone because you will not want any interruptions.”—LitHub (“18 Books You Should Read This August”)
“This book proves that looks are most definitely deceiving…Disturbing, to say the least, readers will definitely be shaken as the story commences and they become immediately absorbed. The writing was incredible, and the pace is quick, offering up too many chills to count…Behind Closed Doors screams: ‘Stay single!’” —Suspense Magazine
“The book dishes out endless tension [and] much creepiness.” —Toronto Star
★ 03/01/2018
Finn and Layla, hopelessly in love, stop at a public rest area on their return from a romantic ski weekend in France. When Finn comes back to the car, he sees the door open and evidence of a scuffle. Layla is gone, never to be heard from again. Finn is accused of her murder and has to comprehend that Layla's body was never found. His only solace is his dog and the country house he shared with Layla, until he finds love and happiness again with Ellen, Layla's sister. Consoling each other over their loss, Ellen and Finn slowly build a relationship, with Ellen moving in and Finn proposing marriage. But when they announce their engagement, strange things occur. A tiny Russian doll, just like one that belonged to Layla, appears on Finn's car. He receives emails claiming Layla is alive. Then there are sightings of her around town. Ellen and Finn must accept the possibility that Layla is alive. And what Finn didn't tell the police about the night of her death. VERDICT Paris (Behind Closed Doors; The Breakdown) once again proves her suspense chops with this can't-put-down psychological thriller.—Marianne Fitzgerald, Severna Park H.S., MD
2018-04-03
A man whose girlfriend disappeared more than a decade ago suspects she may still be alive.Twelve years ago, Finn McQuaid's girlfriend, Layla Gray, disappeared without a trace while they visited a rest stop while on holiday in France. He was eventually cleared as a suspect and is shocked when Exeter-based police detective Tony Heddon contacts him with the news that an ex-neighbor of Finn and Layla's claims to have seen her outside of their old cottage in Devon. Finn gets another surprise when he arrives at the home he shares with, wait for it, Layla's sister Ellen —now his fiancee—whom he evidently bonded with while mourning Layla's disappearance. Finn, who narrates, makes it clear that Ellen is no Layla and constantly tries to convince himself that he truly (really!) loves her. Now she's found a little Russian nesting doll on the sidewalk in front of their house, similar to a doll that was found at the place where Layla disappeared. Then the dolls begin appearing everywhere, and Finn starts getting some pretty strange emails that may be from Layla herself. Could she be alive, and if so, what happened all those years ago? As the emails get more ominous, Finn falls all over himself chasing the clues and offers insights into his past with the complicated Layla. Paris (The Breakdown, 2017, etc.) quickly ramps up this short novel's paranoia and tension; Finn is the consummate unreliable narrator—or is he? But Finn is largely two-dimensional, and Ellen is little more than a prop. Although Paris seeds the tale with plenty of clues, the denouement takes a turn that will stretch the reader's credulity to the limit, and beyond.Far-fetched fare.
