Member Reviews
I really loved the beginning of 'Bring Me Back'. The narrator, Finn, is very unreliable and I doubted everything he said about what really happened the night Layla disappeared. Small, disturbing clues start to appear that lead Finn to believe that Layla might still be alive. Is it really Layla, or just someone pretending to be her? If she is still alive, why is she back now after so much time has passed?
This book starts out strong, but towards the middle of the book I started to lose interest. After a while it became pretty repetitive, with not much actually happening: Russian doll appears, a mysterious email appears, repeat, repeat, repeat. I wanted to find out what really happened so I kept reading, but I found the last part of the book--the actual reveal--to be pretty unrealistic and unsatisfying. And I really, really wanted the book to end differently.
Well...that was not how I thought that would end!! This one actually kept me guessing almost til the very end. Told from 2 points of view, this is the story of Finn and his girlfriend, Layla, who went missing 12 years ago. Appreciated the character development as the story unfolded. Well written. Would definitely recommend and will read more from B. A. Paris!!
WOW!!!!!!!!! Just like her other two books B.A. Paris writes a story so full of twists and turns that you think you have it figured out a few times but nope whatever your thinking is wrong. Layla goes missing 12 yrs ago and her boyfriend moves on with her sister. Both if them believing she is gone forever until clues start arriving that suggest otherwise, Definetly will highly recommend this book and author to everyone. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the oppurtunity to read this amazing novel.
The main character is unlikeable, unsympathetic, and untrustworthy. The secondary characters are all one-dimensional and mostly boring and/or unlikeable.
The teases to leave you hanging are annoying and overdramatic. Nothing was subtle.
And just in case you couldn’t follow along with what the author wanted you to think, Finn was there to state all the possible outcomes. Constantly. Like, can I have my own theories, please, without running through every possible one in a single paragraph?
I don’t think the twist was that revolutionary or hard to guess. Also, how convenient to find a confession to wrap things up?
The last book I read by this author was good but had room for improvement so I was really looking forward to seeing what this book would be like. I hate to admit that I had trouble getting into this book. It did have suspense but sometimes the way the characters acted was just a little too hard to believe and could be a bit silly at times. But I still look forward to reading the author's next book.
Paris' books suck me right in! I love the suspense and constantly questioning what happened in so many different ways. Behind Closed Doors I feel will always be my favorite because it was my first from her but this one is great! I never expected that kind of ending which is just the kind of book that I love. This book left me wanting a little more but in a good way. I really felt for Finn at the end. I highly recommend this book!
This book had a great pace...kept you want to read! Wonderful twists...right up to the end! This is the first book I have read by this author but I will be looking for more.
I could not put this book down. Throughout I formulated many different theories but at the end was totally blindsided! Paris does it again!
Wow! A fast heart-pounding, page turning thriller! I really couldn't believe the twist at the end.. Well worth a read. .
It is twisty and it is psychologically baffling and the question is – Is Layla alive after all these years? Layla and Finn were getting serious but she disappears. Presumed dead, after some years Finn moves on and finds love with Layla’s sister Ellen. Suddenly Layla’s been seen, emails start coming from someone, and strangely Russian dolls a factor in the lives of Layla and Ellen appear. Finn has to figure out what it all means and face his feelings, but where will it take him?
While the conclusion surprised me and kept me going to the end, it was the characters that turned me off. When the characters don’t catch my interest, not even my love for thrillers and mystery will bring enjoyment to a book. It was a quick and will be satisfying to many but for me a three star.
Received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
B.A. Paris did not disappoint me yet again. She knows how to write a first-rate psychological thriller! Grabbed me from the first page and once I started reading it, was very hard to put down.
Full of plot twists, the story line is excellent and is so very well written. The characters are very flawed, which in this case makes me really like them.
I have to admit I sort of had the "mystery" figured out about 80% in but it was still fun riding along to the end to see how Paris solved it.
This one gets a 5 star because Paris had me riveted from the first paragraph and kept me there.
Bring Me Back was a suspenseful thriller that moved very quickly. I enjoyed the back and forth between the past, present and different characters. While driving home, Finn and Layla stop and after Finn comes back from the toilet, he finds Layla has disappeared. Finn has kept some secrets hidden from that night, and years later with his marriage to Beth quickly approaching he finds some of his past coming back to haunt him.
I really enjoyed reading this book since I was really creeped out by the things happening the Finn. (Maybe it was those creepy Russian dolls!) There was always a part of me wondering whether it was real or imagined. I'm sure some people could easily figure out what was going on, but I enjoyed the slow reveal. Lots of good red herrings to keep you guessing!
Received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review
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I was really excited about this book. The premise seemed intriguing, it promised mystery and an interesting plot. And it had both of these things for the first part of the story. Maybe it's that I've read too many thrillers lately, or maybe I read it too quickly, but I was so disappointed when the second part hit. I will say that I had fun for the first half and it was a very easy read.
Finn and his girlfriend Layla are on holiday 12 years ago, when she all of a sudden disappears and is never to be seen again. 12 years later, Finn is about to marry his potentially dead ex's sister (...who does that) and they start getting relics of Layla's past in the mail. The point of view alternates between the past and the present, and we get a piecemeal version of what happened when Layla disappeared and what is happening in the present.
Like I mentioned, the first part of the book is interesting, you get Finn, and learn about his life with his soon to be bride (which is weird, since he's marrying his ex's sister, but whatever). You start learning about what did/did not happen when Layla disappears. You get Finn as your unreliable narrator, which incidentally comes off as sensationalist and not very well done - many of his chapters end with some terse sentence meant to build suspense, which fall flat, "But then she spoiled everything." Queue ominous music.
You get a lot of red herrings, none of which really make sense. Eh.
Then part two, which really was a let down. Typically when you start to get answers, it's the thrilling part of the thriller, but I was so disappointed. Which should have foreshadowed the twist.
The twist was not rooted in any believable world and it made me really unhappy.
Didn't love it, but was entertained for the first half or so.
A Marmite book that initially comes off as "Best Day Ever"-turns-"Gone Girl".
It's actually the story of a man whose fiancée-to-be disappeared twelve years ago and was presumed dead five years ago; but now that he's engaged to marry her sister, the fiancée-to-be is lurking in the shadows, forcing him to choose between them.
Another mind game like "Behind Closed Doors," although lacking that originality. As with "The Breakdown," the author takes what's been done before (hence my having worked this one out at around 25%) and — cleverly, but not altogether convincingly here — makes it her own.
Despite knowing the outcome, I found it to be A HIGHLY ADDICTIVE, FAST-PACED READ and recommend it to beachgoers who aren't fluent in the language of psychological thrillers.
My thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC.
Oh my gosh! I could not put this book down. It took me a little bit to get into it, however, this author just was able to take a story and spin it in multiple directions and get me wound up!
There are multiple areas I thought I knew what was going on and I had my suspicions of what the truth is going to be. While I’m happy to say I was mostly right, that did not make this book any less enjoyable.
This is the first time I’ve read this author and I loved the complexity of the case; the way she was able to keep you on your toes throughout the entire story. One minute you thought one person was crazy and the next minute you thought somebody else was crazy. Heck, maybe they all are crazy, or maybe you are.
Plenty of edge-of-your-seat excitement, secrets, and scattered pieces will keep you turning these pages just as fast as I did… in a rush to find out the final truth. The ending killed me though. Not what I wanted. LOL
With minute details and great character development, B.A. Paris did a fabulous job on the story. I just wish I hadn’t guessed what was going on. That would’ve have made it a perfect read!
This book started off strong enough but fizzled so steadily as the story progressed that I was exasperated by the end. I don't mind unlikable characters -- they can make a book -- but they have to be interesting, engaging unlikables. I never understood why any of the cast acted as they did, aside from chalking it up to rampant mental illness.
Why did urbane Harry behave like a faithful dog, passively enduring Finn's continual abuse and exploitation? And why was Ruby also cast as a supportive friend, despite Finn's bad treatment of her? And, least believable of all, why didn't Finn go to the police (when he clearly was in over his head) even though he had detective Tony (yet another unquestioning loyalist) apparently at his beck and call?
I did plow on to the end, hoping against hope, but the rushed resolution was the most unsatisfying element of all.
This was an advance reader's copy from NetGalley, and I sincerely wished I had enjoyed it more.
crazy plot, unreliable narrators, and an interesting twist. I did figure it out before I reached the end but it was still an enjoyable read. Well written, I'd read other things by this author
Bring Me Back is an edge-of-the-seat thriller from B.A. Paris. Fans of highly suspenseful thrillers will enjoy this read.
Very similar in style to Harlan Coben novels. Reels you right in from the get-go. It has you wondering what is real, what isn’t, who did what and HOW. I loved it.
This takes place mostly in London, the main character is a Brit, Finn, whose girlfriend Layla disappears one night while he is in the men’s room at a rest stop. Layla and her sister Ellen are the two women in Finn’s life, past and present.
There are some disturbing moments in taking a look at Finn, especially when he has these dark ponderings. This is a twisty, compulsive read that will pull at many a readers emotions. The conclusion may seem like a stretch, but when you factor in all that you have read, the author, imho, manages to make you believe it. Hard to put down. Highly recommended for lovers of suspense and mysterious noir. This was my first novel by author Paris, but it won’t be my last.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my pre-release digital copy of this novel, to be released June 19, 2018.
A very suspenseful book and it keeps you guessing until the very last page. The story was creepy with so many secrets and lies you don't know what is the truth. I received an advanced readers copy from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley and all opinions are my own.