A fast paced and interestingly told suspense. I figured it out pretty early on, but that didn't really tale away from enjoying the read. A great book to pop in your beach bag this summer!

This book was an okay fast read. The basic foundation of the story was difficult for me to believe. So not a five-star rating. Otherwise there was nothing especially suspenseful that totally holds the readers attention, but once again an okay read.

Paris is quickly making a name for herself with suspenseful reads, and this one mostly delivers. The storyline is intriguing and definitely keeps the reader turning pages to figure out what on earth happened to Layla, because it's known from the beginning that Finn isn't telling the entire truth about what happened. Yet when all is said and done, the ending is just so far-fetched and unbelievable that it's a letdown after all of the exciting suspense throughout. Finn's decisions seem quite juvenile and contrived and the other characters don’t feel fleshed out. Overall, if the reader can ignore the holes in logic, this novel is quite entertaining and a very fast-paced experience.

Finn and Layla are taking a road trip in France. They pull into a rest area at night where Finn goes in to use the facilities; when he comes out, Layla is missing — or so he tells the police. Fast forward ten years in the future and Layla has still never been found, and Finn is engaged to Emma, who just happens to be Layla's sister. He comes home and finds Emma holding a Russian doll, one exactly like the one Layla had when she went missing. Things begin to unravel for Finn and he starts to wonder if Layla might still be alive.

I love “unputdownable psychological thrillers,” and because I was a huge fan of B.A. Paris’s Behind Closed Doors (2016), I was happy to receive a copy of her latest book, Bring Me Back, from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley in return for my honest review.

Similar to Behind Closed Doors, this story revolves around attractive millenials and relationships that appear one way on the surface but are revealed to have some creepy characteristic/events/circumstances. In this case, a successful young British man named Finn goes on vacation in France with his girlfriend Layla. Finn stops at a service station to use the restroom, leaving Layla in the car alone. When he returns, she has disappeared without a trace. At least that’s how Finn tells the story to the police.

Fast forward ten years. Since Layla disappeared, Finn has moved on with his life and fallen in love with Layla’s sister Ellen. They are THIS CLOSE to being engaged…but there’s something about Ellen that sort of creeps Finn out.

Then, mysterious phone calls come in, mementos that were long lost begin turning up, and Finn starts getting emails that lead him to wonder if Layla might be alive.

So, there’s the outline. And the thing is, I am one of those people who tear through a ton of mysteries/thrillers, and am pretty much ALWAYS surprised by the ending/resolution. But less than halfway through this, I thought “Maybe…” and I was RIGHT. Good grief, that never happens. So I was thinking this had to be like two stars. But the thing is, I was GLUED to the book all the way through. The characters were well done, there were some nice plot twists, and it was exactly what I was looking for at the time: an unputdownable psychological thriller. So, because I was a notoriously easy grader when I was a teacher, and continue to be generous with my reviews, I give this one four stars. It will make a good movie, and I will read her next book, but Ms. Paris seems to have written a mystery that anyone could figure out, since I did!

Woah! What a creepy, tense, crazy, fun read! See full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2366783403

This book is a quick, entertaining read. I enjoyed not knowing who "the bad guy" was. Are we rooting for his first love or his second? Are we rooting for him at all? I also enjoy a clearly doomed love (?) story. I liked that Finn was tempted toward a clearly obsessive and unhealthy relationship - aren't we all sometimes? However, I had a hard time liking the characters and I didn't find the ending realistic.

Bring Me Back is one of those great thrillers where you aren't worried that someone is going to die, yet the suspense is palpable on every page. Paris did a great job giving hints to keep you interested in the mystery, all the while making you second-guess your theories. I would recommend this one to others that like psychological thrillers!

Unfortunately for me this was a DNF. I found it a bit of a slow start and about 1/4 of the way in I just did not feel like continuing the story. The main character Finn, just seemed like a not so great guy and so that made it hard to care about what happens to him.

Finn and his manic pixie dream girlfriend Layla stop at a rest stop on the way home from their vacation. It's late at night and they are out in the middle of nowhere. So when Layla is still napping when they pull over, Finn decides the smartest thing to do is leave her in the car. Alone. Late at night. Oh and he parks super far away from the restroom so he can clear out the trash they've accumulated on their trip. When he gets back, she's gone. He half heartedly looks for her and then goes on his merry way. Ok, ok, he does notify the police. The detective in charge briefly suspects him but then decides to be his best friend instead and everyone stops looking for Layla. All is well and twelve years later, Finn has done the healthy thing and moved on...to Layla's sister Ellen. When Finn proposes to Ellen, the couple seem on the path to a life of boring and a tad disturbing bliss. Then a disturbing trinket arrives. One that only Layla could have provided.

I think that I've come to the end of the line with B.A. Paris. Now come next spring, when I'm sure she will have another intriguing sounding book available on Netgalley, I may be forced to eat my words. Still, after yawning my way through parts of, "Bring Me Back," the odds are slim that I'll pick up another title by her. I had some issues with, [book:Behind Closed Doors|29437949] but it was super fun and I stayed up half the night reading it. I liked it enough to pick up, [book:The Breakdown|31450633] but didn't care much for that one. I cared for this one even less. It's a bummer because I really wanted to like it. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a review copy.

I thought BA Paris’s Behind Closed Doors was great and I thought The Breakdown was even better, but Bring Me Back did not follow that trend. It was a good read, but not great. It was slower paced and more predictable then Paris’s past books. The last sentence summed up all my questions about the story.

Finn and Layla are returning from a skiing trip when he stops, in the middle of the night, at a rest area to use the bathroom. When Finn returns to the car Layla is not there. What actually happened that night?

Twelve years later, there is still no word on what happened to Layla, and Finn is now involved with Layla’s sister Ellen. They are happy, until one day a small Russian nesting doll is left on the wall outside their house. This doll represents Layla and Ellen’s childhood. Who left it there? Has Layla returned? Read Bring Me Back to find out.

I loved this author's other books, so I was hoping this one would keep me as on the edge of my seat as the others had....and it did!

Will leave a 5 star review on Amazon under name of Connie

A psychological thriller in which a man has a nasty argument with his lady friend and she disappears. Twelve years later, he becomes engaged to her older sister and traces of her begin to reappear. The story delves into what happened twelve years earlier and what is happening in the present. I, as a reader, did not particularly like the protagonists which made for slow reading, however the last quarter of the book was gripping...and not unexpected. Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book for a review! I really enjoyed this one. It kept my interest, and I had to know what happened to Layla. I couldn't put it down. The surprises kept coming, but the ending didn't entirely shock me. I'd recommend to other readers.

My first issue with this book is that blurb above. That's not what happened. They stopped at a rest area to go to the bathroom, had an argument and when he came out of the toilet she was gone and there was only a small Russian nesting doll on the ground.

My first thoughts were this was going to be a kidnapping and probably something much worse. When Finn is allowed to leave France, he is lost. And confused. Where did Layla go? Is she alive or dead? As the years go by he keeps their cottage just in case and moves to a small village near by.

Move forward 10 years or so and he is living with and engaged to Ellen, Layla's sister. Then odd things begin to happen. Nesting dolls left or mailed to the house. Finn trying to keep them from Ellen and wondering if he is losing his mind or if Layla is really alive and playing with his head.

I kept yelling Danger! at him, but he wasn't listening and that ending was like, What??? Even though towards the end you kind of wondered if someone here was seriously disturbed, you weren't sure who it was until the very end.

At first I was going to give this a few stars, but then it just stayed with me for a couple of days and that for me is the sign of a good read!

NetGalley Reviews/ HQ

I really liked the beginning and the end. The inbetween got very monotonous. However, it was an easy read; good for a beach day.

Bring Me Back by B. A. Paris kept me up for two days and one night reading it until I finished!
Spine tingling, suspense with a good dash of love story!
This book will keep you guessing right up until the end! Awesome!!!!
Solid four stars.

B.A. Paris does not employ blatant forms of violence in this fast-paced noir thriller about a soon to be married couple who are haunted by the woman's missing sister. Instead, Paris shows the subtle unraveling of this seemingly happy couple leaving us to wonder if the protagonist is having a mental breakdown or if he can trust everything he knows. Like her previous two books, "Bring Me Back, had me on the edge of my seat as I devoured this very clever and twisty story.

After coming back from a skiing trip in France, Finn and his girlfriend, Layla, stop at a picnic area at Fonches for Finn to use the toilet. Upon returning to the car, Finn discovers that Layla is gone. After a frantic search through the desolate picnic area, Finn drives to the next petrol station and gets someone to call the police. Twelve years have now passed and Layla is still missing and presumed dead. Finn has coincidentally become romantically involved with Layla's sister, Ellen, and they share an idyllic life in Simonsbridge, England. All of this is drastically interrupted by two events: a neighbor who claims to have seen Layla and a small Russian wooden doll left at Finn and Ellen's home.

Although twelve years have passed since Layla's disappearance, her impact on Finn and Ellen's lives is very apparent. Additional wooden dolls are found by Finn and Ellen which is very troubling because Layla and Ellen had a set of these wooden dolls as kids. Finn also starts to receive emails from "Layla." The rest of the story is told in alternating chapters between Finn and "Layla." Finn starts to question his relationship with Ellen and his close friends. The nuances of his relationship with Ellen start to subtly change as he questions whether Layla is actually alive. B.A. Paris skillfully weaves a masterful story that you will not be able to put down.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley and B.A. Paris for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. I had just finished Behind Closed Doors by this author not too long ago, so when this one started by jumping from present to past, I was a bit worried it was going to be the same kind of story. By part two, that jumping from present to past disappeared and then it was switching between two characters, so it all worked.

I liked this a lot. Kept me guessing throughout. It seemed like as soon as you thought you had it figured out, the author threw another tidbit of information that made you second guess yourself. I was pretty much guessing until the end.

It was a pretty quick read, too. I devoured it on a flight for a work trip. Will definitely recommend it to others.

I didn't find this to be as good as previous books which I have read, Behind Closed Doors and The Breakdown, but the book is very readable. I though the Layla character was a little forced and at times thing didn't make total sense to me. I enjoyed the narrations from the different characters. The book had some tense parts but on the whole is was a little predictable and cheesy.

Bring Me Back is the latest book by B. A. Paris. Bring Me Back starts slow, which I was really disappointed by that. But as the story builds Bring Me Back turns into a page turner with twists and surprises. I was given an early copy to review.