Ohhhhhh my goodness!!! B.A. Paris is my absolute favorite mystery/thriller author and Bring Me Back is the perfect example of why! From the very beginning I had a couple conspiracy theories going on in my head, but the outcome I never saw coming and completely blew me away. The storyline was well thought-out and the pacing was perfect. I don’t want to get into details because it’s so much better to go into this novel blind, but I will say I can’t even count how many twists and turns surprised me- love that! Bring Me Back is a 5 star read that is unputdownable! I am already looking forward to reading B.A. Paris’s next novel!!

3.5 stars
Finn and his girlfriend stop at a rest stop on the road and when he comes out, she is gone. Did she leave on her own or was she kidnapped? When he calls the police, he doesn’t tell them the whole truth of what happened leading up to her being gone.
Twelve years later she is never found and now Finn is engaged to another woman when weird things start happening. His past may be catching up with him.

Wow.... there is so much about this book that I can't really review, for fear of giving too much away. What I CAN say is that this book had several major twists and turns, right up until LITERALLY the end. I stayed up way too late at night trying to figure out the direction in which the book was going to take, and I was never successful in doing so. This was an easy read, mysterious without being too complicated; complex without losing the reader. Definitely a must read.

I requested an arc of this book as I have loved this author’s previous two books. In this book, we meet a young couple, Finn and Layla who are returning from their holiday when Layla vanishes. Fast forward 12 years and Finn is happy and living with Layla’s Sister, Ellen.
As the plot emerges we discover that perhaps Layla’s disappearance isn’t what it first seemed and what unfolds is a gripping tale. The plot twists and compels you to keep on reading. It’s a very fast paced book with a very clever ending.
In hindsight, I feel that the plot is a little unrealistic, but that could be what makes it so enthralling. This didn’t stop me enjoying the book at all and nor would it stop me looking for more books by this author in the future.

3.5 stars - The last two books from Paris I really enjoyed so I was eager to read her next one! This book is a hard one for me to rate and review. It was good so I don't want to take aware from that. I read it very quickly because I was intrigued and wanted to find out what happened. BUT I totally figured out the ending which is always a little disappointing. I have to say, I don't think casual readers will likely figure the ending out but I would expect many experienced readers in this genre to at least suspect this ending. This was my least favorite of Paris' books so far, however, I will happily continue to read her as I loved her previous 2 books and love her writing style!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris Last year's book, the Breakdown, was a shocker - this year's Bring Me Back is not only riveting, but will keep you holding your breath while you read.
Finn meets a stunning young woman, Layla, on New Year's eve, and he falls for her completely - she is his whole world. He is in love with her - obsessed! They are on vacation and they stop at a rest stop - Finn goes to the rest room, but when he comes Layla is gone.
Twelve year's later, Finn's life is so different - he has alot of money, good friends, a home, and a new fiance - Ellen. But Ellen is Layla's sister and Finn is going to marry her.
Finn has secrets - when Layla disappeared that night, he found a small Russian Nesting Doll - the smallest one. He knows it was Layla's - maybe it was a clue at the time of her disappearance. Finn has kept that doll for 12 years.
Then one day, a small Russian Doll appears on his doorstep - Is Layla back? Is she watching him, or is someone else playing a terrible joke on Finn. Then he gets an email - 12 years later - Layla is alive!
This book goes back and forth with Finn and Layla's POV. This book is riveting - I did not know where it was going. Paris has done it again with a "knock out" novel that will keep you reading till late at night - RECOMMEND - 5 stars.

4.5 stars for Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris. I enjoyed this roller coaster ride must as I did Behind Closed Doors. The Breakdown wasn't as good, in my opinion, but she's back again with Bring Me Back.

Finn and Ellen - what can you say? It's a little creepy to lose your serious girlfriend and 12 years later find yourself engaged to her sister. Since Finn's girlfriend, Layla, was never found and never heard from again, it gets a big more creepy when the tiniest of a set of nesting Russian dolls begin to be found near the home Finn and Ellen share.

If much more is said, the plot will be given away, but suffice it to say that if you've enjoyed other works by this author, you will like this one also. Check it out!

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy.

Paris does it again, with a twisted tale of a couple in love, where Layla, one half of the couple, goes missing one night when they are coming back from a trip they took together. A quick pit stop turns into a huge mystery, as Layla is no longer in the car, when her boyfriend, Finn returns to the car. So the story begins. However, things are not as clear cut as they seem and as the story unfolds, you begin to be fed bits and pieces of truth, along with a whole lot of questions. The majority of the book takes place 12 years later, when Finn and Ellen and beginning to make arrangements for their wedding. Ellen finds a Russian doll, an identical doll to the one she lost many years ago, which she swore her sister Layla took from her. Yup, the same Layla. Finn is marrying her sister, as he has long given up on her return. The Russian doll has great significance, as Layla had the doll with her the night she disappeared. Is this the same doll? What about all of the other Russian dolls that begin to appear on the wall, and in the post and on the plate with the bill? Finn keeps wondering who is behind all of this. Is it his best friend Harry? His ex-girlfriend Ruby? Could it actually be Layla? You'll have to read this page turner to find out.

Oooooh!!

Plans that most certainly go awry.

A young British couple seem to be pivoting on a dangerously slippery slope that was never left behind on a skiing trip to France. Finn, an investment broker, pulls his car off the road in a secluded area in order to use the restroom facility. He leaves his girlfriend, Layla, asleep in the passenger seat. When he returns, Layla is missing. Panic-stricken, Finn searches for her. Not a sign of Layla......not even a thread.

Fast forward twelve years.

Our guy, Finn, has gone on to make some pretty big bucks in the finance game thanks to hard work and to the support of his best friend and partner, Harry. Harry realizes that Finn will never be the same since the disappearance of Layla. But the chess pieces on this board have changed drastically and Finn is now engaged to Layla's sister, Ellen. Finn finds something reassuring in the likes of Ellen even though she is a much more subdued version of her sister. They live together in Simonsbridge as they plan their upcoming wedding seemingly content.

Welcome to Bizarro World.........

Ellen alerts Finn to the fact that she found the smallest doll in a Russian doll set that had been missing since she was a girl. She found it on the ledge outside the door. The presence leaves her unsettled because no one knew of its significance except for Layla. When identical tiny dolls begin to show up in odd places, Finn and Ellen begin to question these events in earnest. Is it really Layla or is it someone who has a vendetta against the couple for unknown reasons?

B.A. Paris knows how to flip the switch on the wild and the weird. This one is served with a huge scoop of creep and a side order of wackadoo for dessert. The book is sliced into three main parts with the beginning chapters noted as "Before" and "Now". This gives a little backstory to the backstory. The voice is toned in the first person of each of the main characters.......kinda like walking around inside their heads on a shifty floor. You may figure out what's what before the ending, but it's a genuine: "I don't care really.....I'm here for the thrill of the ride." So buckle up, Buttercup.

I received a copy of Bring Me Back through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to St. Martin's Press and to the very talented B.A. Paris for the opportunity.

You may like this book, or dislike it. It's not a bad book, but the plot tends to drag in places, and the lead Finn comes across as the worst boyfriend/person in many early parts that you may be put off by him. The plot is interesting: a guy marrying his missing girlfriend's sister who starts to think his original girlfriend may be alive. If this were real life, I feel like Finn would be in prison for murdering Layla years ago. He leaves a detailed note in his abandoned home detailing his anger issues, and acts suspicious and angry all the time. He isolates his current fiancee while investigating her sister's possible appearance, and has an extremely fishy story for when Layla disappeared that he admits to the reader was concocted to sound better to the cops. Telling the cops that you recently proposed and now your fiancee is missing will not clear you of suspicion, but deepen it, especially when you move in with your missing fiancee's sister.
Finn aside, the plot was decent, and if it moved faster, I would have rated this higher. It's a relatively light read for the subject matter, and not too suspenseful if you want a light intro into the genre.

This novel begins well enough. There is a flashback to twelve years earlier when narrator Finn loses his girlfriend Layla at one of those middle-of-nowhere, surrounded by woods, picnic stops at the side of a French motorway. And it’s night time, and he’s had an argument with her, hinted at in the last sentence of this chapter through the tantalising, ‘But not quite the whole truth.’ when he reflects on his statement to the French police. Move to present day and, rather weirdly, Finn is now living with Ellen, Layla’s sister, the sibling never having been found. Happy enough, they are looking forward to their wedding and living a smug life in the country. It appears that Layla and Ellen could not be more unalike: whilst the former was a feisty redhead, the latter is a compliant sweetheart!
But, of course, this being a psychological thriller, a mundane existence isn’t going to be depicted for very long. Tiny Russian dolls begin to surface, left on the garden wall, in the pub, on Finn’s car and through the post. Ellen finds one and is certain that it is the very doll that Layla stole from her in their youth. They appear to signify that Layla is back! Unbeknownst to Ellen, Finn also begins to receive mysterious emails, increasingly threatening and unhinged, which lead him to the conclusion that Layla is alive and kicking – hard!
I was curious to see where the plot was leading for the first half of ‘Bring Me Back’ and how the characters would cope with their strange situation but the second half of the novel was a huge disappointment. It isn’t difficult to decipher what is actually going on by this point – although it does stretch credibility mightily! – and because Finn is such a self-pitying narcissist, I really wouldn’t have cared if he’d come to a grisly end. In fact, putting a stop to his dreary stream of rhetorical questions would have been a relief!
A novel of two halves: B A Paris had me hooked, but not for long!

Wow! Great book! Well written, very clever, very twisty and really unpredictable. I could not read it fast enough, kept me guessing til the very end. I can't recommend it enough. Thanks so much to the Publishers and Netgalley for an ARC.

Janel

1 1/2 stars. I swear I gave it my best shot. I really wanted to love this book. Paris' Behind Closed Doors kept me on the edge of my seat, but her sophomore novel The Breakdown bored me, so I figured two out of three ain't bad, right? Sorry, it's a Meat Loaf kinda morning.

But this book is so CHEESY.

I'll give it an extra half star for keeping me reading despite rolling my eyes every few pages, but that's the most enthusiasm I can muster for it. The twist/reveal of the book may be shocking to new mystery readers, but it's actually been used by too many authors for me not to see it coming at this point. And many of those authors have made it more convincing than Paris managed here.

Bring Me Back alternates between the past, in which Finn (the narrator) and his girlfriend Layla take a holiday in France and she disappears; the present, in which we find ourselves ten years later with Finn about to marry Layla's sister Ellen; and first person accounts from Layla, where she mostly talks like a comic book villain, figuratively twirling her mustache. Muahaha.

Most of the book takes place in the present. Despite believing Layla is gone for good, signs start popping up that she may be alive. Her beloved Russian dolls start appearing everywhere, and when Finn receives emails from a mysterious source who seems to know too much, it becomes obvious something nefarious is going on.

Problem is, it's all a bit like a slightly comical (though unintentionally so) B-movie. Every chapter ends with some really cheesy line that is supposed to be ominous. Like:

"I don't ever want you to be scared of me," I say.
Not like Layla was, that night, I silently add.
***
So I log on to my emails and find one from Layla.
YOU HAVE TEN DAYS


It was just so ridiculous I wanted to laugh. The narrative reminds me of the criminologist from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, raising his eyebrow at the camera and saying "Or had they?"

And it was difficult to become invested in any of the characters' stories. Finn seems like a dick from the get-go, Ellen and the secondary characters are bland and one-dimensional, and don't even get me started on Layla. There was no hook; no exciting questions. The middle dragged as I was forced to ponder what exactly I was supposed to be caring about - are we supposed to be afraid of Layla? Are we supposed to care about the romantic relationships and who Finn will choose?

In general, I prefer more carefully-crafted plots with more complex characters than Paris offers up here, but I can definitely enjoy pulpy, nasty thrillers like her Behind Closed Doors. Unfortunately, though, I don't think this book was particularly clever OR fast-paced and enjoyable. I guess her first book might have been a one-off for me.

What a story! Absolutely loved it! Found myself unable to stop reading - so good! The mystery and suspense of what happened to Layla was gripping - I was on the edge of my seat and loved every minute!

Dragged a little in some places but overall enjoyable. I feel a little disappointed by the big reveal about the sisters but I guess not everything can be as good as Behind Closed Doors.

The cover is great. The synopsis is intriguing. However the content gave me conflicting feelings. I wanted to keep reading as I was curious and if I could jump into a book to throttle someone, Finn would be first on my hit list!

Bring me back isn’t a patch on her previous two books but it’s a worth a read anyway.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

B.A. Paris does it again.

I read this book in one sitting, as I could not figure out how everything was going to end! Finn and Layla are young and in love. On the way home from a ski trip, they stop at a rest stop in the middle of night. Finn gets out to use the bathroom while Layla stays asleep in the car. When Finn comes back, Layla is gone.

Was she taken? Did she run? Does someone know something?

The book is broken up into three parts and it is written from the perspective of a few key characters. Finn, the narrator weaves the story in part 1 and the maddening part is, he knows something he is not sharing. The other characters and you as the reader are in the dark, but Finn alludes to having secrets of his own about that night Layla disappeared.

Bring Me Back kept me guessing throughout the book! And when I got to the conclusion, I wanted to read it all over again. I would highly recommend this suspenseful domestic drama!

As much as I enjoy B.A. Paris' first 2 books, I have to say I was a little disappointed in this one, , It was a nice read, but I didn't fill the page turning thrill that I felt with her other books,, I had it figured out before the book ended. I do enjoy Ms. Paris wrings so I will lo forward to her next book, (or at least I hope there will be more books to come).

Finn and Layla are returning from a trip when Layla disappears after a rest area stop. Twelve years later Finn is happily engaged to her sister Ellen but clues emerge suggesting Layla has returned. And she wants Finn. But does he want her? And how does he keep this information from Ellen, even though she may be ecstatic her sister is still alive? Despite Finn's prickly moods when it's difficult to muster up any sympathy for his plight, this cat-and-mouse thriller is compulsive reading and readers are warned not to start just before bedtime.

This is perfect for fans of Paris' previous book, THE BREAKDOWN (a 5-star read for me), and other domestic thrillers such as Catherine McKenzie's FRACTURED, Claire Mackintosh's I LET YOU GO, and the latest literary juggernaut, A. J. Finn's WOMAN IN THE WINDOW.

Thanks to the publisher for the advance reading copy.