The reviews for this book are mixed but I enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm way way late reading and reviewing the book for Netgalley so I borrowed the audiobook from Libby and alternated the two versions which helped me to finish the book pretty quickly. I really liked the audio edition narrated by Georgia Maguire. The story is far-fetched and mostly unbelievable but I was still entertained and didn't once think of giving up. I liked Amelie as a character (and also love the name). I think she was supposed to be 19 or 20 but she seemed very mature in her thinking. I've read a few of B.A. Paris's books and have a couple of others on my to read list. I have no excuse for waiting so long to read this. 3.5 stars rounded up.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press via Netgalley for providing access to this novel. My apologies for being so tardy in getting to it. All opinions expressed are my own.
Published: November 1, 2022

I absolutely loved Behind Closed Doors and enjoyed The Therapist, so I was eager to read The Prisoner. The plot had me intrigued and I really enjoyed part one, but then it became a bit too unbelievable. The last 25% of the book read exactly like you were speaking to someone trying to solve all of the loose ends; it did not flow like a book should. Even though this wasn't my cup of tea and I definitely wouldn't say it's a strong book by B.A. Paris, I will continue to read her books. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me a copy.

Unfortunately after low ratings, I decided not to continue this title. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

consider myself a big B.A. Paris fan. Have highly recommended several of her other books. While the premise of this book sounds intriguing, the execution fell short for me. The characters were jumbled around to where it was hard to keep their connections straight. In all honesty, there was only one character I even cared about - Hunter. This book is actually a fast read, however here is my biggest gripe - the ending! I had to re-read it three times to figure out what actually happened, how and why.

While parts were good,over all it did not hit the mark for me. Having said that, I still love this author and look forward to reading more of her books.

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

Amelie wakes up in a pitch black room, not knowing where she is. Why has she been taken? Who are her mysterious captors? And why does she soon feel safer here, imprisoned, than she had begun to feel with her husband Ned? This book seemed repetitive at the beginning, but once I got into it, I flew through the pages. The Prisoner is a page turner and I will continue to read BA Paris' books.

Amelie wakes up locked in a completely dark room. She doesn't know why she is there, and her captors won't speak. The narrative alternates between her time in the dark and past events that led to it.

I enjoyed this book and it kept me interested most of the way through, although part of my interest included finding out if I was right about what had happened (and I was). This wasn't my very favorite thriller ever, but it was still a fun read. I listened to much of it on audible, and the narrator was good.,

This book was up my alley with the twists and turns. BA Paris is always a great fall book pick in the thriller genre.

Trigger warning: Kidnapping, mentions of abuse, emotional abuse, gaslighting, death of a character (on page), mentions of possible drug use, alcohol use

Have you ever started a book only to look up and realize 6 hours have passed and you’ve finished the whole thing? And while doing so left you so exhausted the next day; you do not regret a thing?

While it is a rare thing for me, dear reader, it has happened before and it happened again reading B.A. Paris’ novel The Prisoner.

The book itself is split into two sections – the first being the kidnapping itself and the events leading up to it, the second being the events that happen in the weeks afterwards. Every chapter is told from the point of view of Amelie, as we follow her from being nearly homeless to married to one of the richest men in the UK. With her being so young she makes questionable choices and these invariably put her in a dangerous situation.

Reading The Prisoner felt like watching one of those Made for Lifetime movies that are so popular. A young, somewhat naive woman gets swept up in the glitzy and glamourous lifestyle of high-end magazine publishing. When she meets the CEO of the magazine, there’s an attraction but she’s hesitant – his reputation precedes him, and it isn’t the best. Still, he makes her an offer she would be foolish to refuse and when they get married, she quickly realizes what she thought would be an idyllic life is instead a nightmare.

Sound familiar?

As entertaining as reading The Prisoner was, it was also frustrating. The main character, Amelie, switches between being worldly and naive. Some of her actions left me confused. If she’d never been in a kidnapping situation before, why would she know to be calm and not panic? Why would she know to try and leave DNA evidence behind? Even if she read a lot of crime fiction (which is doesn’t seem she did much reading at all), these things are just known to the average person.

Much the same can be said for Ned, Amelie’s eventual husband. He too switches between different personas; the one for the public and the one that is private. His switching is understandable as his private persona is a nasty one. He is not a nice man, something we the reader and Amelie learn as the novel goes on.

As for the secondary characters, there’s not much to say about them as they’re almost interchangeable. They’re all quite bland and not memorable. When it’s revealed who was behind the kidnapping and why, I had to back because I was like “Who was that again?” I simply had a hard time remembering.

Overall, The Prisoner reminded me of a firework. Bright and loud at the beginning, immediately drawing one’s attention. It quickly fizzled though into a not so satisfying ending. And a rather abrupt one.

Overall, the reviews seem to be mixed on this one and I can see why. If you’ve read any of Paris’ other books, definitely give this one a go. If you’re new to their books, I won’t dissuade you from giving it a try either. Hopefully, it’ll keep you up like it did me.

A bit far fetched at times, kept me entertained but far too many characters I felt. The ending was a little confusing and I had to read it over to really make sense of it. It wasn’t as thrilling/mysterious as her other thrillers. I really wasn’t impressed but wanted to check this one out finally for myself. Her first few books were so so good - I hope the next one is like how those were. Behind Closed Doors is still my fav by this author!

B. A. Paris is an auto buy author for me, but this one is sadly not her best. It's not bad per say, just not as enjoyable as the rest of her books either.

Mind-bending. Creative. Deeply interesting. Exactly what readers have come to know and expect from B.A. Paris. Add to your TBRs.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and the author for sharing this book with me in exchange for my honest feedback!

Amelie is living on her own in London after the death of her grandfather, who happened to be her last living relative. She is now completely alone in the world, and despite her loneliness, she has big dreams of going to law school and representing the helpless. She gets a job at a magazine, finds somewhere to live, and meets several genuine girlfriends to do life with.

The Prisoner opens up with a kidnapping scene, and Amelie is being held somewhere remote with her husband in another isolated room. Told in alternating timelines, Amelie tells us how she ended up in this situation with her husband, the powerful owner of the magazine she works with.

This one really just did not work for me. The characters were boring and forgettable, and I didn't really care what happened to them in the end. Also, I read to escape reality and this one was another book in a LONG list of thrillers centered around rich, entitled, powerful, and predatory men taking advantage of vulnerable women.

The first thing that came to my mind when thinking about how to review this book is the emoji that has the eyes open, and the moth stretched out in a straight line but has the teeth showing. Just "eeee." It wasn't horrible! But it's nowhere near her best, for sure. 2 stars.

B.A. Paris! Auto-buy author. This might be my least favorite one of hers, but still great as always!

B.A. Paris is the author that first got me interested in psychological thrillers and I continue to love everything she has written. While this one isn't my favorite of her works, it still is incredibly entertaining and holds many secrets and well-times details to keep you engaged and entertained throughout - even if you won't like some of the characters much. It's full of tension and intrigue and I enjoyed it much.

B.A. Paris never fails when writing. I absolutely loved this novel. It was suspenseful, drew me in from the first page, and kept me intrigued until the end!

I’m sorry to say that this was only 2 stars for me. I did finish it but it fell flat. The suspense was non existent and I didn’t like any of the characters. It felt unrealistic.

Thanks for the opportunity.

Really enjoyed the first half of the book, with an intense past/present storyline and slow build that had me completely hooked. The second half, however, was a complete and total mess. The main character was too all over the place, plus too many characters to keep track of, none of which were all that important. When everything gets averaged out, we’re left with a 3-star review.

Forgot to save my review for this one - only had it on Goodreads - here it is almost two years later, lol!

Amelie is rebuilding her life. After a rough childhood, she marries a handsome billionaire, Ned. Fast forward to the present, where Amelie wakes up in a pitch black room. She has no idea where she is or how she got there. Who are her captors? And who is Ned?

B.A. Paris does it again! I was totally engrossed in the storyline. It's definitely one of my favourite thrillers that I've read lately. Sometimes books with two different timelines are confusing or messy, but Paris did an excellent job navigating the two timelines.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved The break down so I had to read this when given the chance. It was a good read but didn’t draw me in the same way.