I received this book, The Prisoner by B.A. Paris, as an arc from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Usually, I love B.A. Paris’ books and she is an auto buy author for me. Unfortunately, this book was different. I found myself relieved when it was over, as I felt the book was too long and was a little confusing as well as boring for me. Some good things about this book were the twisty parts of the plot, which allows BA. Paris to shine through.

Soo much better than your last book Paris. Thank you!!! I’m giving this a 3.75 I loved the beginning!! Holy cow it was great; part 1 all the way! Part 2 on the other hand; ball definitely dropped. Sadly
I am still looking for “Behind Closed Doors” from you; I hope maybe next year

B.A. Paris has done it again!!!

I am a huge fan of B.A. Paris. I have read all of her other books, and was SO excited to read her new one, The Prisoner.

Like all of her other books, I could not put it down. It's an easy, exciting, and thrilling read, with a complex yet fun story thats easy to follow, and I was completely drawn into it. This story was a little more farfetched, (spoiler) with the marriage seeming a little bit too unrealistic, yet I still really enjoyed it and had to find out what happened at the end.

Her main character, Amelie, was well developed, and although frustrating at times was still a character I was rooting for. Her husband I hated (of course), and I couldn't wait to find out the twist at the end.

I was so happy I got to read and review this book, I finished in under 12 hours because I could not put it down! I highly recommend it if you like authors along the same lines as Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley, and love a fun twisty story that you cannot step away from.

Four Stars - Definitely recommend to all book clubs too!

A HUGE thank you to St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read the ARC of this story, and write a review. Loved it!

BA Paris has hit another home run with The Prisoner. She absolutely knocked it out of the park. The twists, turns, ups, and downs kept me on the edge of my seat the entire book.

Oh My Goodness, What a book! The Prisoner by B. A. Paris may be her best book. I was so enthralled by the book that I read it too fast and the next day I read it for the second time. Amelie has been a caretaker for her aging father, but he dies sooner than she had expected. The house where she and her father lived had been a rental, so Amelie is homeless. She finds herself living in youth hostels and on the streets at age seventeen. Amelie has not given up on her dream and plan of going to college and becoming a lawyer. One day as she sits in a coffee shop to stay warm and safe as she extends her cup of coffee, she watches two fashionable women come in and sit at the table next to her. She observes one of the women is upset and this touches Amelie's heart. She follows her to her apartment to make sure the troubled woman got home safely, and their eyes make contact before she leaves. Later the woman comes to the cafe to look for Amelie and soon offers her a housekeeping job. This begins a friendship with Carolyn and a close circle of her friends. Amelie soon meets billionaire Jed Hawthorpe and before she considers the consequences, finds herself married to him in a business agreement.
Hours after her marriage she learns that Jed Hawthorpe sexually assaulted her friend Justine the day before her trip with him to Vegas. This shattering revelation opens Amelia to the harsh cruelty of Jed. She is not allowed to leave their mansion for the month they agreed to be married. Jed has taken her phone and her laptop has been disabled. Before Amelie can figure out a way of escape, she and Jed are both abducted for real and placed in separate darkened rooms. Why? What has she done that would cause her to be taken and held hostage in total darkness? Will she be killed for the crimes Jed has committed?
The story is told in the past and the present to give an account of things that have happened. Amelie is heartsick knowing Jed probably killed Justine the same way he murdered Lina! I don't want to post spoilers, but the story is woven with many levels of deceptions, lies, murder, and fear.
Thank you to NetGalley, B. A. Paris, and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of The Prisoner. The publication date is November 1, 2022.

The Prisoner is an exciting thriller about a young woman who finds herself trapped in a dangerous web and her determination to free herself.

The book has the expected time jumps that most thrillers utilize today, but Paris does an excellent job of keeping the two periods distinct. I was never rereading to try to clarify when we were. It was refreshing to actually have likeable characters and a reliable narrator. Amelie is a good person from start to finish, if not a little naive. Any hints that she may be about to do something "wrong" are typically dispelled, and after all she goes through, I am prepared to forgive just about anything.

The Prisoner, B.A. Paris
I’ve read every book by B.A. Paris, so if you enjoyed Behind Closed Doors, you will like the Prisoner.

Past: Amelie is a young woman, just starting out in life. She has no family, barely any money to her name, and after her father passes away, not even a place to live. She meets Carolyn who offers her a job and life starts turning around for Amelie.
Present: Amelie is being held captive in a very dark, secluded room. How did she get here and what do her captivators want with her? Why can’t she remember anything?
The first half of this book was great until the past and present met. There were so many minor characters in the beginning that all of a sudden were playing such major roles in the book. The whole plot was also just a little unbelievable, in my opinion.
While this is probably my least favorite of her books, it still won’t be my last.
⭐️⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This definitely held my interest, but the first half lost me. I’m not sure why, but I just found it hard to follow the various characters, bad guys, etc. The twist seemed convoluted and confusing to me. Decent writing and good plot, however.

My Review… 2.5 ⭐️
•
•
Title: The Prisoner
Author: BA Paris
Genre: Thriller
Pub Date: Novemever 1, 2022
•
•
First things first, a huge thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!!
•
•
Review: after loving BEHIND CLOSED DOORS and THE THERAPIST by Paris, I was thoroughly underwhelmed by this book. First we start off with the kidnapped trope, which is not one of my favorites I’ve come to learn. The first 30% of the book, every time it was a chapter where the MC was being held hostage, I skimmed through it. It felt like for a long time nothing was happening. Now, if you know me, you know that I’m very very OK with character building and slow process. But this was vastly different than that, this was just plain boring.
A huge problem I had with this book is the fact that a lot of what had happened, and how it had gotten there was unrealistic and some thing that would never happen. Also, the amateur detective trope in this book was just done so wrong.
The ending felt extremely rushed to me and it really didn’t make sense how everything ended because it was too easy. There was nothing wrapped up, and it just overall was a boring book with no surprises.
I’ve seen quite a few reviews where it says that it was very fast paced and claustrophobic feeling, which is correct. The reason why I got two stars and not one was because I did overall like the little bit of action there was the little bit of, what’s going on? Which I feel is partly due to the short chapters.
•
•
•
Synopsis: Amelie has always been a survivor, from losing her parents as a child in Paris to making on her own in London. As she builds a life for herself, she is swept up in a glamorous lifestyle where she married the handsome billionaire Ned Hawthorne.
But then, Ameli wakes up in a pitch black room, not knowing where she is. Why has she been taking? Who are her captors? And why does she feel safe for here, in prison, then she had begun to feel with her husband Ned?

THE PRISONER
BY: B. A. PARIS

"The Prisoner," brilliantly written and executed by B. A. Paris was another winner for me, and an evocative psychological thriller written by an Author at the top of their game. I have read all of B. A. Paris's previous novels and I have loved all of them. This one was no different from what I have come to expect and this one was excellent. I read it very fast and am sad that it's over. The chapters seemed quite short to me with a cliff hanger at the end of each, but when I went back to re-read the beginning I found that they were indeed longer than I had perceived.

I am not going to summarize the synopsis because it is already stated in the book's blurb, but I will say that you are not going to want to miss this one. At first, my reaction was that the plot had already been done by many others' and my heart sank. I am happy to report that I was dead wrong and as I read further, this became quite evident.

I loved the main character, named Amelie, who is from France wanting to go to Law School after she has recently lost her father. She is very brave and all alone in this world until she meets a kind hearted soul named Carolyn who gives her a job which Amelie needs, but is excited when she learns it is a live-in occupation. She meets two other close friends through Carolyn.

Don't make the same mistake as I did at first, and think that the plot has been done many times before. As you read on you will quickly find yourself immersed in an addictive reading experience. I LOVED IT! It is over way too quickly and the pace is pulse pounding fast. I will read whatever this talented Author writes in the future. Sadly, for me there is none that I have missed to go back track and be able to read her back list of other work, because I have already read them all. Enjoy!

Publication Date: November 1st, 2022

A Huge Thank you to Net Galley, B.A. Paris and St. Martin's Press for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#ThePrisoner #BAParis #StMartinsPress #NetGalley

The Master of Tension does it again with yet another fast-paced thriller about a girl who might be more safe with her captors, than with her husband.

B.A. Paris should teach a masterclass in tension. She times reveals across the dual timelines perfect, leaving off so that each chapter, I can’t wait to get back to either timeline. I couldn’t read fast enough, and thought the end was cleverly done. Highly recommend.

Aboundingly grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

-A

I am normally a big B.A. Paris fan, but this one did not work for me. I thought the plot had a lot of promise, but it felt more like I was reading a short story as opposed to a novel. It moved so quickly, and there was so little character development that I had no time to get attached to anyone. Which meant that I wasn't super invested in what ended up happening to Amelie. I would have wanted a lot more detail about her marriage, and thought the book spent a lot of time on her relationship with Carolyn for it not to pan out in any sort of way. I was invested most into their relationship, but it didn't turn into a major plot point or was super relevant to the story. I thought the twist was good and the entire kidnapping was clever, but I had to really reread the last few chapters to follow what was happening. I think if I had more character development I would've been able to follow who was who a little better.

The Prisoner will completely grab your attention from the very first page. Story immediately picks up and I couldn't quit turning the page long after dark. Loved Amelie and was completely rooting for her the entire book. This is a super fast paced suspenseful book that will keep you reading!
Thank you to net galley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Prisoner starts off with a kidnapping and switches back and forth between the past and present. The short chapters help keep the fast pace and make it difficult to put this book down. The first part of the book is gripping...then, the second part of the book happens; it feels like a totally different book in style and pacing. Everything is explained and there are no lingering questions, which I appreciated. I viscerally hated the ending, but that won't be true for all readers. Some might even enjoy it.

Bottom line, if you've liked other works by this author and the premise sounds interesting to you, give it a read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Reading Copy.

#NetGalley #ThePrisoner
#StMartinsPress
#BAParis
Having read & enjoyed B.A.Paris' Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown, The Dilemma & The Therapist, it was with anticipation that I picked up an ARC of The Prisoner and it turned out to be quite a suspenseful read.
The reader walks directly into the scene of the kidnapping of young Amelie, the wife of billionaire Ned Hawthorne. The story alternates quickly between past and present. It is fast-paced and the reader is compelled to keep reading to know what happens next. It quickly becomes clear that things are not what they seem. It is an enjoyable read.

This is a more than 5 star book but that was the highest allowed! You are going to love this book! I felt like I was locked in the room with Amelie! B. A. Paris never disappoints! I could not put this book down!

This book is full of twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting. Along with that, it’s well-written and the characters are well developed. The atmosphere is good, and the time jumps are well done and work together to create a coherent story.

B. A. Paris has written several thrillers that I have enjoyed. One of the things I love about her books is that they are never familiar. Her creativity brings you down a different path with each book yet her writing is easy and enjoyable to read.

The Prisoner takes you on a wild ride that has many twists and turns. It keeps you entertained and thinking the entire time. Her character development is pristine and each character is placed in the book for a reason. I envisioned every character and each scene as if I were watching a movie.

Another brilliant novel

Book Review: The Prisoner by B.A. Paris

In the latest thriller by B.A. Paris, a young woman is taken against her will to an unknown destination. When she wakes, the room is pitch black and she doesn’t know who her captors are or why they’ve taken her. All she knows is that wherever she is now, she feels safer than she does with her own husband.

What I liked:

Quick chapters alternating between the past and the present.

Good descriptions. It was easy to transport me into the book.

What I didn’t like:

Very repetitive. It seemed like each chapter during the “present” was saying the same thing over and over.

The twist fell flat for me. I never really felt any true suspense.

Overall, this book wasn’t my favorite but I breezed through it in less than 24 hours. So that says something!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This one comes out on Oct 31, 2022

This was like 2 different books, great first half, couldn’t put it down. Struggled with the second half. I did enjoy this book overall, just felt it wasn’t amazing. Amelie was a likeable character, Ned, not so much. You can see why she had to do the things she did. I’m glad she ended up with something.