I went into this book REALLY wanting to love it. It was far too slow with little character development to make up for it. The first half was much better, but it lost me after the 50% mark. I didn't care enough about any of the characters to care about what happened to them.

Also--the drinking age in the US is 21. I have a hard time believing our MC would so easily go to restaurants in Vegas and order champagne. I'm well into my 30's and I've never been anywhere in Vegas and not been carded.

This book was quite the page turner from start to finish. And while I felt annoyed by the situation and the main character at times, I still found this to be a great read. 100% recommend to other. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!

A decent run of the mill thriller with a rather hackneyed villain and some dubious choices. It’s been less than a week since I read it and I can barely remember the characters’ names.

Amelie and her uberwealthy husband are kidnapped and imprisoned. How did she end up there? Well, the Past sections tell her story of leaving home, making her way in London thanks to a lucky meeting, and her marriage to Ned Hawthorpe (though the blurb has him as Jed Hawthorne), the amoral son of a billionaire philanthropist.

The plot zips along in the hope that plausibility won’t have time to raise its head. Twists come and go, but it’s so hard to find a good one these days. The author seems very pleased with the mathematical device of $1 being doubled every day for 31 days (which I first came across in A Grain of Rice by Demi) and tries to make it a plot point, which it isn’t really, fascinating though it is.

I always enjoyed the bit at the end of Agatha Christie mysteries where the detective gathers everyone together and explains how it all happened. We get a version of that here which is quite satisfying though maybe suggests the author couldn’t come up with a better way of resolving the mystery.

Nothing really wrong with any of this but, similarly, nothing terribly right either.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

B. A. Paris is BACK!! I am a huge fan and was thrilled to receive this ARC! After not completely loving her previous story, The Therapist, I am happy to report that I freakin' LOVED The Prisoner!! Run, do not walk to grab a copy and read it! GEEZ! I had to look around my house several times and make sure I wasn't locked in someone's basement! It felt that real! And that's just the first half. Told in two different timelines, the author does a masterful job of weaving details and twists until the final shocker of that last one! Don't miss out on this! And cannot wait for the next book!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, B. A. Paris and #NetGalley for this much appreciated ARC! All opinions are my own.

I enjoy B.A. Paris novels. But this one just did not hold my interest the way they usually do. It was good, it’s not that I didn’t enjoy the story. But it was just ok. I didn’t feel that pull from the character to really care about what is happening, nor did I find it all that suspenseful.

The audiobook was good and I’m glad I received a copy of that. I enjoyed the narration and found myself listening more than reading.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and the author for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: The Prisoner by B. A. Paris
Published by St. Martin's Press, November 1, 2022

★★★★☆ (3.75 stars rounded up)

Newly-wed in an American "Vegas Chapel" ceremony, a nineteen-year-old London woman's three-year transcendence from dire poverty to the cusp of untold wealth - from a penniless Parisienne orphan to the portals of London's high society - culminates in a pitch-black dungeon...

This is my third book by author B. A. Paris following her debut novel, "Behind Closed Doors" (2016) and "The Therapist" (2021), both enthralling psychological thrillers par excellence that put you at the edge of your seat.

As with her other novels, in "The Prisoner" (2022), the author's remarkable prose is finely-drawn, and is elucidated so subtly so as to, at times, leave her readers baffled. In a good way, I should add. The author's wicked twist in the final pages of the book, a cryptic reference to "shampoo", is a typical instance.

We are treated to a clever "numbers game" modus operandi, along with a devious adaptation of Kevin Bacon's "six degrees of separation", the latter a shocking reveal which gives some clarity to the backstory, but by the same token, proffers a non-sequitur to the prior narrative, which I thought was just too contrived and whimsical, and left so many loose ends.

Eerie, intriguing quick read. Looking forward to this best-selling author's next endeavor.

Review based on an advanced reading copy courtesy of St. Martin's Press and NetGalley.

This book had me riveted from page one. I expected nothing less from this author that manages to always deliver a great read. It had me turning the pages fast because I wanted to better understand the characters and the roles they played in the unraveling g of the plot. The protagonist was someone that I could identify with because she was down to earth and led a simple life until……

At the age of sixteen, Amelie was left alone in the world when her father dies. After lying about her age, she finds employment as a housekeeper. One step at a time her dream of making her way into law school becoming a reality. Through her new connections she meets Ned, and with his wealth he could afford to make her a proposition she can’t resist – a marriage of convenience. Marrying him so he can avoid an undesirable marriage to another, and he will pay for her law school. A win-win deal for them both.

However, within days Amelie learns that her new husband has many secrets, and this marriage of convenience could soon turn into a nightmare.

Told in two timelines, the past which explores Amelie’s life leading up to her marriage, and the present in which Amelie is held as a prisoner in total darkness. Starts a little slow, but picks up speed around 30% in, and the twists and turns will keep you reading throughout the night.

4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

I've been a bit ambivalent about the author's previous books, but I enjoyed this one. It's a good mystery/thriller that kept my attention and kept me reading late into the evening. Amelie is a young woman that is used to struggling to survive. Down to her last few dollars, she befriends a group of wealthy women and begins working as a housekeeper and cook for one of them. This brings her into contact with Jed Hawthorne, a wealthy billionaire. Before she understands what's she gotten herself into, she's married to Jed and forced to be his perfect trophy wife. Then one night Amelie is snatched from her bed and wakes up in a pitch-black room with no idea where she is. The captors don't speak and she doesn't know why she's taken, or why she feels safer with the captors than she does with her husband.

This story is told in flashbacks as we see what Amelie's gone through since losing her family and making her way to London. The author did a great job of building tension and depicting the growing fear and anxiety that Amelie was feeling as she attempted to escape and tried to work through who could have reason to kidnap her and her husband. There were a few red herrings and some of the events seemed a bit outlandish, but overall, it was a fun, twisty ride. I didn't exactly love the ending, but I can understand why the author wrote it that way.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. All opinions are my own.

I'm wondering if B.A. Paris isn't the author for me. I wasn't that thrilled by Behind Closed Doors, and not by this book neither. The past and present, alternating timelines were both rushed and drawn out. I almost felt like I was a prisoner to the story. At the end, I just wanted to finish it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion.

I found part of this book to be engaging and interesting.

The story centers on Amelie, a young girl who has been orphaned at age 16, and heads to London to start a new life. In the process she makes new friends, and ultimately marries a very wealthy man, for a strange reason.
From there, her troubles as a “prisoner” begin. She is kidnapped and held captive in a dark, windowless room.
That summarizes part 1.

Part 2 of the book explains who, and why she was kidnapped, in a very detailed, somewhat confusing way.
I liked Part 1 more than Part 2, thus giving it 4 stars. Overall, the second half was a disappointment. It was very detailed and convoluted.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins press for the ARC copy in return for this unbiased review.

This book was a good thriller until the very end. It definitely kept me guessing but the ending was just too vague and didn't really give a satisfying conclusion for Amelie after everything she had been through. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

B.A. has done it again! She is a master at her craft and creating books that will keep you hooked until the very last second. I was so excited to get this egalley! I am a huge fan of all the things B.A. does. This book will keep you guessing and wondering what the hell is going on until the very last page. For anyone who loves a good twisty thriller!

Amelie's life has not been easy. Her mother dies in childbirth to her little brother. He also dies from cancer before she turns 18. With no family she leaves for London. She gets help from some very nice and lovely ladies and they become friends. Then she gets mixed up with Ned Hawthorpe and her world goes into a tailspin. A very complex story not to be missed, if you like psychological thrillers. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just okay to me. I have liked the author’s previous works much better. I did like the main character and her friends, but I figured out a lot of the plot early on. I felt a lot of it was just too unrealistic.

Ended up putting this down at about 19% - which is super disappointing given that I usually love B.A. Paris, but alas, this one just wasn't for me. The whole prisoner situation was just weird, the backstory timeline took much too long to develop into anything interesting, and all in all I just couldn't keep myself engaged enough to continue. I'm certain there's an audience for this, but it's unfortunately not me.

Orphaned as a teenager, Amelie makes her own way in London, ultimately befriending a group of women who take her under their wings and keep her off the street. Two of the women work for a media mogul with a troubled past. He offers Amelie a path to meet her goal of going to law school and she cannot refuse, but the costs are far higher than she could have anticipated.

This dual timeline story alternates between the present, when Amelie is being held captive, and the past, which tells the backstory. B. A. Paris is expert at crafting suspense stories that will completely keep the reader guessing. As much as I love her novels, this one is not my favorite. It strains credulity too many times and unlike other reviewers, the first part dragged a bit. However, as usual, the ending completely shocked me. I may not be as clever as I think, but I'm usually pretty good at sussing out the culprit. Never with B. A. Paris. #ThePrisoner #NetGalley

3.5 stars! A very good psychological, popcorn thriller, reads exceptionally fast!

Both of Amelie’s parents have passed leaving her alone. When she starts making new friends, she ends up in a new world of wealth. The book starts out in the present where Amelie has been kidnapped and held hostage. The book goes from the present to the past and is extremely fast paced. I think this book would be good to help get someone out of a slump.

Thank you netgalley and St. Martins press for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a good page turner with a very likable female lead. I found myself holding my breath at some parts, so it checked a big suspense box! My only complaint is it ended too neat…

Thank you very much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my advanced reader's copy.

I loved that we are thrown right into the action with Amelie and we have the Present and Past timelines to try to figure out who has kidnapped her and what is the end game? I was captivated right from the first page and I enjoyed this story immensely. Unfortunately, I couldn’t give it the 5 stars because the wrap up/ending fell short for me.