Amelie Lamont is used to being on her own. By the time she is finishing school, she’s an orphan, and ready to leave her hometown to make something of herself in London. This proves to be much harder and after a few months in the city, she’s on the verge of homelessness. Then she meets Carolyn, who takes her in, and becomes like a sister to Amelie. They quickly fall into routine, and years pass with Amelie becoming very close to Carolyn’s friends Justine and Lina as well. She eventually begins to work at the magazine Justine and Lina are employed at - where she meets the owner, Ned Hawthorpe. Ned is a millionaire who has a troubled relationship with his billionaire father and doesn’t have the best reputation with the other female employees. He’s nice to Amelie and his security guard Hunter is attractive, so when he asks Amelie to fly to Las Vegas with him for a business meeting, she takes the opportunity. What happens on that trip will change her life forever. Upon their return, Amelie witnesses Ned do something horrible before they’re both kidnapped and seemingly held for ransom. Will Ned’s father pay to have them both released? What will Amelie’s fate be if they are let go? Who on earth is doing this - and why?

I’ve seen some mixed reviews on this book and I can understand why. I read and loved Behind Closed Doors, so this had a lot to live up to, and while I don’t think it did - it was still a good read. It had a dual timeline and very short chapters which absolutely kept my attention. Amelie was a very reliable narrator which I love, and the story developed well. The ending was just somewhat confusing to me and seemed to try to wrap everything up but still left questions in my opinion. It was a little sloppy somehow. The first 3/4 felt like a page turner for me though and I would still recommend this one. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read the e-arc!

Amelie was only 16 when she lost her father. After that, she had no one left. He’d had cancer, and she had been helping to take care of him. And when his health declined quickly, she was left alone, with no place to live and no money. She moved to London to try to find a job so she could save some money for law school. But she had such a hard time finding a place to live that she could afford, she wasn’t able to put any extra money aside. And when she lost the waitressing job she had, she didn’t know what to do. That was when she met Carolyn.

Carolyn’s husband had just left her, and she was looking for someone who could help with the housework and cooking while she was at work. She offered Amelie the job, and Amelie moved in. She met some friends of Carolyn, who worked at the magazine Exclusives, owned by wealthy playboy Ned Hawthorpe. When attending a party for Exclusives, she caught the eye of Ned and he asked her to work for the magazine. She agreed, and when he called her up one day and asked her to accompany him to Las Vegas to try to get a specific celebrity interview, she agreed.

While they were in Las Vegas, they got married.

And only a few weeks later, back home in England, they got kidnapped.

Amelie finds herself in a darkened room, alone, only a mattress on the floor. Someone comes twice a day to bring a tray with some food, and she does have a small bathroom, with a toilet and sink. Occasionally she can hear them talking to Ned, who is apparently being held in a room downstairs from her. But mostly it is quiet. It is dark and quiet, and Amelie has to fight to stay strong. She has felt her way through the entire room, and while there is a window, it’s been carefully nailed shut. All she has is the mattress and darkness. And time to think.

And think she does. She thinks through everything that lead her to the moment she got kidnapped. She thinks of how she might be able to escape. She thinks that her kidnappers may just kill her. And she thinks that if for some reason her kidnappers leave her alive, then her husband might be the one who ends her life.

The Prisoner is the latest thriller by B.A. Paris, and it is dark. It starts with the kidnapping and releases bits of information slowly, as Amelie is trying to figure out how to survive. The stakes are high, as she could be killed at any time, and it’s hard to know just who is the victim, and to know who is behind the kidnapping. This fifth domestic thriller by Paris is a bit of a throwback to her first, Behind Closed Doors. But it’s also innovative in its twists and turns.

I have had mixed feelings for Paris’s books since I read her first one. This one isn’t my favorite, but it’s also not my least favorite. I liked the character of Amelie, and I thought the kidnapping plot was interesting. But I also figured out who her captor was. It’s a good story and a quick read, but it is dark and a little creepy.

Egalleys for The Prisoner were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of The Prisoner! I will always covet the chance to read an upcoming B.A. Paris book, especially when it follows something strong like last year’s release, The Therapist.

Unfortunately, The Prisoner mostly missed the mark for me and I don’t find it to be one of her stronger books.

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My thoughts:

The plot itself sounds interesting enough, a husband and wife are kidnapped and we have to learn what, what happens, and then what happens afterward. I’m always down for a psychological or domestic thriller with these plots.

The issue is that in order for these kinds of books to be interesting or terrifying, they have to be if not real, at least believable. Even the believable parts in this one weren’t believable. Those older women wouldn’t just invite 18 year old Amelie into their lives so quickly, and Ned doing the things that Ned does, even the twists at the end involving Amelie’s money, none of it really worked for me. It just all felt very cartoon like and more eye rolls happened than they should have.

And the end didn’t work – yeah yeah yeah Amelie wants to straightaway get involved with another very dangerous accessory to murder No. It was just too easy to wrap everything up with that super long conversation at the end.

Also the entire book was repetitive. It had short chapters that are good for flipping pages quickly, but for something so short it seems like it should have moved forward more than sideways sometimes. The other issue is that unless we were told, it was hard to keep track of how much time was passing overall. Four years from start to finish, how did that even happen? I think dates would have helped this one a lot for the segments taking place in the past.

I finished the book rather quickly despite everything, so that’s something. For the four Paris novels I’ve read now: I loved Behind Closed Doors, liked The Therapist, kind of sort of tolerated Bring Me Back, but The Prisoner to me is the worst of the bunch. Sorry, I just know BA Paris can do better!

Thanks for checking out my book review of The Prisoner! As always, I endlessly thank St. Martin’s Press for being a wonderful partner and providing me with so many amazing free books to review! All honest opinions are my own

THE PRISONER by B.A. Paris is a thriller about the kidnapping of Amelie and her billionaire husband. The harrowing story is told in alternating time lines detailing Amelie’s life before her marriage and during her imprisonment after the kidnapping. Amelie has suffered through other hardships in her young life but will she survive in the hands of her ruthless husband’s enemies. Fast paced and exciting this novel is a roller coaster ride well worth taking. #netgalley

The Prisoner by B.A. Paris is a book that I could not get into no matter how far I tried. I felt that the first 1/2 was interesting and well done but the ending seemed drawn out and I started to lose interest in the storyline. I have never read a B.A. Paris book but I will try her books again since I have heard many good things. This also seems to be an unpopular opinion that I have when it comes to The Prisoner. I also had the audiobook which helped me get through this one. I would not write this one off completely but the ending was pretty "meh" for me.

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

Amelie has been a survivor from day one. After losing her parents, she has made a life for herself in London with help from Carolyn Blakely a kind woman who took her in. Shortly after marrying billionaire, Jed Hawthorne, she is kidnapped and held in a dark room. Who has kidnapped her and why does she feel safter there in that dark room than with her husband? Pretty bad when you feel better being held captive.
This book was so suspenseful and I couldn't put it down at all. Every chapter had a cliff hanger that made it impossible to find a stopping point. Its been awhile since I've read a psychological thriller this good.

The Prisoner by B.A. Paris is a short but suspenseful thriller that has you zooming through the pages to find out how it's going to end. Amelie has been kidnapped and is being held as the titular prisoner. As the story unfolds the reader discovers what led to her abduction along with the secrets that have been kept. I enjoyed the drama of this storyline and recommend you check it out. Read and enjoy!

💷 A R C • R E V I E W 💷
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Title: The Prisoner
Artist: B. A. Paris
Rating: 4/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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HAPPY PUB WEEK!! B. A. Paris is easily an auto-buy author for me. When I saw this one on NetGalley I immediately hit request without even reading what it was about and I am happy I did.
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This one gripped me right form the start with the kidnapping of Amelie and Ned. This story is told in the past and the present, which I’m sure you all know I love because i always rave about these kinds of books. Love when the past prefaces just a little bit the reason for what’s going on in the present. Gives it a total mystery vibe. I’m about it. The entire premise of the kidnapping gave me such claustrophobic vibes, only to give me a quick gulp of air during a short past chapters to send me back into that claustrophobic darkness (literally). I liked how this one was told I multiple parts as well.
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The character of Amelie was great, I really felt for her. I wish I had learned a bit more about Ned, and why he was the way he was; the rest of the characters didn’t seem to have much depth so at some points they all seemed to jumble together. The ending was okay, I wouldn’t say it was my favorite, seemed a bit too far fetched at some points in my opinion.
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Overall, I enjoyed this one, it was fast paced enough for me and gave me that eerie sense of dread for the main character and had the perfect amount of mystery thrown into the mix.
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I was able to listen to this one via audio and also read via ebook which was a huge bonus. The narrator really brought the character of Amelie to life, I though she was fantastic and I loved having the ebook for references to certain characters while listening. Huge thank you to @netgalley @baparis @macmillinaudio and @stmartinpress for the eARC and audio in exchange for my honest review! The Prisoner was just released so be sure to grab it!
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#claustrophobicread #psychologicalthriller #domesticthriller #kidnapping #apoundadaydoubledeachday #kidnapping #strongmaincharacter #nodepthtoothercharacters #mysteriousvibes #baparisattentiongrabbing #theprisoner #baparis #theprisoner

Convoluted psychological thriller that is much too improbable to be believable.

The narrative starts from the point of view of a young woman held captive in a pitch black room. Her husband is in another area of the same house and a ransom has been sent to his wealthy father. Amelie and Ned Hawthorpe have been kidnapped. By whom and why? Sure, their marriage was unusual and recent events have brought things to a breaking point, but things are just not making any sense.

Ah, why do I get sucked in to opening books like this. It was almost painful to read because the whole premise was so implausible and the plot went from one preposterous event to another. The characters were stereotypical and predictable. I did not care for any of them and, no matter how much I was meant to like Amelie, she got on my last nerve. I actually considered marking it DNF at about 25% but I forced myself to go on. I hoped that the story would eventually come together and make sense. Disappointed to report that even after all the revelations, it just required way too much of a buy in that I was not willing to afford. Also, I do not like reading about people held in captivity and the long, drawn out details about where they are being held and the conditions and how they search for escape, etc. The rags to riches bit I also could have done without. Too much in this tale was contrived and I can't recommend it. I will be taking a pass on future work by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Loved this book but felt it was very similar to other books by this author overall an enjoyable story and short chapter which I love thank you NetGalley for the ARC

The Prisoner by BA Paris is a story of survival. Amelie Lamont is a survivor. She has been on her own since the death of her father. She makes her way to London, finds a job and enters the glamorous lifestyle of those around her. She meets the billionaire Ned Hawthorne and enters into a marriage of convenience. She doesn’t realize until it's too late that lies and deceit are the name of the game. A chain of events begins, tumbling like dominoes until she finds herself in a dark room, kidnapped with no hope of getting out. Lies, deception and She has no idea where she is, who her captors are or what their intentions could be; however, one thing she knows for certain, she’s not going down without a fight.
The Prisoner is an interesting psychological thriller told in two parts. Part One opens in the present as Amelie wakes up in a dark room, recounting the events of the previous day. Back and forth between past and present, the series of events are revealed as how she got kidnapped and possibly why. Part Two is the aftermath as the investigation into the kidnapping begins. Who is to be believed? And who is hiding a deadly secret? The Prisoner is filled with twists and turns that will leave you guessing who to trust and who is behind the kidnapping and what their motives are. I enjoyed The Prisoner. It kept me guessing until the very end. I recommend The Prisoner.

The Prisoner is available in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook

After reading another thriller just before this, I had a hard time with the writing and the overall concept of it. What was the purpose? The unravelling at the end was hard because it was just telling me what to think and reason through.

B.A. Paris is an automatic author for me - I was so excited for the latest release, The Prisoner, and this book did not disappoint! We have a strong protagonist in Amelia, and though parts of the story felt unrealistic, it was overall entertaining. The dialogue wasn't forced, and we were introduced to developed characters, if only for a short time. The very end was not my favorite (literally the last couple paragraphs), but did not ruin the story for me. I would definitely recommend this book to any reader who is a fan of B.A. Paris's other books, thrillers, and psychological dramas.
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A huge thank you to the author, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review. #ThePrisoner #NetGalley

Enjoyed the past a present from the same character and loved the atmospheric build the beginning had. Not sure if I was rushing bc I wanted to know who did it but the end felt long/wordy!

It took me a while to get onto - I honestly put it down for a few weeks, then started it over and this time it went much faster. The end was so surprising — I thought there would be at least another chapter there, but I kind of liked it working out how it did. One if my struggles was the alternating past/present structure - it didn’t work for me at first, but once I got through more if the backstory I didn’t mind it. I did find myself having to suspend disbelief a LOT and the perfect friendships in the beginning were another struggle, but then as it got twistier, I was more inclined to ignore things that didn’t seem realistic because I was invested. I also had to keep reminding myself that Amelie is only 21, so that made her behavior make more sense. All in all, this was a fast, weird thriller with some unexpected twists that I really enjoyed.

The first half of the book, I was very intrigued. The little crumbs of info the author gave us, had me wanting desperately to find out what the hell was going on!

Then the book shifted for me. Not alot happened but then again, alot happened. I know that sounds nuts but it's hard to explain.

I also has some difficulty connecting with these characters as well. I wanted to like the main character Amelie but she was very one dimensional.

While I didn't love this one like most of this authors previous books, I was intrigued to see how it all ended.

Wow. What a crazy suspenseful read. I had no idea what was going on for about half the book. I kept guessing what might happen next AND I was wrong every single time! Such an original story and a real page turner. Another winner for BA Paris. I read another of her books right before I read this one. And now I am having withdrawn. They were so different from each other and just amazing. A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

It's taken me awhile to write this review because I'm honestly not sure what to think. There are elements of this story I really enjoyed, and other elements that I really did not enjoy. I felt confused for the first 1/4 at least, which I think was purposeful and meant to create suspense, but I found it a bit annoying as I wanted a bit of something - anything - to build a base from and felt that was too slow to come. Once I finally had the scaffolding of a plot, it had good bones and I liked where it was going, but then it just seemed to fall apart for me and ended way too quickly. The whole thing felt rushed, like it was written in a huge hurry and was victim to poor editing - like huge chunks had been left on a cutting room floor and were just missing to give it more of a body to hold onto. The characters all needed more thorough development, the entire story needed more meat, and just more attention to the entire thing as a whole would have been good. I alternated between the e-book and the audiobook and preferred the audiobook. I'm not sure I would have finished reading it if I didn't have the choice to listen while doing other activities. Like I said, I think the bones are here, but there's just no meat. It read like a short story that was really rushed / forced into becoming a novel and wasn't quite complete by the deadline. I normally really like B.A. Paris, but this wasn't my favorite. I'll continue to read their work. 2.5 stars

2.5 stars

I was so excited to get early access to Paris’ newest book. Especially after loving Behind Closed Doors and having bought and added The Dilemma and The Breakdown to my tbr shelf.

I enjoyed the short chapters and the dual timelines of past and present. It was also great to read a solo POV for a change! I was intrigued by the locked room mystery and was enjoying the first part of the story, but then it took a turn and fell completely flat. 😬

The story lacked depth, complexity, and felt very shallow. I also didn’t care for nor was I able to connect with any of the characters. Multiple aspects of the plot felt far-fetched and messy, and I was VERY surprised about the sudden ending. 😕

Orphaned Amelie moves to London in hope of one day attending college to be a lawyer. Being homeless, luck was on her side as she met a wonderful group of women that gave her a future. Before she could really begin building the life she dreamed of, she gets distracted by a life of glamor and money wedding billionaire Jed Hawthorne. Suddenly after a turn of events, Amelie wakes up hostage in a pitch-black room. She doesn’t know who has kid-napped her, what they want, or how she’s going to get away from them and Jed.

I really liked the short chapters. It felt like it took no time to read, but unfortunately that's about it. None of the actions of the characters seemed believable and the "twists" were nothing to be shocked by. I'm glad I did not spend money on it and wouldn't really recommend it when there are better thrillers out there right now.

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