The Prisoner by B.A. Paris is a psychological thriller.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher St. Martin’s Press (and in particular  Kejana Ayala for sending me a widget) and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Amelie Lamont is a strong young woman.  She has had to be.  Her mother died while giving birth to her brother, who also died.  Her father passed away from cancer when she was 16. She had no other family.   She convinced everyone she was going to France to live with an aunt, and instead headed to London, where at one point she was homeless. 

Her luck changed, and she made friends.  First Carolyn, then Justine and Lina.

Then she met Ned Hawthorpe, and suddenly she is supposedly living a glamorous life,  but which is more like a prison.   When she and Ned are kidnapped, she is actually thankful that they are being held in separate rooms.  Even alone in a dark room feels safer than being with Ned.

But Amelie's only goal is to escape.


My Opinions:
First, I hate when an author takes a strong woman and has her do something absolutely ridiculous....no matter what the reason.  I almost stopped reading this book at about 30%.  Up to that point, I was enjoying it.  Actually, after that point, I also enjoyed it.  The problem was that sticking point was with me through the entire book, and it pissed me off.  Amelie would have been brighter than to marry Ned.  

The story is told from Amelie's perspective in both the past, and the present.  That was done quite well.  The overall plot was good, and suspense built quite well. The writing was fluid.

However, in some areas, it was a fairly slow moving book, and the ending seemed to stretch into eternity.

So, with all my complaints.... are we all wondering why I gave it 4 stars?  Because at some point both before and after that ridiculous marriage, I suddenly found myself turning the pages like crazy, trying to figure out what happens next!

The book grabs you at first but as the story went along I felt I lost interest. Just didn't have an ending that was par with the beginning of the story. Great author just a little disappointed with this one.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

While the pace of this book kept me engaged, the overall plot left something to be desired. Many of the "aha" moments were within the first 2/3 of the book and the ending was pretty lacking for me. I also felt that the character descriptions were a bit chaotic, which could have been attributed to the dual timeline (felt like many of the sentiments were repetitive).

This is an easy, quick read, but if you are looking for a strong thriller, I'd look somewhere else.

This was a page turner from the beginning as the first chapter details the kidnapping that the entire book revolves around. The author, B.A Paris, took the reader on a journey through the incredibly heartbreaking life of Amelie and how her untimely decisions led her to be kidnapped and held for ransom. Through chapters of real time interspersed with look back chapters the reader was able to see how the ultimate journey played out. I was not prepared for the last few chapters and to see the hope given to Amelie was a nice way to finish her story.

Thank you to both St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Here is another slam dunk thriller by this author. In this book you are taken on a sadistic ride where FMC is kidnapped by some unknown men, but the reality before being kidnapped was that she was already in her own prison. The question is who is the enemy, the kidnapper or her husband? The first half of the book is told in dual timelines which I usually enjoy, and the second half was one timeline and brought full circle closure. The FMC was a strong lead and although she took a dumb deal that got her in her predicament, she did it for some reasons I’m not sure anyone could honestly pass up given what she had been through in her young life. This was a gripping thrill ride for the first half and a extraordinary journey to bring it full closure in the second half. Not the usual mike drop at the end but I was satisfied.

The Prisoner’s narrative is like a Ping pong ball. It bounces off the walls and back again, ricocheting off the back and forth Of the chapters.
Readers learn Amelie’s back story as she is kept prisoner in darkened room where time has no meaning.
All because she made a deal with Ned.
I would have gone bonkers in the conditions Amelie was subjected. The book didn’t wow me. It wasn’t as spine tingling as some of her previous books have been. I was disappointed in the ending, I thought it just sputtered with no real resolution.
Still, I had to keep reading because my curiosity had to be satisfied.

**3.5-stars**

When Amelie was a teenager, her father passed away after struggling with an illness. She had already lost her mother, so suddenly found herself alone. With no money and no desire to go into the state system, Amelie disappeared to London, where she set about making a life for herself.

She works hard at it too. It's a struggle. Sometimes with no other options, she was forced to sleep on the streets. She works in restaurants mostly, but that industry doesn't necessarily equal security for a young woman still in her teens. Nevertheless, she pushes on.

Her luck seems to turn around on the day that she meets Carolyn. Carolyn is a successful business woman, recently separated from her husband, who sees something in Amelie and offers her a job as a live-in housekeeper. That's how Amelie's world changes. She now has friends she can count on, a safe and comfortable place to live, as well as a good salary. She begins to live the life that other, more privileged girls, her age are living.

Soon she is moving up in the world and it's through a new job that she meets Ned Hawthorpe, a business man, technically her new boss and the heir to a vast fortune. Whilst on a business trip to Vegas, Ned offers Amelie a deal. If she marries him, he'll give her something she really desires. Who would think that something could go wrong from this?

Thus begins the spiral for poor Amelie.

There's a kidnapping. There's a hostage situation. There's much back-and-forth filling it all in. Why has Amelie been kidnapped and will she be able to make it out of this horrible situation alive?

As with all her other novels, this book begins with a bang right out of the gate. That's one thing I always appreciate about Paris's writing. There's no beating around the bush, or wasted eons of build-up, her stories start very, very quickly. Usually within the first few pages, you're in it. This book is no exception.

Then the narrative alternates between the present, which includes Amelie being held hostage reflecting on her situation, what could have lead her here and how she can get out of it, and the past, which fills the Reader in on Amelie's life from the time her father died, up to the present. I generally enjoy when stories are formatted this way and I did enjoy it in this case as well. I also enjoyed the short chapters, which made the pace feel very quick. I literally read this in a day. Unfortunately, not all elements worked as well.

This sort of felt like an early 90s-Lifetime movie. Now, let me be clear, I love a good Lifetime movie now and again. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Lifetime movies. Please don't come at me. However, this was forced drama and way over-the-top. I usually love over-the-top, that's sort of my brand. Even things that are fairly unbelievable, but for some reason the tone of this, the feel of some of the circumstances, just did not work for me.

All the male characters were practically indistinguishable from one another. I was almost at the end and one of them was mentioned and I thought, who the hell is that? It took me completely out of the story. I'm still confused about who he was and he played a pivotal role in the plot.

With all of this being said, it was suspenseful and it did keep me fairly engaged, but I have read all of B.A. Paris's works and when I see her name on a cover, I get excited. Admittedly, I expect a lot and maybe that's on me, but honestly, this one disappointed me a bit. It is a good book, there is a fun story within these pages that will keep a lot of Readers on the edges of their seats. Sadly, for me, it just wasn't as great as I was expecting.

Don't take my word for it though, pick it up for yourself. If it sounds intriguing to you, absolutely give it a go!

Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I'm glad I read it and am already looking forward to seeing what B.A. Paris will come up with next!

Amelie is left with nothing when her father tragically dies, so when he does she packs up and leaves. She is under 18 and doesn't want to be put in the system. She eventually meets 3 women who take her in, but Amelie somehow gets sucked in and marries Ned, their wealthy boss, however, this isn't a typical marriage, it is a marriage of convenience for Ned. He wants to get back into his fathers good graces. He said he will pay for her college if she agrees to this.

However, strange things start happening after the marriage.

The book alternates between the past and present, which I LOVE dual time line books. It is fast paced and I highly recommend.

The Prisoner is an attention grabbing thriller that kept me guessing until the end! Literally the first page sucks you in and you become invested in Amelie's struggle. Amelie is a young, poor, naive girl that gets swept up in the life of the famous (and rich) Ned Hawthorne. She is kidnapped in her home and taken prisoner and kept in a dark room. The book goes back in forth from Amelie and her husband's kidnapping to the past to connect how the two of them ended up being prisoners.

I'm a little iffy on the trope of villainous husbands and marital abuse. However, I think this book took that component in a new direction so I enjoyed how the plot line played out. The first few chapters of the book were very fast paced for me. The middle got a little slower, but I enjoyed the ending which had Amelie taking more charge of her life. Some of the situations in the book seemed a little too convenient to be realistic, but I enjoyed the book overall. Great fast paced thriller!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for granting me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher for an early release copy of The Prisoner by BA Paris. I really liked the premise of this story and felt the beginning had a good buildup. I was engaged with the main character although she wasn't necessarily likeable (not an issue for me). The last third of the book was really disappointing and I genuinely thought I was missing "pages" at the ending. I would definitely try another book by this author but would hope the ending wouldn't be so rushed or flat.

This story feels really low budget. Like, if it were a film, it would have skimped on the actors, writing/plot development, and set design. It's a movie that you're willing to watch, but maybe one you put on in the background while you do other things. And I know books aren't produced like films, but I can't find another way to describe how this feels.

I will say that I do enjoy “taken captive” stories, so even though the narrative is repetitive and the events themselves wholly unrealistic, I still really enjoyed the concept. And I loved the short chapters! For me, mystery/thrillers have to have short chapters to keep my attention, so I'm very grateful for that.

And although there are certain aspects of this that are positives for me personally, I'm just not sure the overall story/characters/writing is effective enough to create a super compelling story. But BAP has a lot of other great books, so I'm not too worried about this one.

3.5 Stars. After losing both of her parents at a young age, Amelie was forced to make it on her own. Shortly after marrying billionaire Jed Hawthorne, Amelie and her husband are kidnapped. Their marriage is not quite as idyllic as it appears, and Amelie begins to questions whether she feels safer being held captive than she does at home with her husband.

I was hooked from the very beginning of the novel, and found the first part of the book to be fast-paced and engaging. Alternating between present day and Amelie’s past, I appreciated learning Amelie’s backstory and how she came to be married to Jed, and now kidnapped. I didn’t love Part 2 of the novel as much as the first part, and felt like there were some plot holes left unaddressed by a somewhat sudden ending, but overall I enjoyed reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my gifted e-ARC!

This was such a quick read for me. I finished it in a day. The action starts out immediately with chapters swapping back from present to past timelines.

I enjoyed the pace of this book. I didn't think there was much filler. The main character, Amelie was very likable, as were many of the other side characters.

Like some of Paris's other books, the male antagonist is a jerk-wad that you want to impale. He was awful, but he was meant to be.

The "reveal" was more drawn out compared to other suspense books that I've read. This is a good thing. I don't love it when things get wrapped up in a couple of pages, having the slow reveal in this book kept the suspense going.

Speaking of reveal, there were some things that I don't know how I feel about it. I don't want to spoil anything but the ending left me conflicted. Perhaps this is intentional. I would say without a doubt that our girl needs to get some therapy after her ordeal.

I had a hard time with this book even though I enjoyed the pacing. I'm not sure if it was that I just didn't connect with the characters.

This was fine. It’s a kidnapping drama that switches between present and past. It was easy to like the main character but the rest was rushed to get to the more relevant characters so there wasn’t much of a connection formed. However, You are entertained and the mystery was good. This keep you guessing until the info dump at the end and then it’s kind of open ended for you to make your own thoughts on. It was a good airplane or beach read

She is fast becoming one of my top go to reads! Her books are always so good and unexpected. One of my fav books was behind closed doors and this was a very close second.

Another great read by B. A. Paris. Fast paced, hard to put down. I needed to know what was going on and why! Not my favorite by this author, but well worth the time.

If B.A Paris wrote a phone book I'd read it! She is fantastic! Compelling, well written and engaging characters. So many twists and turns and little gasps all the way through! Kept me on the edge of my seat and a grand ending! Thank you so much!

The Prisoner is another thrilling book by B. A. Paris. Alice loves money and living the greatest lifestyle. She meets the love of her life, Ned Hawthorne, a handsome billionaire. They marry and move in The Circle, an exclusive neighborhood. As she gets to know the neighbors she’s told stories about her new home that are strange.

Shortly into the book a strange thing does happen. Alice finds herself locked in a pitch dark room.Strangely, she starts to feel safer in the room than she does out in the house with the family.

Why wouldn’t Alice feel safe in her own home? Thrilling parts. Read to find out.

This story has many twists and turns. I, however, did not jump into it immediately, but once you do it’s a quick read.

If you’re a fan of domestic thrillers, get it. You will not be disappointed.

I wanted to love this and I did - for about the first 25%, then the story became a bit convoluted and confusing. I thought it was a touch slow for a psychological thriller and I was not completely clear on the connections between all the characters. I was just missing that feeling where you just can't put a book down that I want to get from this kind of read.

I did enjoy the ending and found it a quick read, but it unfortunately fell short from what I was expecting.