*2.5 rounded up*

The start of this book was great! Right away you follow the character of Amelie, a young woman recently married to a billionaire, who has been kidnapped and thrown into a pitch-black room, not knowing who has taken her or why. The suspense was high and you could feel the claustrophobia and terror as Amelie navigates her surroundings and puzzles out what happened.

I also really liked the backstory in the beginning. We learn how Amelie came to be married and what was going on in her life up into the point in time she was kidnapped. Although I found her character very young and naive, she felt fleshed out and interesting.

But then halfway through the story, there came a big shift.

It changed in a way that was unexpected. I didn't predict it, and so I was excited to see where things would go. But then the suspense and tension started to go downhill for me. The tone of the writing changed and it became more of a straightforward mystery.

Also, the ending was lots and lots of telling instead of showing which made it uninteresting to read, which was a shame since the beginning was so strong.

I'm still interested in reading more of Paris in the future, but this one really didn't work that well for me.

*Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital arc. All opinions are my own.*

3.5 stars

First things first, I'm a huge B.A. Paris fan. I've read all of her books and find her crazy stories to be entertaining in a popcorn thriller type way. I try not to analyze everything to death and just roll with it. Unfortunately, I was not completely able to do so with The Prisoner especially towards the end when things got even more messy. Not my favorite by the author but decent enough for a lazy weekend read.

Amelie is being held captive in a pitch black room. That's pretty much all you need to know other than the story alternates between the present situation and the past when Amelie has moved to London after the death of her father.

Great premise as immediately I was invested in finding out if Amelie was going to make it out alive and why she was there in the first place. The pace was good as both timelines moved things along pretty quickly.

The conclusion is where the wheels fell off the cart though. The whole big reveal monologue is one of my mystery/thriller pet peeves and this book had one of the most long-winded explanations I've ever read. The longer it dragged on the more my brain formulated question after question. Normally I can suspend disbelief as long as I'm having an otherwise good time reading the book, but it was too much of a challenge here.

Thumbs up for being a fun mindless thriller, but thumbs down for the ending.

I generally enjoyed this book! The beginning felt a little slow and the ending dragged on a little too long for my liking. But, the chapters were short and the pace was fast, all of which kept the book moving even when I started to get a little bored. I also found some of the premise of the kidnapping (or not...) a little far fetched and too much. A lot of this book felt over the top and like something that could never actually happen. If you're looking for a fast paced, somewhat unbelievable thriller I say give this one a try.

I have heard so much praise for BA Paris and this is my first title I've read by the author. Sadly, I was a little disappointed. It was a great book for the first half. If it stopped there it would have been a solid 4 stars. The second half was extremely drawn out and seemed without purpose. I also am not a fan of the instantaneous love story that was smushed into the plot. It just seemed like the author had enough for a novella, but not enough for a book and just added on superfluously to get to the word count.

Normally I enjoy B.A. Paris's novels. This, not so much. I think it was just too short and confusing. A lot of things were not explained properly.
Amelie is a survivor. She is also, however, tricked into marrying billionaire, Jed Hawthorne. She & Jed are kidnapped and held for ransom and then things get really confusing. Jed only married Amelie to help him regain a lost reputation. And it seems dear Jed is also a bit of a murdering psychopath. And who exactly kidnapped them? Will they let Amelie go? Will she get an explanation. No, and neither do we as readers!
This ended abruptly and I'm still confused as to who exactly certain characters were. It was definitely not like Paris's other novels. Just not as good as her usual work.

*Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-arc.*

The book begins with Amelie and her husband, Ned, getting abducted in the middle of the night and taken to a secret, dark location where they are kept in separate rooms as prisoners. Left with nothing but her thoughts, Amelie wonders who their abductors are, what they could want, and if there is any chance of being able to escape. The chapters alternate between the past and present as the reader tries to fill in the blanks about how Amelie ended up in this terrifying situation.

I couldn't wait to read this book as I have loved all of B.A. Paris' other thrillers and this one did not disappoint! It was a quick, suspenseful read with many twists that kept me reading late at night to figure out what would happen next. The ending slowed down quite a bit and left me a little unsatisfied, but overall I still highly recommend this book; it was easily one of the best thrillers I have read in 2022! Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC!

Amelie loses her parents young, and at seventeen she heads off on her own. She meets Carolyn Blakely who sees something in her, takes her in as her housekeeper, and sets her on a path to a better life. Along the way she meets others in Carolyn's circle.

She ends up working for, and then married to billionaire, Jed Hawthorne, after a quick "work" trip (or so she thought) to Vegas. Shortly after, she is kidnapped and held in a dark room. She doesn't know why she was kidnapped. But she would almost rather remain there than return to Jed. She soon learns he was also kidnapped.

I enjoyed the short chapters and the dual timelines. I was invested from the beginning of the story and finished it quickly. I needed to know the why behind the kidnapping. I also had both audio and ebook so I was able to go back and forth and finish fairly quickly.

I wanted to love this book. I did like it and found the story entertaining. I was cheering for Amelie.
While the story was a bit far fetched, I was hanging on. But the ending dragged me down a bit and took away from my enjoyment of the book.

Not my most favorite B.A. Paris, but I will definitely read more by her in the future.

Many thanks to NetGally, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for both an ARC and an advance audio in exchange for my honest review.

Amelie made a deal with Ned when they married but now things have gone very far off the rails. This starts with the kidnapping- the central part of the plot- and then moves back and forth in time to tell Amelie's story from time her father died in Paris until this moment, when she's on a mattress in a dark room. Amelie made her way to London, was taken in by Carolyn, and then met Ned. a wealthy man who marries her to get his fatherJethro off his back. Doesn't work out well. This has twists and turns quite implausible but the short chapters ramp up the tension and kept me reading past when I was going to put it down. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Not my favorite of Paris' novels but it's still a page turner.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. Unfortunately, this book was not for me. It was quite predictable and everything was explained way too neatly at the end.

Enjoyed this book very much. Starts out with a bang and then slowly delivers the back story to let us know what’s really going on. I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers so I’m pretty good at guessing endings, but this one still surprised me. One of my favorites by this author!

B.A. Paris's latest thriller is about a woman, Amelie, who is kidnapped, and the story bounces back and forth from past and present time to see how she got there. This one missed the mark for me. The first half of the book was well paced and suspenseful, but the second half of the book failed to hold my interest. I kept waiting for something exciting or thrilling to happen, but it focused more on Amelie's PTSD and her search for answers. The answers she was looking for were revealed in a storytelling way instead of an suspenseful/thrilling way. I also didn't connect with any of the characters in a meaningful way and saw little character development. Nethertheless I will continue to read whatever B.A. Paris comes out with next, because she is a great author.

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

This is another hit and miss author for me.

This had an interesting premise. Lots of twists. And it was interesting how it all came out in the end. However, the ending? Yeah, that was a bit underwhelming. Kind of wanted to just throw my iPad in frustration as I read the final two pages. That kind of knocked it down a star for me.

Still may recommend it to others.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The Prisoner is Amelie, who wakes up imprisoned in an unknown location. Are her captors looking for easy money by asking her new husband’s family for ransom in exchange for her release? Or is something even darker happening here?

Even with the short plot summary that I provided; you should have some idea who is behind Amelie’s predicament. Unfortunately, you would be correct. However, the author feels compelled to use the entire last third of the book to explain the perpetrator’s motivation. Just because a plot makes a great elevator pitch, it doesn’t guarantee a great book, unfortunately. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars. Read a much better book, The Dilemma, by the author instead.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

This was my second book by this author and I hate to say it wasn't my favorite by her but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. I truly enjoyed the premise of the book and the suspense to it

Thank you to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader copy. I really enjoyed the twisty fast paced book "The Therapist" by BA Paris and so immediately wanted to read her latest thriller.

I found this one to be just okay. The chapters were short which I am always a fan of, but there were sections in the first part that felt pretty repetitive. I also, guessed the twist pretty early on. It's a quick read so I felt compelled to finish but I think her backlist books are better.

✔️ BA Paris books can be a hit or miss for me, but I really enjoyed this one . The first part of the story was intense kept me glued to the pages; the second half felt a bit long parts of tit really didn’t add much to the story at all. Overall, there was some aspects that were predictable and some that were surprising .

This book definitely wasn’t what I was expecting and I think that made me enjoy it even more. I’m a huge fan of this author and was highly anticipating this book. I did think the first part of closure in the book was a bit unbelievable, but it worked and I see the reasoning behind it. I did finish wishing there was more to the ending, but again I see what the author was doing.

The whole survivor aspect of Amelie was done wonderfully, you could see the growth on her part so well. Ned… I have no words other than terrible. I did like how everything tied up with all the characters.

Overall this was a solid read, I wouldn’t mind seeing it as a movie or made for TV series. This author has a great way of twisting and turning everything throughout their books. I will absolutely be reading anything this author writes.

At age 17, Amelie moves to London to build a life for herself after being left with no family. She marries into a wealthy family and soon wakes up to intruders taking her captive. She is thrown in a pitch black room when the story starts.

The Prisoner is a psychological thriller that will keep you turning pages. With short chapters that switch from past to present, you will try to piece the together how Amelie got there and what will happen next!

I always find BA Paris's novels captivating. The Prisoner is another riveting thriller about a young couple kidnapped and held hostage in a pitch-black room. The first part of the book is told in alternating timelines between the past and the present. The reader soon finds out that everything is not what it seems to be. B.A. Paris is the British Queen of suspense. I loved the book and the edge of the seat thrill of reading it. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Amelie got involved with a millionaire by accident and ended up intertwined in a pretty complicated situation. I think this book is crafted in a pretty interesting way. You know from early on that the main character is currently a prisoner of some sorts, but the story is told in parallel between past and present, so you get to understand little by little what actually happened and how she was put into that situation.