This book was ok for me. I love all of B.A. Paris’ books, but for me this one just never seemed to get off the ground. It felt a bit all over the map, floating from character to character but not fully developing any of them. It wasn’t bad at all, it just didn’t capture my interest like all of her other novels have in the past.

I’ve read a few books by this author so I was excited to get the chance to preview her newest piece.
This book moves quickly, jumping between timelines of past and present in part 1, and it perfectly comes together at the end to uncover what is going on. I enjoyed that the book was broken into two parts. With what the main character experienced, it was necessary to show the change in her.
I liked the characters and I do wish we had gotten more about some of the side characters. I felt that we got to know them fairly well in part 1, but I didn’t feel enough closure on them in the second part.
All in all, I really loved this book as a fast paced thriller, with a great main character!

I’ve read everything B.A. Paris has written and was very excited to have access to an advance copy of “The Prisoner” from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. Big thank you! I always find the suspenseful slow burn mystery of B.A. Paris’ books highly engaging. This one kept me reading into the wee hours of the morning.

The plot moves along in the familiar now and past chapter narrative. I loved the storytelling that allowed me to gradually gain insight into the main protagonist, Amelie, and her life through this storytelling technique. I found her to be a person I could empathize with and want the best for. Amelie makes some life decisions that I’m not sure she was actually desperate enough to make, but female characters making sub-optimal life decisions in popular fiction now seems like a common occurrence.

I found the story had just enough twists and turns to keep me off kilter and unsure of the “good” and “bad” guys. I was bothered by the severe losses Amelie endures and a rather abrupt and marginally ambiguous ending that left me a bit unsatisfied. I wanted things tied up more clearly and Amelie is pretty damaged by the end of the book in a way that had me feeling uncomfortable about her decision-making in the final moments of the story.

“The Prisoner” will keep you engaged until the end, but you might not be fully satisfied as the story arrives at the final moments. The best characters earn our love and support, which I had for Amelie. Happy Reading!

The Prisoner is my favorite B. A. Paris book that I have read so far! We have two extremely intriguing timelines to follow, and I was on the edge of my seat with the claustrophobic suspense. I found the plot to be really different from other thrillers I've read, and it was refreshing to not guess every next step. The pacing was nice as well in that the chapters are short and go back and forth between the two timelines. I really felt for Amelie, our MC, for all of the difficult and unthinkable things she went through during her kidnapping and before. I see that reviews are all hit and miss on how the plot wrapped up, but I felt that everything fell into place and came together well in the end. Overall, this was an exciting and tense read, and I'd recommend thriller lovers to pick it up!

I love this book! It was so fast paced and loved Amelie's character!! If you are a fan of this Author, then RUN to get this book! It does not disappoint!! If you haven't read this Author, still RUN to buy this book and find a new and thrilling Author!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Prisoner in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 Stars
Amelie has not had an easy life after being orphaned as a teenager she ran away to make it on her own in the streets of London. She was lucky enough to make some amazing friends who have helped her along the way, including her new job at the magazine, Exclusives. She can not believe her luck when her billionaire heir boss takes her to Las Vegas on a private jet. While in Sin City, he proposes a marriage of convince; he will pay her $100,000 so she can go to law school and he is able to dodge his parents arranged marriage, then in a month they will divorce. She jumps at the chance to start a new life, but she never saw this one coming; her husband is not who she thought he was and worst of all they both have been kidnapped and being held for ransom.

This was an interesting story with an intriguing mystery. The story is told from Amelie's perspective and jumps between her current imprisonment and before. Amelie, albeit a bit naïve, was a good character to narrate the story, she learns along the way and is willing to try and save herself. I liked the feeling she describes of being trapped in the room and her understanding of her captive situations; she was a prisoner in more ways than one. However, the other characters felt generic especially the smarmy rich brat husband, Ned, who was a carbon copy of ever entitled playboy we've all seen countless times. I think I liked the premise more than the execution and although this was not my favorite of Paris' works I look forward to more from her in the future.
ww.goodreads.com/review/show/4987386123

The Prisoner alternates between two timelines: present day in which Amelie is being held prisoner in a pitch black room for reasons unknown, and past tense in which Amelie's sad childhood leads her to the path that got her kidnapped. My issues with the book were all due to unbelievable plot points and not my enjoyment of the book. I thought this was a fun read, but the last half of the book was too silly for me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

This book had me hooked right out of the first chapter. I really enjoyed Amelie’s character and was sucked in. I wish there was a little more back story to some of the characters and felt like there was so many people who died all at once and those story lines toward the end of the story could have given it the same intensity I felt at the beginning of the book. However towards last 1/3 of the book I felt like the story just kinda fell apart. There were still a few curve balls which I love in a good book. But I just wished the end could have met the beginning. I listed to this on audio and really loved the narrator.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

I will always pick up a new book by B.A. Paris because I’m never disappointed. I’ve read several of her books and they always hit the mark! The writing is always impeccable and the storylines are new and unique. And I also like how they take place in other countries, it leaves everything to imagination, which is great for me!

I would highly recommend this book and if you’re already a fan of B.A. pick it up now!!

Another great thriller by B.A. Paris. You will not want to put this one down! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

HOLY COW THIS BOOK.

In this book we have Amelie who has just lost her last family member moving to London to get a job and save to go to university for her law degree where she meets a really tight knit group of friends. Amelie is connected to a job through her friend group where she meets the owner of the magazine, Jed. Almost immediately there is some mystery surrounding Jed and the women in his life seem to keep going missing. After marrying Jed under false pretenses, Amelie learns how he really is but before she is able to flee both she and Jed are kidnapped. But even that isn't what it seems.

This book kept me captivated from literally the first word to the last. I loved the format of flashing from the current timeline to the past and sprinkling in clues along the way (pretty standard with thrillers). But what I really loved was that I couldn't guess the twists and turns! Some you saw coming and some were out of left field. I now have to read all BA Paris books because this was so fun! It made me question EVERYTHING.

A story about a marriage of convenience to someone you really don't know, and how that can turn bad quickly. The story kept me interested and as I read it at night on my kindle I found it hard to put down in order to go to sleep.

This authors books have always been page turners for me. So much going on and trying to put pieces together. I actually had one of the kidnappers figured out. I guess that happens when you read a lot of this type of book. 😁. Not my favorite of this authors but a thrilling and quick read. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC

The “Prisoner” is a psychological thriller that introduces the reader to Amelie, a homeless teenage girl with few resources and fewer options. Life is looking grim until an improbable chance meeting with the kind and benevolent Carolyn changes Amelie’s life. Amelie is living the dream….until she receives an odd proposal from her boss that really should have had her spidey sense tingling. The chain of events set in motion by Amelie’s acceptance of said odd proposal costs her dearly, in ways she could never imagine. B. A. Paris consistently delivers content that reels the reader in and keeps them hooked. “The Prisoner” was no exception. The plot, with a “before” and “after” timeline, included everything a solid psychological thriller should including mysterious supporting characters and a completely vile antagonist. I’ve read all of the author's previous books and this one didn’t measure up quite as well for me due to some thin, unbelievable subplots. I found the pacing a bit uneven as well. The climax of the story was action packed and rapid until…the book just ended… finished,..done. I would say that on the whole though, this book was a passable example of the psychological thriller genre, and it did keep me reasonably engaged

Many thank s to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me an advance copy ahead of the November 1, 2022 publishing date in exchange for a fair and objective review.

Available November 1, 2022.
Thank You to St. Martin's Press for the gifted copy offered through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review!

This book is split into 2 parts:
Kidnapping -told in the alternating timelines of
the present & past.
In the present, Amelie and her rich husband Ned are kidnapped and held for ransom.
In the Past, Amelie, orphaned at 16, gullible& naive, makes her way to London after her Dads death, and manages to get
herself a job as a live-in housekeeper& cook after following a woman home from a coffee shop.
Carolyn, the woman who takes her in, ends up befriending
her, and welcomes her into her circle of friends,
where she mets her husband, Ned.
Part Two: The Reckoning
Amelie finds out just how dangerous some people can be and the reader learns why the kidnapping occurred.

Read/Listen If You Like:
🔪 Thrillers
🔪 Stories about Abductions
🔪 Morally Grey Characters
🔪 Dark & Confined Spaces

Book Review:
This one started out so good and and so much promise but then the ending was honestly a let down for me. It’s never good when a thriller starts to make me feel like I’m reading a romance during the last bit of the book.

For me, I personally felt like the ending was not well done and took away from the book as a whole. The concept was such a good one and could have been done so well if not for how it went towards the end.

This book with the premise of a woman being kidnapped and held for ransom with her husband was such an interesting one, especially as the story began to unfold and you got more and more information that was leading the reader to understand why they were kidnapped.

Overall I enjoyed the first 90% of the book but just was not a fan of the wrap up in the final 10% of the story.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this audiobook in advance of its release! I am so thankful to listen in exchange for my honest feedback.

3.5 ⭐️ Rounding up

This was so captivating at first! I liked the quick chapters, the dual timelines. I couldn’t read it fast enough. Then the last 10% fell right off a cliff. The wrap up felt so rushed and clinical and unlikely. It was really disappointing.

Knowing how it ended, would I still read it? “Maybe”.
It definitely wouldn’t be at the top of my TBR pile.

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for sending this book for review consideration.

This is one of those books that will keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing until the very end. I thought about midway through that I knew what was happening but, I wasn't even close!
Amelie is a survivor. After her father passes away from cancer she is left with nothing, so she decides to move to London. Well after going to the different shelters and trying to find work she meets Carolyn. Carolyn was Amelie's godsend, she gave her a place to stay and a job. Eventually, Amelie could find other work and get her own apartment. Then she meets Ned at her new workplace. Ned is a complete tool, he takes Amelie to Las Vegas on a so-called business trip. He just convinces her to marry him and he will pay for the college fees and she agrees but has no idea what she is getting into. Then Amelie and Ned are both kidnapped. Alone in a completely dark room, Amelie sits on a dark mattress convinced she is going to die, although she is a survivor.
This book will keep you up through the early hours of the morning and it is definitely worth the read! This is only the third book I've read by this author but it will not be the last! I loved it! I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a good thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat! Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the extraordinary opportunity to read and review this one! It was a treat!

Thanks so much for the arc!

B.A. Paris is easily one of my favorite authors. I think about Behind Closed Doors often. I was so excited to receive The Prisoner.

This story hooks you from the start. There is a dual timeline- Amelie in recent past and Amelie as a prisoner. She was kidnapped and is being kept in a dark room but why??

We slowly learn about Amelie’s sad upbringing and her recent job working for Ned Hawthorne. She’s always wanted to go to school to be a lawyer. Ned offers her a deal on which she’d be able to afford this dream.

Along the way we realize Ned had been kidnapped too. We also learn a lot about what kind of person he is.

Paris has an incredible way of building up this prisoner setting that made me want to breathe into a bag. I felt claustrophobic thinking about Amelie stuck in this room without light. How long would she be there? Would they kill her? Would they kill Ned?

As any good thriller there were shocks along the way. I really enjoyed the way this story went back and forth. We got tidbits of Amelie and Ned that kept making the story fall into place. Friends go missing. Ned’s true colors show. It also kept me suspicious of everyone. In my opinion Amelie was not suspicious enough!

I was captivated but hoped for a bit more of a “wow” or “didn’t see that coming” ending. I think there could have been one more big twist that wouldn’t really changed the vibe of this book.

Ooh, spooky and dark and twisted are the best adjectives for the story of Amelie, a young French woman all alone in the world after the death of both of her parents. When she moves to England, she is befriended by a compassionate woman named Carolyn with whom she lives and meets Carolyn’s friends Lina and Justine. Her relationships continue to evolve as she then meets Ned Hawthorpe, the heir to a publishing empire and a downright evil guy. During the course of this twisted story, Amelie and Ned are kidnapped and over half of the book is about her captivity in an isolated and dark room in an unknown place. Told in a dual timeline in order to get the story behind the story, this book is intricately woven and drew me completely into the web of Amelie’s life and the danger she faced just from being Ned’s wife. Controlling and demented, Ned deserves whatever happens to him, but Amelie is an innocent victim. The second half of the book is Amelie in pursuit of her kidnappers and truth about what happened and why. The ending was a shocking surprise and a delectable addition to the story. I especially enjoyed the credible characters and the dramatic way the plot unfolded, with revelations along the way and a big one at the end. Fans of suspense thriller will definitely enjoy and want to devour this book!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”