I was so excited to get approve to read this book because I loved Behind Closed Doors a lot. However, I am utterly disappointed with this one. I don’t even know the point of this. Not to be rude but this just didn’t make sense to me. The story and the characters were all flat. No character development, no thrill, slow and far fetched. This is so different with BCD. I expected so much thrill until the end. But nothing… This just didn’t work for me. 😭
I’m proud of myself I finished it.

Thank you for the free ARC! I appreciate it.

Where do I even begin...

I really wanted to like this and the kidnapped/present chapters definitely held my interest in the beginning. But the overall story had me rolling my eyes. Amelie's life changes all seemed so cliché and just unbelievable. Every character was flat and I couldn't care less what happened to them. And then there's the ending. Multiple chapters of mostly exposition and then... it just ends! A frustrating end to a frustrating all tell/no show book.

This a fast paced, edge of your seat thriller that kept me intrigued until the very last page..
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

The Prisoner: A Novel, by B. A. Paris (Book Review)

B. A. Paris' book The Prisoner is an unusual and interesting story. Being a long-time fan of Paris' work I enjoyed reading this twisty book.

Synopsis:
Amalie has just married billionaire Ned Hawthorne. She is stunned to wake up in a dark room and discovers she has been kidnapped. Who is responsible and what is happening? As time passes Amalie realizes she is safer in the hands of her kidnappers than her new husband.

The Prisoner by B.A. Paris is a slow-burn and intriguing novel. I found myself rooting for Amalie, the main protagonist. The setting is atmospheric and creepy. Paris' writing is always descriptive and takes readers on an exciting adventure. The plot piqued my interest and kept me flipping the pages.

The Prisoner by B. A. Paris is available on November 1st.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for sharing this heart-grabbing book with me. I appreciate your kindness!

📖 The Prisoner
✍️ B.A. Paris
🔪 Thriller
#️⃣ 304 pages

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley + St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

When Amelie and her husband are kidnapped, she’s desperate to find out who took them and why. She has her guesses - after all, her husband is a very wealthy man and her father-in-law, even more so. Realizing that it’s probably her husband the kidnappers are most after, she’s desperate to escape before they deem her disposable. But before long, something strange happens… she starts to feel safer with her captors than she ever did with her husband.

For the first 60-70% of this book, I was absolutely enthralled - I genuinely could not put it down. The book starts with the kidnapping, so from the very beginning, it is fast-paced and has you on the edge of your seat. I also especially loved that we had a strong, smart female MC - something I find to be unfortunately rare in the thriller/mystery world. At around the 60% mark, the kidnapping portion of the story wraps up and for me, the rest of the book slowed wayyy down. The author spent the last 30% of the book having our MC search down answers as to who was behind the kidnapping, why the kidnapping took place, why they treated her the way they did, etc. etc. At first, I really enjoyed this concept - in general, I find thrillers/mysteries end soon after the climax with a limited amount of time dedicated to the resolution. It just got to be too much - I think an extra 10-15% on the resolution would have been enlightening and satisfying, but to spend the entire last third of the book wrapping up the major storyline just got dull. Overall, I still had so much fun reading this book and I think fans of B.A. Paris will not be disappointed!

🔒 Psychological thriller
🔒 Singular POV
🔒 Multiple timelines
🔒 Strong female MC
🔒 Kidnapping storyline
🔒 Fast-paced
🔒 Short chapters
🔒 Lifestyles of the rich and famous
🔒 TW: mention of sexual assault

#caitsquietplace #caitsquietplacereviews #cqpthrillers #theprisoner #stmartinspress

I'll be honest, B.A. Paris is a hit-or-miss author for me. I loved Behind Closed Doors and The Therapist. But I did not like The Breakdown and I hated Bring Me Back.

I am happy to say that I did enjoy this one! It definitely kept me intrigued and turning those pages. Overall, I give this one a 3.5 but I'm rounding up to 4.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my digital advance review copy!

Orphaned Amelie Lamont lucks into an affluent lifestyle when she marries magazine executive, Ned Hawthorpe, during a whirlwind trip to Las Vegas. Only a few weeks into her marriage, Amelie begins to realize how little she really knows about her new husband, which has disastrous consequences for both of them.

B. A. Paris has grown on me like moss. I was not a fan of the first two books I read by her (Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown), but really enjoyed The Therapist and her newest, The Prisoner! This one was pretty engrossing, and this made for a great vacation read. The story is told in alternating past and present timelines from Amelie’s point of view. The whole thing was a big puzzle, and I had parts of it figured out, but a lot of it kept me guessing (and turning pages) til the end.

I’m excited to see what Paris does next!

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope she writes more! I am totally hooked!

I wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, it missed the mark for me personally.
The idea was unique and interesting (this is my first book by the author), but for the first 50% it left me confused, it felt like a salad of different actions. It picked up after that and went downhill at the very end again.
It did not feel realistic, which I understand is fiction, but I think that's the reason it did not work for me. The MC is only 21, but I kept thinking she is so much older than that. The "bad guys" were supposed to be the pros and still were easily identified and found, they also missed important things that I can't wrap my mind around.
The writing was good, I liked the duo timeline and it's a perfect style for an easy beach day, I read it on vacation and it was easy for me to follow the plot and take breaks when needed.

I will probably try older books by this author as I've heard good things about them. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy of the book.

I’ve read, and loved, all of B.A. Paris’s previous books and was very excited to read “The Prisoner.” But, it was not as captivating as the others, to be honest. While I liked the short chapters with alternating timelines, I found it hard to get into at the beginning. Reading about a woman held prisoner was very unsettling, even knowing that was the premise of the book. I was hopeful that things would improve for the sympathetic protagonist, Amelie, but I felt that the ending fell flat. In the end, the payoff was not as rewarding as I’d hoped. There were some interesting twists and turns as the plot unfolded and some unexpected moments. Perhaps this author has simply set the bar too high! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Full review closer to publication date!

I'd like to thank the publisher, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a hard one to review. The storyline is good, it has all the aspects of a good book yet it falls flat. Amelie is really annoying she has some points where she's strong and courageous but mostly she just pissed me off which honestly made it hard to keep reading. It was ok but wouldn't recommend to anyone.

This was my second novel by this author and it did not disappoint! I loved the present and past story telling and the ending really tied everything together. The twist at the end with the brothers I really never would of guessed that.

A quick and intriguing read. As the name states, the story starts out with the prisoner in real time. Then and now conversations keep the story flowing. The unfolding of the story is well written and kept my interest.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

B.A. Paris does not disappoint in her latest book. As usual she spins a twisted tale. Emily is an orphan running away to London, where a group of young women takes her under their wings. She is happy - but somewhat unfulfilled. When the Playboy Ned, proposes a business deal - a proforma marriage that will earn her enough money to go to university and move on with her life, she accepts, despite the girlfriends having warned her about how Ned sexual harrassed one of the friends. After the marriage, Ned isolates Emily, and everything unravels.

There are a few loose ends in the story - biggest is how everybody seems to accept that a charitable foundation is more valuable than any human life - but all is forgiven when a story is well written and entertaining.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book.

B.A. Paris has become an auto-read for me! The Prisoner did not disappoint. True Paris style of knocking you off your feet with the twists and turns. I finished this in two settings, desperate to know what happened next. I highly recommend this book!

I absolutely loved this new book by B A Paris! It was a really fast paced read and kept me up reading until the end. The ending kept me guessing, incorrectly I might add! It was very easy to sympathize with the main character Anelie, and instantly detest the male lead, Ned. I would 100% recommend this book. 4 out of 5 ⭐️

I was excited to read this book because I loved B.A. Paris's book ,"The Therapist". "The Prisoner" was another 5-Star read.
The details were so convincing I felt like I was in the room with her.
The plot was very inventive and creative.

First line: I sense the shift of air beneath my nose a millisecond before something – thick, sticky tape – is clamped over my mouth, silencing the scream that would have ripped from me.

Summary: Amelie is alone after the death of her father. Rather staying in her home town full of memories she leaves for London and the hopes of opportunities. As she makes friends she works her way up to being an assistant at a popular magazine. And then one weekend she marries the owner, millionaire Ned Hawthorpe. But the next thing she knows she is in a dark room with only a mattress and meals served by a silent captor. Why has she been kidnapped? And where is her husband?

My Thoughts: I really liked the layout of the story. It flipped back and forth between the past and present. Amelie slowly gives us a peek into her past as it connects with her capture. And rather than being a scared victim she tries everything she can to get free and figure out what is happening. But as the story progresses everything changes. Big twists with lots of drama. It is similar to many of Paris’ novels which are always enjoyable.

FYI: Kidnapping, murder and torture.

I received an ARC for The Prisoner by BA Paris in exchange for my review.
I enjoyed the switching timeline bringing the reader into both ends of the storyline. I thought Amelie was a developed character with a believable backstory, though some of her actions had questionable motives. The general story and makeup of the cast of characters was unique. This book held my attention, and I sat down to read it on 3 major occasions, the last of which I read from 28% through to the end, as it captured my attention enough to read on throughout most of a day. I would recommend this book to BA Paris fans and other lovers of the thriller genre.
The book did fall flat in several ways for me (spoiler warning):
-Ned remains quite one dimensional. I wish we’d seen him win Amelie over by being charming in small ways and then seen small devious acts, it would have built out a person instead of a one dimensional villain.
-Amelie’s motivation to marry Ned wasn’t deep enough.
-I wish we had been painted a picture of words about how Amelie felt and acted while secretly listening to Ned’s conversations.
-The reoccurring doubling money plot piece wasn’t believable for me. We are to believe Ned wouldn’t think that through? A business man? I calculated it myself while on a timer and I came to the answer in two minutes. It’s not difficult.
-Mr Barriston needed to be foreshadowed.
-The average case of medical negligence is settled in a year. More complex cases can take longer. This did not fit the story timeline.

I did find many faults in this book, for which I’d like to rate it 3/5 stars but since the book had me hooked and I kept reading I will rate it a 4/5.