Bring Me Back by B. A. Paris
Published by Macmillan on June 19 2018
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Psychological, Suspense, Thrillers
Pages: 336
Format: ARC
Goodreads
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A young British couple are driving through France on holiday when they stop for gas. He runs in to pay, she stays in the car. When he returns her car door has been left open, but she’s not inside. No one ever sees her again.
Ten years later he’s engaged to be married; he’s happy, and his past is only a tiny part his life now. Until he comes home from work and finds his new wife-to-be is sitting on their sofa. She’s turning something over in her fingers, holding it up to the light. Something that would have no worth to anyone else, something only he and she would know about, because his wife is the sister of his missing first love.
As more and more questions are raised, their marriage becomes strained. Has his first love somehow come back to him after all this time? Or is the person who took her playing games with his mind?
Back in September of 2016, I was part of a blog tour and had the opportunity to read a book by an author I was not previously familiar with – B.A. Paris. The name of that book was Behind Closed Doors (see review HERE). It was an awesome book, and I was super excited about it. In fact, it was such a well written book, I had to use this to describe it because it was a perfectly paced psychological thriller.
Then, in July of 2017, I had the opportunity to read and review the next book by B.A. Paris, The Breakdown. Once again, Ms. Paris did not fail to provide me with an amazing and well written psychological thriller (see review HERE). So, when I saw the next available book by B.A. Paris Bring Me Back – the subject of today’s post – I jumped at the chance!
Bring Me Back starts off with a young couple on their way home from a skiing trip in France, when Finn pulls into a secluded and poorly lit area late at night to use the restroom. when he returns to the car, his girlfriend Layla is nowhere to be found. Soon afterward an investigation ensues but Layla is never found. She has completely vanished into thin air. Her belongings are still in the car but there is no sign of her. She is never seen or heard from again. Finn is left devastated and unable to move on for years feeling stuck in time. Part of the problem in Finn’s mind is the fact that he cannot remember all of the circumstances behind Layla’s disappearance.
Then readers are led to move forward to years later when Layla’s sister Ellen enters Finn’s life. They were drawn together in their grief for the loss of Layla and their friendship forms into a romantic relationship. Finn feels blessed to have another chance at finding love. They are engaged to be married and everything seems to be going great. One day, Ellen finds a missing Russian doll that she had lost when she was a child. They know that there are only three people know about the Russian Dolls: Ellen, Finn and Layla.
The lack of finality in Layla’s disappearance causes Finn to be unable to dispell the thought that it could be possible that Layla is still alive. This becomes especially true when the Russian doll shows up. Readers see how Finn’s heart is struggling to win over his thoughts. While he knows the likelihood that Layla could still alive after 12 years is nearly impossible but yet, somehow he wants it to be true.
This book will keep you guessing to the final page. As expected, I couldn’t put Bring Me Back down – I read cover to cover late into the night. There is just something about the way B.A. Paris writes, her storytelling is so compelling that it keeps readers flipping pages. It’s very imaginative, easy flowing and simple, yet strong and moving. If you are in the mood for a psychological thriller, this is the book for you!
B. A. Paris is from a Franco/Irish background. She was brought up in England and worked in London for three years before moving to Paris, where worked in corporate banking and as a trader in an international bank. After the birth of her first daughter, she became a stay-at-home mother and went on to have another three daughters.
She spent four years in the Netherlands, where her fifth daughter was born. Returning to France, she decided to re-train as an English teacher and worked for some years in an international school and then at the Université de Marne la Vallée, teaching English to Architecture students. In 2009 she set up a language school with her husband and now teaches Business English in Paris.
Her first book, Behind Closed Doors, is a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into 36 languages. It has also been optioned for a film. The Breakdown, her second novel, is available now.
I received an advanced readers digital copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest review and unbiased opinion. Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press!
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