ARC Review: Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

Pub. Date:	Aug. 9, 2016
Publisher:	St. Martin's Press
Length:	351 pages
Source:	Publisher

This is a fabulously freaky debut psychological thriller from B.A. Paris. It has the feel of one of my favorite series, Consequences by Aleatha Romig. However, Behind Closed Doors does not have any romance to offset the total mindfeck that this relationship causes. I started reading this at 10pm and I couldn't put it down until I finished just after 2am. I think it has put me off marriage. Single life was looking much better after reading this terrifying tale.

Grace Angel is the perfect wife to the perfect husband, Jack Angel. Jack is an attorney well-known for his work representing battered women. They live in a beautiful and, you guessed it, perfect mansion in the suburbs. Grace is the perfect host, keeps an immaculate house, cooks gourmet meals, and is immaculately dressed. But all that perfection is a flimsy facade for the dark and damnable truth.

Grace thought she had found the perfect man when Jack Angel took an interest in her and her younger sister, who suffers from Down Syndrome. After a whirlwind romance, things start to fall apart on the wedding night. After an eye-opening and oppressive honeymoon, Grace winds up in that perfect house with bars on the windows, a grim basement with a red room of terror, and an absolute loss of freedom. In a seemingly hopeless situation, Grace has to find a way out before her sadistic husband gets his hands on her disabled sister.

It's been a while since I have read a straight psychological thriller, and this one was a great palate cleanser for my romance-heavy schedule. The pacing was fantastic and the details of the Angels' life was trickled out in the right amounts to keep your interest in the story, without revealing everything up front. 

I won an advanced copy of this book from St. Martin's Press. This did not influence my opinion or review. 4.5 stars.