Jack Angel..... what a gentle name, but what a terrifying person.

Jack and Grace have what appears to be the perfect marriage and Grace the perfect life not having to work, painting, cooking perfect meals, and having perfect dinner parties. All is not what it appears, though.

Ms. Paris takes the reader on a terrifying ride with the three main characters....Grace, Jack, and Millie.

She has a writing style that draws you in and makes the characters and situations very real.

Ms. Paris is so good I could just feel something was wrong the minute Grace met charming, dashing, wealthy Jack. I was extremely frightened for Grace as I was reading and feared for her every time Jack had planned one of his horrific deeds.

I couldn't believe someone could be as evil as Jack.

If you truly want to hate a character, Jack is your man.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS was quite intense and had such an extremely scary plot that you won't be able to read it except in broad daylight.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS is a chilling nightmare, but also a must read. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation in return for an honest review.

This is the first book being compared to Gone Girl that has lived up to the hype – not because they were anything alike in terms of writing style, plot, or book construction, but because it was the first book since Gone Girl that I couldn't put down. I sat down one evening and read the first half, only stopping because it was time for bed, and then I waited grumpily all day until I could sit down again and finish it. It was incredibly fast paced and, as fast a reader as I am, I was still irritated that I couldn't read it faster. That earns it the comparison, in my opinion.

This debut novel presents the perfect couple, Jack and Grace. They met one day in the park when Grace's younger sister Millie was dancing by herself and Jack stepped in to be her partner. After a whirlwind romance they were married and rushed off to an exotic honeymoon in Thailand. Upon their return Grace loses touch with her friends and quits her job, seemingly content to stay at home in the beautiful mansion that Jack bought for them and decorate, garden, and enjoy her new wonderful life. Soon, their friends notice that Grace and Jack are inseparable and Grace is less available for lunch dates alone.

Do you see where this is going? Don't worry if you don't because Paris shows you before long. By the time that happens you won't care, though, because you'll want to know how the situation is going to resolve itself. The story flips back and forth between two timelines, the first following Grace as she meets Jack, falls in love, and accepts his proposal, and the second as she details what her life is like in the present. This moved the story ahead in a way that highlighted the frantic rush Grace was in. I genuinely enjoyed the scenes with Millie, too. Her portrayal as a person with Down's Syndrome but still smart as a whip, fun, and present in her sister's life.

The book was not without flaws. Without giving too much away, it did require a slightly higher-than-normal suspension of disbelief because one of the characters was SO extreme. The circumstances were so perfectly plotted that it seems impossible for anyone to be as well-coordinated as would be necessary to pull off their plans. There are a lot of trigger warnings in this book – nothing graphic but a lot of allusions to things – and they're scattered liberally throughout the book (not problematic but something to keep in mind before deciding to read it).

I recommend it but don't pick it up when you have places to be or things to do. You won't be able to put it down.

(Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

Behind Closed Doors, B. A. Paris, author; Georgia Maquire, narrator

A young woman named Grace Harrington marries Jack Angel, the man who sweeps her off her feet in just a few short months. They met in a park where Grace was watching her sister dance to music all by herself. Suddenly, Jack joined her and began to dance with her. Jack Angel was so kind to Millie, who had Down’s syndrome, that Grace immediately fell in love with him. He courted both of them and seemed very devoted at all times. He did not consider Millie a burden, as most others did, as even Millie’s parents did. He did everything for Grace, winning her over by catering to her and Millie and by providing for all of their needs, making their wishes come true. Grace could not believe how lucky she was to find someone so perfect!

Immediately after their marriage, however, Jack began to change. They flew to Thailand, and he disappeared on their wedding night. When he finally returned, some time the following day, Grace questioned him. He was angry, and his answer was cruel. He replied that he was not the man she thought he was; He had once committed murder, and he enjoyed it. He had created his image carefully, had taken a new name, and he was, essentially, nothing more than a madman who needed to witness and feel the panic and dread that others feel when they are threatened. He thrived on this. His psyche was fed by the fear of others and he took pleasure in their fright. He announced that she now belonged to him.

Jack had prepared for their future together with the utmost care, paying attention to every detail. He had thought of everything to prevent her from leaving him, from escaping his control, and their new home was built in such a way that it was a virtual prison for her once they returned from Thailand. Grace was certain that she could escape from his clutches, but she had no idea how diabolically his mind worked. He had anticipated her every move and had even informed the hotel clerks and manager that she was fragile emotionally and tended to create scenes. If she did, they were to call him immediately. He explained that she had already tried to commit suicide once in her life, using this information against her.

No one suspected him. He was attentive and loving in public. However, Grace was rarely out in public after landing in Thailand, and when she was, he was always with her, even back in England. Outsiders observed Grace with pity and offered sympathy to him because he cared so much for such a damaged person, and her sister was damaged as well. What could be better for Jack than is portrayal of himself as a caring, compassionate man? He was a well known lawyer with a top law firm. He specialized in defending abused women. He never lost a case. He was successful, handsome, polite and soft-spoken. No one would suspect him of abusing anyone, let alone women. No one would suspect that she was Jack’s prisoner.

Would he get away with his diabolical plan? It seems that although he kept Grace a prisoner, frightening her with threats about harming her sister whom she dearly loved, or even murdering her so that he would become Millie’s guardian, his ultimate goal was actually to make Millie his prisoner; She was young, and she was someone with the mind of a child that he could control and terrorize. He could feed on her fear for a long time.

Jack observed Grace constantly, laid traps for her so he could punish her and punish her he did. Slowly he removed one creature comfort after another until she was in a room with no access out and no street clothes or shoes. He was amusing himself by toying with Grace as he awaited the time that Millie would be old enough to leave her school and come to live with them.

Grace hoped to save Millie. She really thought that she would be able to escape from Jack, that she would be able to protect her sister, but soon, it became apparent that he had anticipated every fly in the ointment, and she was helpless. He took her credit cards, her passport and her cell phone. She had no way to cry out for help. She was literally trapped. As she grew pale and thin, friends of Jack asked after her health. She always answered in ways that would not incite Jack’s wrath. When he got very angry he refused to allow her to visit Millie or he withheld food for days. Grace had hoped someone would begin to suspect that something was not quite right in their perfect marriage. Would someone eventually notice? Would Grace Escape? Would she save Millie? Until the end, the reader will not know!

The fear of others that Jack needed in order to thrive, was palpable, and the author passed this same fear onto the reader who enters Grace’s head, feels her confusion, her terror, her disappointment and her frustration. When Grace can’t sleep, neither will the reader!

The narrator was perfect for this novel. She captured the mood of the lunatic and the fear of his victims. She portrayed each character as an individual, altering her tone and her emphasis as she spoke through them, so they were identifiable and very well developed.

Disclaimer: There is no sex or dirty language, but once you begin, you will not be able to put this book down. The narrative is compelling.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS tells you by its title that something is going on at home that puts the lie to outward appearances. So it’s safe to say that this book is about a bad marriage. But my calling it a “bad marriage” is like the author Mary Kubica calling it “unsettling.” Both are understatements.

A woman gives up her career because her fiancé, a busy lawyer, fears he will hardly ever see her after they are married. He is happy to share responsibility for her younger sister who has Down Syndrome. But what does he have in store for them?

The story is simple, no great shakes. It could be told in a segment of a TV series like “Law and Order.” It isn’t, as some reviews have called it, “unputdownable.” For me, it was the opposite. I found it so unsettling and repetitive that I had to put the book down after I ended each chapter.

I won this book from St. Martin’s Press through a bookreporter.com special contest.

Could not put it down! This is the most exciting book i have read on a long time.

This book had me as soon as I read the synopsis inside the front cover. Jack and Grace, the perfect couple – looks, money, prestige. Jack, an attorney who defends battered women, dotes on her; she strives to please him, preparing elaborate meals for guests, always looking perfectly eloquent. Jack insists on having Grace’s younger sister (who has Down’s syndrome) move in with them. But then you have to wonder why she never answer the phone? Why she has no cell phone? Never goes anyplace without him? Something just seems a bit off.

I just wanted to place myself behind closed doors – so I would not be disturbed while on this tense, suspenseful ride. The chapters alternate between present and past, slowly decreasing the time between the past and present. The author expertly managed to build the suspense along both time lines simultaneously. Sometimes I just could not wait until the next cycle and had to skip ahead to see what happens.

Even though I knew from the beginning that their marriage was a farce and some form of abuse had to be taking place, I was still surprised as the truth came out bit by bit. Grace is terrified of Jack but no one must know. No one would believe that charming, handsome Jack who so adores his wife is a psychopath. As I read of their courtship filled with laughter happiness and love, I could easily empathize with Grace’s confusion of how that “knight in shining armor” is also the monster she now lives with. Ms. Paris wrote the book using Grace’s voice so the reader experiences Grace’s fear, her determination to outwit her husband, her despair when her efforts fail, her emptiness as Jack leads others to believe she has emotional problems, her sense of isolation, her pain when she catches glimpses of the man she thought she had married and “how it could have been”.

Once you start this book you will be in another world. A world you abhor but just cannot bear to leave until you turn that last page.

The reason I gave it four stars instead of five is that the book really could have used more proofing. There are quite a few instances of words being left out, or the wrong word being used (mostly likely from spell check which we know is often not correct).

Couldn't put it down. Suspense built to a great conclusion.

Couldn't put it down!

Loved it!

It was smarter than me!

Once you start you can not stop! The ending was perfect! Highly recommend!

This book is a bit unnerving and I wanted to read ahead just to make sure it worked out the way I hoped! It definitely kept me interested through to the end and the end was gratifying!

Page turner, wanted to know how she was going to get out of the situation

Jack and Grace seem to have it all-seemingly perfect marriage, beautiful home and gardens, Jack is successful in his career and Grace is the guardian for her disabled sister. They are so much in love that they are inseparable... but is it really love or something else. The story was well written-the suspense was established immediately and the author did a good job of keeping up the pace. "By denying himself the pleasure of breaking me physically, he wanted the pleasure of breaking me mentally". If you find you are rushing through the book, be sure to slow your pace to take in the beautiful ending. It was well worth it.

Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace: he has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You'd like to get to know Grace better. But it's difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are never apart. Some might call this true love.

Picture this: a dinner party at their perfect home, the conversation and wine flowing. They appear to be in their element while entertaining. And Grace's friends are eager to reciprocate with lunch the following week. Grace wants to go, but knows she never will. Her friends call—so why doesn't Grace ever answer the phone? And how can she cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim?

And why are there bars on one of the bedroom windows?

The perfect marriage? Or the perfect lie?

some areas might be predictable but this was a good psychological thriller and the last few pages are awesome!

Extremely addicting, couldn’t stop reading!

Much more violence and abuse than what my initial perception of the book was. Really hard to believe someone could get away with this deception as long as he did. Makes it entertaining but unrealistic.

Spoiler Alert.

over all this was a very good book. Even though it was very predictable. When in the first 10 pages I had a very good idea of how it ends.
I had a very good feeling Grace would come out on the other side and would ultimately kill Jack, because if i was in her position i would do the same thing. I did not like how they got married after know each other after only two months. found that to be very desperate, and very unwise. She went from being a very strong independent women, to a weak woman almost over night.

Even though I found it to be a predictable book, it did keep my interest, and i had to know if I was correct in my assumption of the ending.

This was an intense book, but an easy read. It kept our interest until the end.

Very addictive. Couldn’t put this one down, once I started! Some graphic, upsetting, chapters... but I would highly recommend.

Since I grew up in the house where tensions always flew, and my mother and myself were always in fear of my father I can relate to this as far as the fear goes. As I was reading it, it was making me more and more uncomfortable. I stopped reading with the last four chapters so I have to finish it, but I needed to take a break from it.