This is my first novel by Paris and I really enjoyed it! I read this book in one day because I needed to know. The pace was fast and what I thought I knew was not what happened— which is always great!

BRING ME BACK by B.A. PARIS is a very twisty psychological thriller that kept me engaged right up until the end. Solid writing and great pace... Enjoyed reading this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris. Honestly, I’m on the fence with this one. I mostly loved it. No, love is too strong a word. I liked it, even though it strained the boundaries of believability and its narrators are unreliable.

The book’s blurb signals intensity and heart-pounding suspense, and I felt that, at times. Finn is a successful, wealthy forty-year-old man engaged to Ellen, an illustrator. Twelve years earlier, Finn was about to propose to Ellen’s sister Layla when she disappeared and was later presumed dead. Now, more than a decade later, cryptic messages appear out of the blue that have Ellen trying to convince Finn that her sister is alive. Finn, too, receives the same little symbolic dolls, and more. But he keeps those secret from Ellen. Does this mean he still loves Layla? More than Ellen?

All this is very mysterious and weird. Is it sinister? Twisted? Malevolent? I developed a theory about what was really going on, and it was the truth – in my own mind, that is. I was close. But I didn’t nail it.

The chapters alternate between Now and Then; Finn and Layla. We get each of the pair’s version of the truth, but not the whole truth.

I was sucked into this vortex of Russian dolls and secrets and half-truths for a while until it started to feel tedious. Where would it end? It seemed incredible to me that Finn would consider dumping Ellen for Layla after twelve years. He’s years older than Layla, and if this truly is Layla, why is she playing these games with him? His obsession became frustrating, even maddening, but I had to see it through. How does this end? Someone’s heart will surely be broken. Ellen makes threats, too, which is understandable. Finn becomes like a powder keg about to blow. Ms. Paris has done a good job of building the suspense to this point, but it began to feel that her characters lacked dimension. I did appreciate the long explanation in the form of a letter to Finn. By the time I read the final page, however, I felt a bit cheated, as though the ending had been rushed.

Some reviewers have written that Bring Me Back is their favorite of B.A. Paris’s novels. It is the first that I have read, so I have nothing to compare it to. Except for bogging down in the middle, which felt overly repetitious, I managed to stay enthralled with the story until the end. It had an intriguing concept that almost, but didn’t quite measure up to its billing.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.


3.5 stars

Another great read from B.A. Paris. Finn & Layla are a young couple in love, but all relationships have their ups & downs. Finn has an explosive temper & after lashing out at Layla one night after which he takes a walk to clear his head, he discovers Layla has disappeared. At once considered a suspect, Finn pledges his love to Layla. Eventually she is determined to be missing, & any leads dry up. After a while Finn is introduced to Layla's sister, Ellen. He slowly falls in love with her, and proposes to her. But is Layla really gone? Strange emails & Russian dolls suggest otherwise. All of which takes its toll on Finn & Ellen. Then Ellen disappears. The twists and turns are skillfully interspersed and the final revelation is heartbreaking, yet full of kharma. Loved it!!! Thank you St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

My Review of “Bring Me Back” by B.A. Paris , St.Martin’s Press, June 19,2019

B.A.Paris , Author of “Bring Me Back” has written a captivating, intense, and suspenseful novel. The Genres for this Novel are Mystery and Suspense, Thriller and Fiction. The story is told in the present and goes back twelve years or deeper into the past, when it pertains to the characters or events in the story.

The author describes her characters as complex, and complicated. The characters all could be suspect in some of the mystery. There are twists and turns. Finn and Layla are are on a vacation and in love. Finn goes to the bathroom, and when he returns Layla is gone. This is the story that Finn tells the police, but it is only part of the story.

About ten years later, Finn is with Layla’s sister Ellen, and they are engaged to be married. Everything seems to be woking out well, until it doesn’t. There have been some sightings of Layla, after her 12 year absence. Strange packages are sent to Finn. Finn is also getting threatening emails, and strange things are occurring. Could it be possible that Layla is back? If she is , what does she want? If it is Layla, where has she been?

I would recommend this novel for those that like a suspenseful mystery. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

I have come to expect stories with unexpected twists and turns from this author and this one was no exception. While the plot kept me guessing until the end, I did feel it got rather long winded in some areas.

Just finished BRING ME BACK by BA Paris. Very good storyline but the end twist was a bit unrealistic and caused me to deduct a star. Still a decent read 🌟🌟🌟🌟Four stars.

Not as engaging or plausible as the summary made it sound.Not as fast-paced to the present enough to hold my interest. My attention was not engaged enough to make me want to keep flipping the pages to see what happened next. Writing style not my style.

A compelling read that left me wondering exactly how to categorize it. It is a psychological thriller. A story in which the horror lies entirely within the characters rather than from some external force? A mystery in which the central questions isn't 'who is the murderer' or even 'was there a murder' but rather 'what is murder?'

Can a mystery novel be too twisted? Yes, Bring Me Back manages to be too much. The novel started off with a brilliant premise of lost love, lies and betrayal before shifting narrators and time jumping made it too hard to read. Then the big twists were too unbelievable for this to be a satisfying reading experience.

Bring Me Back

Twelve years ago Finn’s girlfriend Layla disappears when they stopped at a rest area in France and is never seen again. For a time, Finn is suspected in her disappearance but the mystery remains in solved. Eight years after Layla disappeared, Finn becomes involved with Layla’s sister Ellen and later proposes. Prior to their wedding date, Finn starts receiving cryptic messages and signs that lead him to believe that they might be coming from Layla. Could the messages be from Layla, or is it Finn’s imagination, or something much more sinister at play? This twisty thriller keeps readers guessing until the end.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

B. A. Paris’ first book had me on the edge of my seat (despite the fact that some of it was quite unbelievable) but this one was cliche. I’ve read too many thrillers now. I need plots, relatable characters. This just didn’t do it for me.

I did not finish.

Finn and Layla are returning from a ski vacation in Megeve when his girlfriend, Layla disappears. Finn stops for a restroom break about an hour and a half from Paris and leaves Layla sleeping in the car at the Rest Stop. After reporting her missing and an extensive search, Finn moves on with his life. As the boyfriend, Finn is suspected in her disappearance and repeats his story, claiming his innocence for the next 12 years. The one person who believes him is Ellen, Layla's sister. When Ellen and a former neighbor claim that they have recently seen Layla, Finn begins to question if Layla has been living in hiding and has returned. Is Layla alive or is someone determined to make Finn and Ellen believe that she is?

This book has a twisted psychological plot that I enjoyed. While I figured out the underlying secret fairly early in the book, watching the other characters discover the truth was well worth the read. I recommend this for your beach read list this summer.

As much as I wanted to love this book, the ending just didn't do it for me. I was really enjoying it until about the 70% mark when I realized which direction the book was headed. Overall, the book was a fast paced, quick read, but the ending was unfortunately a little too unrealistic for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. It had a strong beginning and ending, but lost me a bit in the middle. Finn is in love with Ellen, or so we think, who is the sister to his one real love, Layla, who disappeared after an argument with Finn many years ago. He seems to have finally gotten over her, but then, the "Russian Dolls" appears. A good job on trying it all together in the end.

It’s Gone Girl meets Rebecca in this tale of boy meets girl, boy treats girl badly, girl disappears, boy meets girl’s sister. Now, it looks like (first) girl may be back, or is someone trying to mess up his relationship with her sister?
This has an interesting set up but, unfortunately, I’ve read a lot of this type of book and found the ‘twist’ pretty obvious. I had it largely worked it out before I was halfway through the book , which meant there was an awful lot of ‘what does it all mean? ‘ kind of musing to wade through.
<spoiler> I do wish that fewer psychological thrillers were plotted around someone being crazy. And in this book, who’s the craziest? The woman who adopts the personalities of her dead loved ones? The man who beats his loved ones up?
The denouement is unconvincing – what’s all that about the peat bog? – spelling out what we already knew with a few unlikely embellishments. (After an extensive search for Layla, police were unable to find the driver of a car in the area because they believed it was a man and in fact, it was a woman! Back to cop school for you lot!) </spoiler>
I think the success of this book relies on how quickly you understand what’s going on. So, if you’re a smart-arse-seen-it-all-before kind of reader it might not be for you. Nevertheless, I found it a light, entertaining read with an interesting use of Russian dolls.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley for this ARC.

Layla and Finn are coming back from a skiing vacation in France when Finn stops at a picnic area to use the restroom. Upon his return, Layla is gone.

The book starts with Finn's recollections of that night some ten years ago. He gives the impression that the description you read in the book is what was told to the cops at the time, but that in reality, the truth about that night is very different.

Now ten years later, Finn is living with Ellen who just happens to be his missing girlfriend Layla's sister.

I have to say that I really enjoyed Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris, and Bring Me Back was a book that had a solid four stars for most of the story, then it got to the end and I just could not believe how improbable the ending was. I was truly disappointed with the ending. I thought the story had such a great premise and I was completely hooked. Unfortunately, I just couldn't believe the ending.

I would like to thank St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A young couple is on holiday in France. They are driving around and stop at a shady looking gas service station. The guy runs to the bathroom and insists his girlfriend lock the car doors behind him. But when he returns, the passenger side door is wide open and the car is empty. No one ever sees the girl again.

Fast forward ten years and the guy has moved on. New life, new wife-to-be, new job. All is well until he comes home one day to find his fiancé sitting on the sofa with a puzzled look, twiddling with an object. In an instant, the past comes back. She is holding a Russian doll—an object only significant to the missing girlfriend.

I love an author that can make me question the integrity of the main character. Is he genuine? Is he lying to us, and even himself? Is he just telling the police things to make it look better? Can I trust this narrator's point of view? All of these questions went through my mind while reading Bring Me Back. All were answered...but too many pages later. Again I found myself trying not to skim through and get to the good part.

So is it a good or bad thing when only one thought lingers after reading a novel? Because never have Russian dolls seemed so haunting.

Happy Early Pub Day, B.A. Paris. Bring Me Back will be available Tuesday, June 19.

LiteraryMarie

Finn and Layla are a young couple on the verge of an engagement. When Layla returns from a girls trip she confesses that she has slept with another man. Finn is angered and pushes Layla out of their car on a trip. When Finn returns to the car from a trip to the restroom Layla has disappeared . 12 years later Finn is living with and engaged to Layla's sister Ellen. Strange things began to happen like small Russian nesting dolls looking just like the ones Layla used to have show up at their home and in their cars. Finn begins to receive strange emails from someone called "Rudolph Hill. Is Layla alive and back in their hometown? Is someone playing a mean joke on them? Stress builds up as both Finn and Ellen keep secrets from each other and both wonder who is harassing them? I was able to figure out the thing about Ellen and Layla but I didn't figure out details and why it happened till the end. The ending was not that good as the rest of the book and left much to be desired.