This book is exhausting mentally and weirdly physically and I reminded how useless I would be at saving myself if I was ever in a scary situation! Amelie is a prisoner in so many ways all of which require her to use her wits as well as her physicality to save herself but when it is all over will she finally be free? Her marriage to the wealthy Jed Hawthorne should solve many of her problems but with money comes more problems and the ability to hide them better. This book was fast paced and fraught with twists and turns that keeps the reader in the edge of their seat!

I am a huge BA Paris fan and was so excited to see a new book! When the story started with a kidnapped woman, I almost didn't continue reading (not a topic I am a fan of lately). But I decided to keep reading...and WOW! I literally read this book in one sitting. So fast paced, so many twists. I loved it! Cannot wait to recommend this book in November. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

The Prisoner by B.A. Paris

This book starts with a bang and doesn’t let up on the suspense. Right away we know Amelie has been taken and held inside a home, her husband, Ned, has also been taken and held in a different part of the house. But why have they been kidnapped and by whom? The house is completely dark, windows boarded up and no light allowed in. In another part of the house, Amelie can hear Ned begging for his life, but she doesn’t care if he lives or dies.

The story switches from the present/to the past where we learn about Amelie’s life and how she came to be married to such a terrible man. I was intrigued and enjoyed reading this suspense/thriller. I was not disappointed!

PLOT:

Amelie has always been a survivor, from losing her parents as a child in Paris to making it on her own in London. As she builds a life for herself, she is swept up into a glamorous lifestyle where she married the handsome billionaire Jed Hawthorne.

But then, Amelie wakes up in a pitch-black room, not knowing where she is. Why has she been taken? Who are her mysterious captors? And why does she soon feel safer here, imprisoned, than she had begun to feel with her husband Jed.

I’m pretty sure the husband’s name in the book is actually NED.

Anyway, this comes out on November 1.

B.A. Paris’ latest psychological thriller, “The Prisoner,” is a unique and twisty fast read--albeit, more than a tad unrealistic. Still, I have no issue suspending reality in order for the author to take me on an exciting ride, though this particular ride was a bit all over the place at times. And while I never truly connected with any of the main characters, I still found myself drawn into the story straight out of the gate, hard-pressed to put this one down. So, while I can’t say that this is my favorite B.A. Paris novel to date, I still found it to be an enjoyable and unpredictable summertime read.

B.A. Paris is known for her riveting fast-paced psychological thrillers. She returns with her newest entry, "The Prisoner," a novel set in England with a young woman named Amelie Lamont as the protagonist. After her father dies, Amelie is homeless and penniless and moves to London to try to get a job and start saving for college. After being unsuccessful in her endeavors to hold a steady job, she befriends a woman, Carolyn, who offers her steady employment and friendship. Through Carolyn she meets two other women, Justine and Lina, and the four of them become good friends.

The story is structured from Amelie's perspective alternating between past and present. The storyline is peppered with twists and surprises as we learn that Amelie and her new husband, Ned, have been kidnapped and are being held in a house in two separate rooms. Blindfolded and alone, Amelie tries to figure out why she and Ned are being held captive. As the story alternatives between past and present, we learn that Amelie's past is linked to the present day mystery.

As the past unfurls, there are startling revelations about Amelie, Ned and her circle of friends. B.A. Paris is the master at building suspense and this story is briskly paced.. Be prepared to gulp this novel down in one sitting as B.A. Paris ties up all the loose ends. As usual this author never disappoints with her tales of psychological suspense and "The Prisoner" is no exception. It was very enjoyable and highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Amelie and her wealthy handsome husband have been kidnapped and are being kept separate, but why?

Brilliant and powerful
This story smoothly alternates between past and present. To a time before this couple met and the event in their present imprisonment. The plot moves smoothly adding more layer and questions as it goes.
I found in an engaging read and a great ending with a strong female lead unwilling to lose herself any further.
Nothing is completely what it seems.
B. A. Paris has once again created a winner

Thank you NetGalley ant St. Martins press for the early advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

SWOOOON! I could not put this book down and once it was over I didn’t want it to be over!! What a win of a book!!! If you want a fast paced suck you in story this is IT! I think it’s my favorite BA Paris book.

Amelie lost her father young and fled to London to try and make her life work. She met wonderful people who became family. We are presented with the past and present build up timeline which works so brilliantly from where she is locked in a pitch black room being held captive as the present and the past of how she got there. But OF COURSE not everything as it seems and the fluidity of the twist is *muah*!

Highly highly recommend this one for a fast - can’t look away - must finish ASAP read!

Thank you St. Martins Press and netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely amazing! Even better than Behind Closed Doors. I wish the book had continued. I wasn’t ready for the ending. This is, by farm the best book I’ve read in a very long time. B.A. Paris has become my favorite author very quickly.

I wanted to love this one but I didnt. I give it 3 stars. I loved all Paris books but this one felr flat to me. The first half about the kidnapping felt the same over each chapter. It wad just a slow story in my opinion. The ending wasn't a big shock either.

Wow. I’m utterly speechless. B.A. Paris is one of those rare authors that I can read synopsis unread. The Prisoner exceeded even my expectations! This psychological thriller pulled me in from the first chapter. There was no build up, just sit on the edge of your seat suspense from the very beginning. The premise of the story is unlike any that I’ve read before, The twist and turns are unexpected. As the story unfolds, you are given a tiny piece of the puzzle that creates the total picture. I had no idea where the story would go and wasn’t expecting where it went. The ending is like a violent crash and then total blackness. This read in one sitting - adrenaline inducing story is an absolute must read!
5 stars!

Just okay. I didn't find the plot very believable and the way it wrapped up at the end was all exposition, explaining everything.

This was a solid 4.5 stars raised to a 5. Amelie left home a 17 following the death of her father. She went to London where she luckily made some responsible friends. A couple of years later she went to work for a magazine run by Nat, a man about town with a reputation she should have known about. This is the story of her past and her present. She is the prisoner and is being kept in a dark room with no outside stimuli. The story is about why she was kidnapped, by whom, how she dealt with it and ultimately her survival. It is very well done and one of those novels readers keep reading one more chapter .Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC for an honest review.

The Prisoner by B.A. Paris Slow read with back and forth timelines with a woman being kidnapped right at the start. There are were twists and turns however they were slow to evolve and some of the situations were unrealistic. Unsettling ending. Amelie was not a sympathetic character and hard to connect with. Not a favorite from Ms. Paris.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Thank you to the publisher for my review copy. All opinions are my own.

Let me start by saying I love B.A. Paris. She writes incredible thrillers. This one, however, was a huge miss for me. Honestly. If it had not been BA Paris....I would have put this book down. I did finish it...but I was not in a good place with it.

Let's talk about it. Oh and I'm going to talk about this without spoilers. So come on in....the water's fine.

We start this title with a woman literally getting kidnapped. We don't know why. I kind of thought oh cool. [book:Along Came a Spider|13145] vibes. Ehhhh. Not exactly. The first 50% was slow. S.L.O.W. We went through dual timelines to find out what and why. It could have been done in two minutes honestly. I kept thinking. Okay. I gotta put this down. But then I'm like...it's BA Paris. At the middle mark it picked up...for a chapter or two and then...boom. Crash and burn. I was bored. The plot was not played out well. The whole thing was a big ol mess....for me. I hope you feel differently.

Wow! The Prisoner by B. A. Paris is one you will not want to put down until the unbelievable ending. The many twists and turns from present to past will keep you enthralled and make you more furious as Ned continues his rampage and his victims suffer. The old adages "money talks" and "revenge is sweet" speak volumes.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about The Prisoner. First, the summary led me to believe we'd see more of Amelie's relationship with Ned before she's taken. Rather than let that background play out, we see truncated glimpses of it, courtesy of flashbacks. It makes for a choppy, one-sided narrative that portrays Amelie through a rose-colored lens.

While there were a lot of interesting elements and twists, the way they unfold felt long-winded and unbelievable. I appreciate a book with an ending that stays with the reader, but this one left me feeling uneasy and uncomfortable.

I'm a fan of some of B.A. Paris' previous books, but this one is a pass for me.

What to say about this book. I am on the fence. I love BA Paris’ novels. I finished this is one sitting and couldn’t put it down. But at the same time there was also a lot of really unrealistic situations in the book but then also some good twists at the end. I also found the character development lacking. There were alot of characters but no time to really connect to any of them. I found myself quite unsympathetic to the main character and wishing for more of a connection. Overall I rated it a 4. Quick read.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

First off, this was my most-anticipated release of 2022! I've been looking forward to this book since the author teased the plot during an interview. The Prisoner by B.A. Paris is an absolutely amazing psychological thriller that is more intense than any of the author's previous books. I was a huge fan of Behind Closed Doors and The Therapist, and this book is darker tonally than either of them. The story revolves around Amelie, who has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom. Will she be able to escape her captors?

Here is a gripping excerpt from Chapter 1:

"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. My eyes snap open. A dark silhouette is bending over my bed.
Adrenaline surges. Move! Grab the knife! I twist my arm toward my pillow, but a hand slams onto my wrist, holding it still. Pulled from the bed, I kick out. But my feet flail uselessly, find only air. I try to focus but my mind is spinning. Why did I fall asleep? I should have been expecting this.
My arms are pulled behind my back, my wrists bound together. I try to twist away but something is pulled over my head, material, rough and tight, a hood of some kind. Panic spreads through me like wildfire. Don’t. Keep calm, Amelie. You know what this is."

Overall, The Prisoner is the book that all of B.A. Paris's fans have been waiting for. If you enjoyed any of her previous books, you won't regret reading this one! One highlight of this book is how dark it is. This isn't a typical domestic thriller set at the main character's home. A large part of this book takes place while Amelie is being held in captivity. Another highlight of this book is how thrilling it is. I was not expecting to see so many shoot-outs, chases, and murders. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of thrillers in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in November!

The Prisoner by B.A. Paris is another gripping read from a true master of the psychological thriller. I was completely captivated by Amelie's story, and remained in a breathless and suspended state of disbelief for nearly all of the twisty narrative.

Amelie comes to London following the death of her father in Paris when she is only seventeen. Having lost her mother as a young child, she now finds herself alone in the world, but a fortuitous meeting with the generous Carolyn soon has her moving in social circles that she would have previously believed to be out of reach. Yet it is a hasty marriage that will plunge Amelie into a new level of terror, one that she could have never foreseen.

This is a fascinating tale of mystery and intrigue, and a character study of human behaviour. I was empathetic to Amelie's plight from the very start, holding my breath along every inch of the way.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC.

5 stars for The Prisoner by B.A. Paris! Amelie is a young woman who has been dealt a tough hand in life. As she navigates new experiences and things are looking up, she is suddenly kidnapped and held prisoner. B.A. Paris’s chilling description of everything Amelie is going through was incredible. This was a great thriller and a perfect escape read for summer! Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and B.A. Paris for the ARC!