This was quite the thriller for me! Amelia wakes up in a dark room having no idea where she was and how she got there. She is held captive and we slowly learn about her past. The story really unfolded nicely.

This convoluted story reads like a collaboration by B.A. Paris, Liv Constantine, and David Bell, together vying for a book Razzie.

Part I: The Kidnap alternates between the present, in which the narrator is taken and held hostage (palpable terror!), and past—the four years leading up to this point (utterly flat).

Part II: The Reckoning (anticlimactic) ultimately shifts from show to tell, with a conversation explaining the entire plot for the last 11% of the book that ends on a ridiculous note.

Go stream "Wait Until Dark," HBO's "Succession," and FX's "Trust" in substitution.

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TW: sexual assault (off-page); domestic abuse; PTSD

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the advance readers copy.

B.A. Paris consistently writes surprising and highly addictive books! I can easily say she’s one of my favorite authors. However, this one wasn’t my favorite of hers, but I still really enjoyed the story, and will still read everything B.A. Paris ever writes!

I never read the summary of books and I suggest doing the same for The Prisoner as it’s challenging discussing this book without giving anything away. It’s such a crazy, outrageous ride with a chock full of surprises that I recommend going in blind. You’ll thank me later.

If you've previously read books by this author, you know what to expect – the unexpected! I did get hooked in the first chapter, but the first half of the book moved at a relatively low pace. However, it did pick up quite a bit in the second half. B.A. Paris is a master at bringing in the suspense, I just wanted to keep reading to se what would happen next. This was such a fun and easy read, with short chapters (yay!).

In all honesty it was not my favorite B.A. Paris book, however, that shouldn't take away from the work itself. The story takes a minute to get used to with the back and forth between the past and present and piecing together the story and it makes for a great read...until you get to the last section of the book. I think the story that follows after should have been made into a sequel because the story takes away from the main part of the book and completely changes gears. It felt out of place and I skimmed most of it because of the disjointedness of it.

BA Paris is a go to thriller author for me! I can always count on a quick, fun read. This one has such a strong start. An abduction with hints that the husband may have something to do with it, then finding out the husband was abducted too? A+++
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Unfortunately, the captivity part kind of lost its steam, and I found myself a little bored, which is never good when you’re reading a thriller. The book wrapped up with a “tell me” instead of “show me” type monologue which is also a no go for me in thrillers.
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I did enjoy the past/present timelines and the way they came together! Ultimately I gave the book 3 stars. I will still covet the opportunity to read anything BA Paris writes!
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Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early e-copy!!

3.5 stars: The Prisoner is a psychological thriller that kept me guessing. Amelie Lamont has always been a survivor. When her parents died, her grandfather took her in and raised her. Unfortunately, he died when she was only 16, so she moved to London to get a job and save money for school. Living from pay cheque to pay cheque she is close to being on the street, when she meets Carolyn Blakely. Carolyn sees something in the young woman and hires her to be a live-in companion, someone to cook, clean and keep her home organized. Amelie blossoms and with 2 other women in their building, they form a small, close knit group. Through these friends who are all in their 30's and work at the exclusive magazine, Exclusives, she gets a job there and meets owner and millionaire, Ned Hawthorpe. Ned is not who he appears and when he needs to get married, he offers Amelie a marriage proposal that Amelie can't turn down. Now married and shut off from her friends, Amelie wants out, but before she can do that, she finds herself locked in a dark room, kidnapped along with her husband.

B.A. Paris has a knack for writing descriptive details that had me visualizing that room, every creak, voice and taste of tasteless food. I could feel the tension and fear that Amelie was feeling. I felt terrible for her to have been caught up in Ned's issues. She is a sympathetic character, young and a bit foolish and as the story progresses, determined to learn the truth. Ned is a creep. He is a rich guy, who thinks he can buy his way out of everything, but he lies and cheats, and even resorts to murder (not him, but he hires someone). Ned's father doesn't think much of him, so when he refuses to pay a ransom, things get a bit dicey and both Ned and Amelie are threatened. As the story unravels, I was invested until about 80% in. I would have been happy if it had ended there, but it didn't and the final part of the story didn't do anything for me. I did like the final twist, but the ending left me scratching my head. All in all, I enjoyed most of the book, but it was not one of Paris' best in my opinion.

What can I say except for I love B.A. Paris' thrillers. I finished The Prisoner rather quickly. It was a nice, twisty fast paced thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. I look forward to more novels!

The Prisoner was a twisty psychological thriller that answers the question “what happens when a marriage of convenience goes horribly awry?” While it kept my interest, I had difficulty connecting with the characters and could have used more depth to care about them and what happened to them in the story. It was entirely in Amalie’s POV, with flashbacks to the past mixed with the present. I recommend this to readers of thrillers who like to keep guessing as the story goes on!

In true B.A. Paris style, this was a twisty, unputdownable, 'nothing is as it seems' novel. Her books mess with my head just enough to keep me intrigued in a nail-biting way but thankfully not make make my stomach turn. It wasn't my favorite of Paris' books (Behind Closed Doors is one of my favorite books of all time), but it is still a very solid thriller that I totally enjoyed.

Wow! I was so thrilled to get this book and devoured it in record time, ended up staying up all night because I couldn’t stop.

I usually enjoy B.A. Paris's books, and I expected to enjoy this one too. However, I struggled to get through it and found myself interested in something other than reading it. After halfway, I decided it was time to move on.

I adored this one. Super Quick read and the story was so twisty it leaves you furiously turning the pages to see what happens.
B. A. Paris is a writer that hooks you from the beginning and doesn't let you go until the last page.
I highly recommend you checking this one out.

In general, I really enjoy this author, but I can honestly say that this was not my favorite book written by them. I felt it was a little slow moving, especially the part that occurred in captivity. I expected some unexpected moments or shocking reveals or twists, but there those moments never came. While the book was entertaining, it was by no means in the top titles by B.A. Paris.

Twisty mystery! Love this one. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out!

Another unique, thrilling story from B.A. Paris! It was unclear at first whether this would be a standard domestic thriller, or incorporate instances of organized crime. This book kept me on my toes until the very end, and proved to be one of Paris’ most twisted stories to date!

The first few minutes of this book draw you in like you would not believe. I was grabbed and held onto for about a third of this book. But then......sigh.....it dragged and dragged and dragged. I held on and kept telling myself that the end would be worth it. And to be honest, it just wasn't. The end was predictable and most of the bulk of this book was odd. The characters acted in ways that I consider unrealistic and unbelievable. I am not one to need a likable main character, but in this case, I think there just wasn't a character anywhere that we could hold onto as a touchstone. I was disappointed overall. This will be my last adventure with this author. I gave it my best attempt, but their books aren't for me.

Special thanks to the author, publisher, & netgalley for my advanced readers copy.

This wasn’t a personal fav of mine for various reasons but it was easy to get through. The premise was interesting but I didn’t really connect with the MC. Part of that was due to the story itself being a bit confusing. Those timeline jumps do it every time for me. I feel like if we’re going into the past then make it make sense. There needs to be a reason this was placed into the story.

A few of the timeline jumps only made sense because it answered questions about why certain things were happening. Like how Amelie ended up married to Ned. The reasoning behind it occurring and the events that followed were a little over the top.

I was also a little annoyed with the timeline jumps because I don’t necessarily want to be told verbatim why something is happening. Build the suspense by giving us clues we can piece together then by the end of the story have the “Ohhhh okay” I see why this happened moment. Shock me!!! I didn’t really get that with this. Honestly the story was bland.

The character development could’ve been better. I didn’t really connect or get attached to any of them.

Everything started off so well but by the middle I pretty much started to lose interest. The ending was rushed and just wrapped up everything.

This wasn’t the best thriller I’ve read but overall it was simply okay. So, I recommend you read at your own will!!!

B.A. Paris has done it again. The Prisoner was another captivating story that I could not put down. Amelie spent much of her life alone and finally found her tribe as a young adult. Through them, Amelie met her husband Ned. Shortly after their marriage, Amelie and Ned were kidnapped. The story is told from two timelines, past and present. This added to the suspense and kept me quickly turning the page to find out what Woolf happen next.

After Amelie and her wealthy husband Ned are kidnapped, readers learn what led up to this and why Amelie feels safer locked in a room by kidnappers than she would be out in the world with Ned.

It's quite an ordeal for Amelia, but she's strong and resourceful. There's quite a reckoning when it's all over.

I loved this book.
It pulls you in and holds you all the way to the end.
A must read.

Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC.

5 stars