3.5⭐️ but I rounded down the review because it felt like more of a 3 than a 4.

I really enjoyed the beginning of the book, and I felt like it went downhill from there. I found the ending oddly predictable? Somehow I managed to guess the one major twist.

I liked the main character and her backstory.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I finished my arc of The Prisoner by B. A. Paris and I thought it was really good. I give it 4 stars. It starts off with a bang, drags a little in the middle, but I enjoyed where it went. I did figure it out pretty early on but I still enjoyed it. Also, I'm normally not a huge epilogue fan but this book could have used one.

This was like a B list movie to me-you know the kind…you aren’t sure if it’s bad acting or if the actors have just been given bad lines……🫣

Part One: The Kidnapping -told in the alternating timelines of the present and the past.

In the present, Amelie and her wealthy husband Ned have been kidnapped and held for ransom. Admittedly, I don’t enjoy captivity stories.

In the Past, Amelie, orphaned at 16, naive and gullible, takes herself to London after her Papa’s death, and manages to get herself a job as a live-in housekeeper/cook after following a woman home from a coffee shop. The woman who takes her in, Carolyn, ends up befriending her, and she is welcomed into her Worldly circle of friends, eventually meeting her husband, Ned Hawthorpe. (Really?)

Part Two: The Reckoning

Amelie finds out just how dangerous certain people can be.

But, she will send a message to one of them that “she is coming for him-wherever he is!!”

😮 Ooh! I bet HE is scared now!! (Really??)

Amelie will seek answers from someone she thinks owes her-(I didn’t) and a conversation that lasts way too long will fill in the blanks-TELLING us why the kidnapping occurred.

I have enjoyed most of this author’s previous work, but this one was a BIG miss for me! If I wasn’t buddy reading it with DeAnn, it would have been a DNF for me!

Although I found the entire story to be OTT and impossible to buy into-there are many 5 star reviews for this as well-so read a few reviews before deciding if you think it’s a good fit for you! And, be sure to read DeAnn’s take on it, as she enjoyed this one a bit more!

Available November 1, 2022.

Thank You to St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy offered through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you @netgalley @macmillanaudio @stmartinspress for my audio and eARC!

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 Ned 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 Ned?


I love a good fast paced, quick thriller! This one started off strong, but began to fizzle out in the middle. To make a great thriller you need background and character development as well as an interested plot line. This one had me with the story, but I felt like I had no connection with Amelie. In the second half you get more of the background, but for me it jumped around so much. I had trouble keeping her friendships straight, and even some characters I felt like I was never fully introduced to. I listened on audio and kept backtracking because I thought I was zoning out and missing parts of the story.

I think the author had a great idea. The story is interested and quickly grabs your attention, but left too many holes and unanswered questions.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My favourite format for a thriller is exactly this; starts with the most exciting part and then works the story back from there. It hooks me right from the beginning and makes me not able to put it down until I find out the end.
This book did an excellent job with the clarity while jumping back and forth between time periods… not enough authors do that! I hate when it takes me a few pages to discover that the author has changed times/points of view without making it clear enough; it makes it so hard to keep track of what’s even going on. I also really like this back-and-forth time period format, because then I can put the story together slowly in my head like a puzzle, until the end reveal where it all fits.
This book was a jumpy, edge-of-your-seat thriller the whole entire time and I could just not put it down!! I thought the story was wrapping up.. and then PART 2 hit, and the story completely changed! Then it got reaaaaaaaal good.
Overall, not the best B. A. Paris that I’ve read, but it was definitely enjoyable and worth the read.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review 💕

This book originally had promise but the ending was a little too bland for me. The initial kidnapping was interesting, along with the why and although The Who was unexpected. I just wanted more for the ending, it is a quick read that will keep you hooked but leave you disappointed.

Oh dear. I love BA Paris's other works so I was thrilled to get an ARC of her newest novel but this fell far, far short of what this author has normally done. There was no character development, the dual timelines were written so confusingly and the story was just hard to get into. I'm looking forward to her next book because I think this was a one off flop but I'm a little gun shy now.

This is one of those books, that grab your right from the beginning and never let you go. Told through two perspectives of then and now, B.A. Paris takes you on a wild ride while the story unfolds. Cannot put down books is her specialty and the Prisoner is no exception. Great read!

I have enjoyed many of B.A. Paris' other works but I think "The Prisoner" might be my favorite. Following Amelie's story from living on the streets as a orphan to her marriage of a billionaire and now she finds herself captive in an empty, dark room. Amelie was a very likable character, I wanted to know how her story ended and she did not disappoint. While I did see the "big twist" coming from the on set I still really enjoyed this story of survival.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

I just realized that B.A. Paris is one of my favorite authors. I absolutely enjoyed this book. Amelie wakes up in a black room with questions on how she got there and why she got there. Amelie came to London to start a new life after her father died. She has the good fortune of meeting a few people that help her on her feet. But soon she is married to a very rich man who seemingly has a dark side. What has she gotten herself into? Loved the book and the twist at the end. I wished a little that we could get more information on Amelie after all is said and done. She went through a lot!

Thank you#NetGalley for the ARC. You definitely should read #ThePrisoner by #B.A. Paris.

I’m not sure why there are so many somewhat negative reviews for this book, I absolutely loved it! I’ve loved all of B.A. Paris’ books and The Prisoner was no exception. I loved that it got going and had you hooked from the start and didn’t take a long time to get going as some thrillers do. It was a fast paced, quick read and I found myself not wanting to put it down as I had to know what happened next. It really kept you guessing and was full of exciting twists and suspense. I’m somewhat torn on the ending, I do like that it left your imagination open to kind of fill in and imagine what could happen next, although I partially wish there would have been an epilogue detailing the future and what came next for Amalie. Overall, an excellent and exciting read and I’m so thankful I was able to read it early - special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advance copy!

The Prisoner by BA Paris begins with Amelie being kidnapped from her own bed. By who? She is not sure. She is placed in a pitch black room with no knowledge of what is happening or where she is. We then follow Amelie during multiple timelines, both past and present.

For me, part of the enjoyment of B.A. Paris’ novels is not knowing much going in and letting the story surprise me with each turn. So if you want more details on the story, you’ll have to read another review. ;) What I will tell you is that I could not stop thinking about this book. Always dying to get back to it and see what would be revealed next. This was my 5th B.A. Paris book. I think Behind Closed Doors is still my favorite, but The Prisoner did not disappoint and is probably tied for 2nd with The Therapist. Although I still think about The Breakdown and Bring Me Back from time to time also. Pretty much, if you love a good psychological thriller, you MUST pick up a B.A. Paris book. I will 100% be recommending this to friends.

I’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars, simply for the fact that there were a few plot items that I wish had been answered or fleshed out better. But overall, a chilling and fast paced read.

Special thanks to St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC via NetGalley.

I have read other B.A. Paris novels before. This one was good. The suspense builds up but the story begins to come together mid-book. There is not an “out of nowhere” plot twists like I have experienced reading her other novels. The main character is a young female who makes an important decision because of her financial situation, this decisions lands her as a prisoner and the story develops from there. I believe there were some characters the story could do without because it caused some distractions, however I did enjoy this novel.

I felt like this book was way more complicated than it needed to be. It started off pretty strong, but I just wasn’t totally invested. I didn’t feel like we got to know Amelie enough before she was kidnapped. Those 4 years totally flew by and I didn’t think that was necessary. I didn’t feel as though the author fleshed out the friendships of Amelie, Carolyn, Justine, and Lina enough, so when things started picking up they just didn’t have the intended impact. I also thought that the book could have been tied together at the 70% mark. The rest just felt disconnected to the other parts of the book and it just didn’t read well. Overall, it was an interesting read, but I expected much more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this advanced copy of The Prisoner.

I have been a fan of B.A. Paris' other books, however, this one just didn't do it for me. I really liked the way the story started, and the format of short chapters and dual timelines. However, about halfway through I found myself getting a bit bored and decided not to read to the end.

A good, solid book. A solid 4.5 stars out of 5. Keeps you wondering the entire time. A strong, female lead character. Suspenseful, with plenty of twists. I’d definitely recommend this book to others.

I was so excited to get an ARC of this novel. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martens Press.

The Prisoner tells two stories concurrently - the present where Amelie has been kidnapped with her husband Ned and is being kept in a pitch black room alone. And the past where we slowly learn about the events of her life that led up to this moment.

The book opened with a bang that hooked me immediately and set the pace which remained quick throughout. I read the book in one day!

Apart from Amelie we didn’t get much development for the characters. Her three best friends were an integral part of Amelie’s life but we don’t know much other than what they do for a living and where they are from. Ned is a reprehensible human being and we have no idea how he got that way.

Overall the story was quick paced, captivating and exciting. While it did lack some character development I still really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it!

I know B.A. Paris gained popularity with Behind Closed Doors, but I never read that one. This is my first novel by this author, and unfortunately, although I enjoy thrillers, this did not resonate for me.

Positives:
An intriguing and fast paced first half of the novel kept things moving.

Negatives:
The second half required a slog and suspension of disbelief and I found the kidnapped In a dark room scenario quite hard to read.

In conclusion, for the right reader this book will be a home run, but not my cup of tea.

I loved the early parts where she was trapped in the room and trying to figure things out. I loved the mystery of that and trying to figure out who was involved. I do think the explanation at the end of everything was a little too much for me. Also just the fact that there was SO much explanation was not great to me.

B.A. Paris is great at creating psychotic characters that seem so normal and can hide their crazy. The Prisoner is no different. Told in her alternating timelines of before and now, Amelie is a very likable character. You can’t help but feel bad for her. This is one of those books that once I got started I couldn’t stop reading. 4 stars!

I received an Advance Reader Copy free from NetGalley and am leaving my honest review voluntarily.