THE NEW TWISTY, GRIPPING READ FROM B. A. PARIS, THE AUTHOR OF THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING NOVELS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS AND THE BREAKDOWN “We’re in a new Golden Age of suspense writing now, because of amazing books like Bring Me Back, and I for one am loving it.” –Lee Child “[An] outstanding Hitchcockian thriller.” –Publishers Weekly (starred review) She went missing. … thriller.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
She went missing. He moved on. A whole world of secrets remained–until now.
Finn and Layla are young, in love, and on vacation. They’re driving along the highway when Finn decides to stop at a service station to use the restroom. He hops out of the car, locks the doors behind him, and goes inside. When he returns Layla is gone–never to be seen again. That is the story Finn told to the police. But it is not the whole story.
Ten years later Finn is engaged to Layla’s sister, Ellen. Their shared grief over what happened to Layla drew them close and now they intend to remain together. Still, there’s something about Ellen that Finn has never fully understood. His heart wants to believe that she is the one for him…even though a sixth sense tells him not to trust her.
Then, not long before he and Ellen are to be married, Finn gets a phone call. Someone from his past has seen Layla–hiding in plain sight. There are other odd occurrences: Long-lost items from Layla’s past that keep turning up around Finn and Ellen’s house. Emails from strangers who seem to know too much. Secret messages, clues, warnings. If Layla is alive–and on Finn’s trail–what does she want? And how much does she know?
A tour de force of psychological suspense, Bring Me Back will have you questioning everything and everyone until its stunning climax.
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I’m still processing. I have read all books written by B.A. Paris and am so impressed by all. She is amazing. Bring Me Back got me. I did not see that end coming. I’m sitting here trying to put it all together and let it sink in. Paris kept me guessing, as I normally do with suspense novels. I thought I would figure it out with some of the suspects thrown in, but she threw in such a big twist. I am left feeling some kind of way. I highly recommend this book. I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC from St. Martin’s Press which I am so grateful for!! I also listened to it on Audible. I have to say the narrators were also amazing! I read some really good books, but this one just blew me away! B.A. Paris is outstanding. I cannot wait for more books from this rockstar!
I’m not going to give any of the plot away, but I’ll just say if you liked “Gone Girl” you’ll love this book. It kept me guessing right up to the very end. B.A. Paris is one of my new favorite authors. I think she’s only written three books, but they are all page turners and extremely well-written. Make sure you have some time to read without interruption, as you won’t want to put it down. I highly recommend this book.
Great read, I could not put it down. I read it in one day!! Looking forward to her next book!!
I hate when I can’t decide how I feel about a book! I sit and ponder how to write the review then. What worked? What didn’t?
I LOVED the idea behind this book. A man and woman are traveling together and pull over at a rest stop. He goes to the restroom and she stays in the vehicle. When he returns, she has vanished. Fast forward a decade or so later and the man in this relationship is now seriously involved with the missing woman’s sister. Then BAM! He asks her to marry him and his vanished ex (?) seems to resurface from nowhere. Where did she go? Who took her? What does she want now? Which sister truly holds the key to his heart? What secrets are all the people involved in the mystery keeping? Sounds great! Right? Not so fast!
Once the reader hits about the mid-section of the story, things seem to slow to a grinding halt. It almost felt as if it is page after page of: Is she truly back? Is this a cruel joke? Do we tell the police? so on and so forth. Beyond that, there is a weird element to this book…nesting Russian dolls. They are genuinely a focal point of the story. It’s not creepy though, just strange.
I will say I liked the twist at the end. As reader, I think to do so however, you MUST be able to suspend logic and really allow your imagination to take over. If not, the ending may just be a bitter disappointment!
The book was just okay. I loved Paris’s first two books. Bring Me Back had me hooked right until the very end, but that ending, dear lord. Talk about ridiculous. Utter nonsense.
Worlds collide and secrets abound in the latest thriller from B. A. Paris! We are led to believe one thing, but told secrets along the way, but nothing can prepare us for the truth! It’s a bit out there because we’re hearing from different points of view and different time periods, but you can’t help but be riveted and want to keep turning the pages to get to the truth!
Finn McQuaid was in love with Layla Gray … newly engaged, enjoying life! While on vacation, he stopped at a rest stop, locked the doors and left Layla sleeping in the car … when he came back she was gone. Simply vanished. No clues, no answers. At least that’s what he told the police and wants everyone to believe … but there was more to the story.
Ten years later, life went on for Finn and he’s now engaged to Layla’s sister Ellen. Their grief over never finding Layla or discovering what happened to her drew them together and now they plan to share their future together. That is until strange things start happening. Items from Layla’s childhood start showing up around their house, Finn hears from the detective that someone says they saw Layla in their old neighborhood, emails start showing up from an anonymous person who seems to know more than any person could. What’s going on here? Is Layla alive? If so, what is where is she?
Bring Me Back by B. A. Paris is a quick breeze of a read with enough suspense to keep pages turning.
The story is told by Finn and his missing girlfriend of twelve years previous, the mysterious and troubled Layla. Finn has moved on and is engaged to Layla’s grounded and stable sister, Ellen.
But of course, everyone has a secret and no one is reliable.
Strange occurrences make it appear that Layla is back and Finn slowly gets sucked into paranoia and doubt about who he loves. Layla communicates by email and through leaving tokens. Finn tries to logic it all out on his own–is Layla back or is someone setting him up? Then turns to his ex and his best friend, who are not above suspicion. Ellen senses he is retreating from her, but he does not share what has been happening with her or the cop who had investigated Layla’s disappearance.
I had a hunch of the truth in part two, and was nearly dead-on. The ending came quickly and was lackluster.
I felt there was less substance in Bring Me Back compared to the author’s earlier novels. Still, for those who want a quick summer read, beach or cabin, this could do the trick.
I had high hopes for Bring Me Back after absolutely LOVING Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris, but sadly my expectations were not met. I kept pushing myself to pick up this book, hoping it would get better and suck me in. Unfortunately, that never happened. The writing was true to Paris’s style and is the only reason I made it as far as I did in this book, but I simply could not get into this story or connect with the characters.
I voluntarily received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
B.A. Paris has done it again
Bring me Back will have you turning the pages very quickly and the ending though you think you might have it right, you won’t be completely correct.
What happened the night Layla disappeared all those years ago and now Finn is engaged to her sister Ellen.
Then the Russian dolls start to appear and the emails begin
The book will stay with you long after the last page is turned
Get your copy today if you have not already done so.
Since Behind Closed Doors I got myself hyped for this advanced copy of Bring Me Back from Net Gallery, but this one I felt was very drawn out and near the end was almost predictable. Now the very end I didn’t see happening.
I kept picking this up and putting down, I think a whole day went by where I was like no not interested. Then I felt I owed it to Net Gallery, the Author, and my followers on Good Reads to give my opinion.
I felt like this book was so drawn out on trying to find Layla and these Russian Dolls were getting old and just plain creepy, it just dragged on and on. I did like the characters, there was so much about the characters, Oh God was there.We knew all but the color of the characters underwear.
Finn should of just forgot about Layla and continued with the relationship that was working for him. In the end he gave up and it was sad cause it all could of been avoided.
Thank you net gallery and the publisher for giving me a try at it.
Cherie’
#netgallery #Bringmeback
Great writing. Without sharing too much, you don’t really understand what is going on to almost the end of the book which is the way it should be.
Not my favorite book. It was a fast read. It got really slow at the end
Bring Me Back was an easy read, but it didn’t captivate me or have me on the edge of my seat. Even though I was able to figure out most of the mystery surrounding Layla, I kept reading to find out the details. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. It was just an okay read for me.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley.
Bring Me Back hooked me pretty quickly with its dark and creepy opener and part one kept with that tone as the tension builds. Add in our totally unreliable narrator, Finn, and the questions mount up. Is Layla alive? Is someone messing with Finn? What’s up with the Russian nesting dolls? The story is more telling than showing, but with an intriguing premise and good start, I was hoping for an edge of your seat thriller. However, when I started reading Part Two, the story started going downhill for me. It didn’t take long to figure out where things were going – anyone who has ever watched a soap opera has seen this storyline at least once and it was no more plausible in print than it was on TV. I did keep reading, mostly in hope that I was wrong about where this one would go, and while I didn’t have all the details worked out, I did have the gist of it. To sum it up, this one started out as a solid four-star read, but ended at one to two disappointing stars with the overly done conclusion, so I split the difference with an it’s okay rating.
This was a good read but not in a mystery kind of way like it was meant to be. The story was pretty good but some of the stuff done had me shaking my head. I did enjoy the narrative by Finn and how the story was revealed but I would have enjoyed it more if the author hadn’t used so many cliched phrases and terms. It was however a pretty good read and since I did finish it I have to admit it did hold my attention. I just happen to be someone who loves a good mystery and usually guess the ending and in this case that’s just what happened. A lot of people seem to have enjoyed it more than I did so maybe it is just me.
This is my first read by this author and I enjoyed it. The way the story was done and told was well done.
Whoop whoop this authors done it again, shes brought me to my reading knees.
This authors view on domestic noir is amazing, never seems to fail making my spine tingle and that hairs on the back of my neck come up on end. I always feel a chill when I read B A Paris books.
Finns girlfriend went missing while they were travelling on holiday some 12 years ago.
Never found.
Time has moved on for Finn now, he is engaged to Emma who happens to be his missing girlfriends sister!
What a well weaved story. Then we find that Finn left out some things when reporting his girlfriend missing.
I did guess a few things as the story went on, it didn’t detract from the enjoyment one iota, it enhanced it I thought.
Its laid out in alternating chapters between two main characters.
The tension sure build brick upon solid brick.
Dark secrets.
Gripping storyline.
I 100% assure you, you won’t get much sleep.
Sleep with the lights ON.