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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This was a great psychological thriller. Finn and his girlfriend Layla stop at a rest area while vacationing in France. Layla waits in the car while Finn goes inside, when he returns Layla is gone. There is no trace of her. Her body is never found and years later she is declared dead.
Twelve years later Finn is engaged to Layla’s sister Ellen. As their wedding date approaches Finn and Ellen start receiving Russian dolls. Finn starts receiving emails from someone claiming to be Layla. She wants Finn back and wants him to get rid of Ellen.
If this mysterious person is really Layla she seems to be mentally unstable and possibly dangerous. I had many ideas as to who was behind the dolls and emails and each time I was wrong. This was definitely a edge of your seat page turner. All I can say about the ending is WOW!!! Didn’t see that coming and days later I am still thinking about it! Loved this book! Will definitely read more by B.A. Paris!
Bring Me Back by author B.A.Paris is another thrilling psychological suspense story that will keep you guessing until the ending. Wow! I don’t post spoilers, but this book had me totally in a twist trying to figure out who wanted to cause Finn to second guess each of his decisions regarding his past and present. I had a idea of what might be happening, but the plot twists were written so well!
In 2006, Finn McQuaid and his girlfriend Layla had been on holiday together. When he stops to take a restroom break he left her inside the car because she was hesitant about getting out at a public rest area at night. When Finn returns to the car, he finds the door on her side is open and Layla is missing. He searches for her and later finds a place which looked as if there had been a struggle and the little nesting doll she had kept in her pocket. The doll is important because it was a link between Layla and her older sister Ellen. Layla’s body is never found, and there is no contact from her. She is declared dead after being missing with no clues to her whereabouts for seven years.
Now it is nearly 12 years later and Finn is engaged to Layla’s sister Ellen. Layla was the love of his life, but Finn and Ellen have a comfortable life together. Finn comes in from work one day and Ellen is lost in memories of Layla after she found a tiny nesting doll close to their door, exactly like the one from her set that Layla had taken. Now begins the twists and turns of this story. Is Layla still alive? Would Finn make a choice between an older Layla and Ellen?
The suspense grabs the reader and you can not stop reading! Another great thriller from B.A.Paris!
A twisted story of love and loss! I was captivated from the start, and even though the very idea all of this is so unfathomable, I still couldn’t stop until I had answers. Even though I figured out what was actually going on fairly early, but I was still drawn to the disturbing characters, and wanted to know what made them tick, plus what ACTUALLY happened that night. A good thriller, but not one I’d read again.
This book was engaging, surprising and impossible to put down. I read it in a day, devouring it greedily as I walked from room to room, unable to lay it down.
No one dives into relationships quite as well as Paris and this one is sure to be a big hit. As soon as this one hits bookshelves, do yourself a favor and grab a copy. I highly recommend.
3.5 stars
I was hooked right from the prologue! Both the story and the mystery were good. However I could have done without the second person pov narrative of the ‘before’ chapters in Part 1. The book was not necessarily slow to get started, but one that I didn’t ever want to to pick up and read, it was just one that I wanted to be finished and know what happened. Until Part 3! I thought I knew what had happened all along, which I think may have been the issue with my interest. By the time I finally did realize what was going on with these characters, my mind was completely blown! No way would I have seen that coming. It’s rare that a book gets me with the twist, so great job BA Paris! I believe I saw that this was to be a movie, can’t wait to see it and how well it gets done.
I’m very mixed. There were parts of this book that I really loved and other parts that were very… “WTF am I being asked to believe in order for this story to move forward” And the WTF really brought this from a solid 4 to a 2 or possibly 3. I rounded to 3, but I feel like it’s a bit generous. I did like the narrators in the audiobook version though ~ and I think they’re very likely the only reason I stuck with it until the end.
I devoured Paris’s first two novels. I loved them so much so when I found this one. I snagged that and started reading, sad to say this one was not up to par with the first two. This one had a few issues.
Word choice this one skips between English and UK word choices just in the first chapter it goes from flashlight too torch. This was very off putting because it was like I was I was reading a book in two different languages. The next issue was that parts of this story were just silly. The ending of the chapters were just so cheesy.
This story that alternates from the past to the present was a very cheesy filled story where I guessed the twist long before anyone in the book did. Sad to say this one was just not what I was expecting and was such a disappointment.
A page-turner that knew just how to piecemeal the past to keep me guessing and reading, this book had me guessing until the bitter end.
The story picks up ten years after the disappearance of the main character’s girlfriend, and immediately the reader knows that there’s more to the story. When the past makes an unexpected and intrusive debut in the MC’s life exactly when he doesn’t want it to, the tantalizing details of the disappearance bubble up through the first-person narrative, painting a picture that gets darker and darker as the risk gets more real. While the conclusion wasn’t necessarily original, it was a surprise that I loved. I also liked the characters: each was well written and had unique flaws that made them relatable and, in their own ways, somewhat likable.
Overall this was a worthy read. Definitely recommended.
This book was unbelievably addicting! I found myself glued to pages and wanting to know more and more with every page I turned.
This book was cheesy at times, but overall a good read. There was a few things that I didn’t think made sense but I don’t want to spoil anything for others. B.A. Paris definitely kept my attention from front to back of this book though so I’d reccomend this book.
I loved this book. Read it in one day. I wasn’t pleased with the ending, but I did enjoy how unpredictable it was and that I never saw the ending coming.
Wow, what a book,what a story. Very good, what a twist. I totally recommend this book and I will follow up on more books from B.A. Paris. When you like Chevy Stevens or Karin Slaughter, this author is a must for you.
Bring Me Back by B.A.Paris
June 2018
Fiction
St Martin’s Press
Rating: 3/5
I received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an unbiased review.
The story is told from the perspective of Finn McQuaid and Layla, his girlfriend who goes missing in 2006 after a ski trip in Megeve. The couple begin to argue and escalates when they stop at a rest stop on their way home from Paris. What follows is a confusing situation which results in Layla’s disappearance and Finn being the center of the police investigation.
After Layla’s disappearance, police detective Tony Heddon arrests Finn for suspicion of the murder of Layla when she is never found. Eventually, Finn is able to move on and become a successful businessman. By chance, he meets and eventually falls in love with Ellen, who happens to be Layla’s sister. Brought together by the grief and confusion of Layla’s disappearance and presumed dead, they build a life together.
After the couple become engaged and start planning for their wedding, clues begin to emerge that Layla might still be alive. When a small Russian nesting doll appears their pleasant life gets turned upside down. Rumors and secrets emerge which are meant to provide suspense regarding what happened to Layla. Unfortunately, the plot becomes rather monotonous and slows while unfolding the events which transpired over the years.
Although the Russian nesting dolls provided significance to the sisters relationship, they become “overused” as a mysterious indicator that stirs up anxiety from the past. Likewise, the plot begins to lose suspense during the Russian doll “plateau” so that the ending becomes more obvious.
I had wanted to like the book more than I did but it lost me half way through when it seems the plot “stalls”. Overall, it is an enjoyable read but not for those who desire a deeply suspenseful psychological drama.
What a wild, weird book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and was blown away by the twist. I didn’t even see inklings of it coming until it was happening and being spelled out for me. This one didn’t get the *best* reviews, so I was a little hesitant to read it. When I saw it on the shelf at the library, I figured I might as well give it a chance. It was a quick, fun read and for me it was thoroughly creepy. I finished it last night before bed and I am still feeling a bit haunted and weird this morning.
I was so excited for Bring Me Back, but right out of the gate, I knew it wasn’t going to speak to me like B.A. Paris’s last novel did.
I didn’t like the main character, Mister completely-full-of-himself Finn. He was so arrogant, needy and narcissistic. I was constantly rolling my eyes, thinking dude, GET OVER YOUR KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR complex! You are “learning to love” Ellen because she never questions anything and thinks you’re the ever-loving shite? Ugh, don’t do her any favors. And you’d still leave Ellen in a heartbeat if Layla, the woman who was completely and totally dependent on you, ever came back? Oh, please.
The twist was wayyyy too predictable, and I was disappointed that Finn had so many chances to get his way, but was still unsatisfied and indignant. I would have given up, but I was listening while doing some intense yard work and it wasn’t worth turning off. Wow, there’s a blurb worthy of a book jacket, yeah?
Lots of deception in this one. I was definitely and in suspense. I really should give this a 5 star but Finn aggravated me throughout the book. I thought he was a self centered moron who didn’t understand what he had. And Layla just needed to stop feeling sorry for herself and put her pride aside. The end is chilling however. Not the kind of book I really get into because I don’t care for books that are focused on the interactions of a couple. I have to admit I liked it a lot.
Just when you think you have it figured out, wham. A surprising and entertaining twist.
So obvious!!!! While I didn’t know exactly what happened, I had a very good sense of what was going on very early in the book. Luckily, this book moved very quickly, so I was able to read it in just a few hours.
Finn and Layla go on vacation, and Layla disappears. Finn is held for questioning, but is released. Years later, Finn is set to marry Ellen, Layla’s sister. However, things begin to happen to make Finn believe that Layla has returned.
#BringMeBack #BAParis
I am a huge B.A. Paris fan at this point and this book does not disappoint in any way! The Finn, Layla, Ellen triangle was pretty captivating from page 1. Without giving away a spoiler, there were some great twists and what I thought might happen didn’t. I love that!!!! Keep them coming!
Two stars only because I finished it. Man, so disappointing when you get psyched up for an author’s new book when you loved the first book. The second one, for me, was good but a little less enjoyable than the first. However, I was excited to read this and then was let down. I’ve heard some people talk about the repetitive term Russian doll in the book and I just crack up because it did seem like it was written quite a bit. Anyway, long story short, this seemed so far fetched and I guessed the ending way before I read it. Also, unfortunately, I cared not a whit for any of the characters except for the dog. Lol oh well, maybe I will like the next one better.