Review: ‘Behind Closed Doors’

If you like books that make your skin crawl and give you the creeps, then this is the book for you.

Jack and Grace Angel look like the perfect couple on the outside. He is a lawyer that champions abused women and hasn't lost a case yet, making sure abusers are behind bars for a long time.

Their friends envy their beautiful home and Grace's seemingly easy lifestyle and lavishly prepared dinners. But, a friend begins to wonder why Grace doesn't have a mobile phone. Grace is never alone and always has an excuse for not showing up to a girls luncheon. Why is their home surrounded by gates and fences?

Grace, who worked hard for everything she had and helps support her sister with Down syndrome, couldn't believe her luck when meeting Jack. He seemed beyond perfect and their whirlwind romance was better than she ever dreamed. But on their wedding night, something happens that makes Grace question Jack. Then when they leave for their honeymoon in Thailand, every dream she ever had is shattered into a million pieces.

Debut author, B.A. Parhas expertly written just the right level of suspense to force the reader to fly through this book because you can't bear to wait a minute longer to find out what happens.

We meet Grace and Jack in the past in one chapter and then jump to the present in the next chapter, finding out the horror Grace is living in. Flipping between the past and the present, Paris eventually brings the two time periods together in a shocking conclusion that will satisfy even the most regular mystery readers.

Paris paints Jack Angel as the perfect husband with wonderful manners, and then in a flash, he is sadistic, evil, astounding readers with the games he plays. Some may find the material disturbing and sensitive. It is difficult to read at times, but hoping for a positive conclusion keeps the reader cheering for Grace at each phase.

A former teacher, Paris wrote this novel after being concerned about a friend's marriage and letting her imagination run wild. If her imagination can create this kind of thrill ride, I have no doubt future novels will be just as successful.