Well I thought that was a fabulous read. A slow burner that kept me engaged throughout and I read it in a day. The story is told both in the past, before the kidnap, and the present and tells the story from Amalie’s point of view. As the book and tension develop, in a very dark and shocking manner, Amalie is faced with life or death decisions. Brilliant writing and great twists and turns made this a real page turner.

Briefly, following the death of her parents, Amalie is homeless and wandering the streets of London. Through hard work she ends up working for Ned Hawthorne who runs a successful magazine. On a trip to Las Vegas with him she agrees to marry him. What is it they say ‘marry in haste, repent at leisure! Then Amelie is kidnapped along with her husband Ned. They are taken, blindfolded, to a house where she is put into a darkened room whilst he is put into the basement below.

The suspense is such that you do not want to put the book down and the description of her cell is quite terrifying. The issues of captivity in total darkness day after day is the stuff nightmares are made of. Brilliant physiological thriller with surprises all the way through. Loved it.

It’s dark, you don’t know where you are. And you can hear footsteps approaching…

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 career for herself in the magazine industry, she meets, and agrees to marry, Ned Hawthorne.

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?

This started out as a slow burn and I had some reservations at the beginning but it did pick up speed and was an enjoyable read. I liked the past and present timeline and how the plot slowly unfolded. The story was smart with some good twists but I felt something was missing in the character development. I had a feeling about one of the plot points, and even though I was seemingly proved wrong – I still had a niggle at the back of my mind – and it turned out I was infact correct! Another big win for my armchair detective status!!

My thanks to the author and Hodder & Stoughton for my advance copy to review via Netgalley.

⭐⭐⭐

Three slow burn stars

This book started with all the tension we expect from a psychological thriller. I loved the first half of this book and was devouring the pages.
Amelie is a born survivor and she tackles being held captive in a dark room with determination and resilience.
The plot is a little far fetched, with her rich husband murdering anyone who gets in his way.
The short sharp chapters keep the book moving along, but I found the second half dragged a bit, there are though a few surprises along the way. I liked Amelie, and admired her determination to get to the truth however I found the ending to be rather disappointing
I am a fan of BA Paris and although this isn’t my favourite book from her I will look forward to reading her next novel
3.5 ⭐️
Thanks to Net Galley and Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Ever since Behind Closed Doors (which blew my mind) BA Paris is a must read author for me and I'm still hoping to relive that shock factor I received with the first book.

The plot of the Prisoner is that young orphan Amelie is kidnapped along with her rich husband Ned, but we don't know who are their kidnappers are or why have they been kidnapped? We slowly find out what lead to Amelia marrying Ned and the reason behind the kidnapping.

Other than the kidnapping and Amelia trying to escape, there was little action and lots of talking. I wanted an explosive finale but it just didn't happen.

That said, I never get bored or feel the need to skim with Paris's books and she always finds a way to hold interest. This wasn't bad for me but no wow factor. I'd give it 3.5 stars and as always, looking forward to what she produces next because I'm certainly a fan.

A fabulously fast-paced psychological thriller, this is my book of the year so far.

From the outset, we are left as in the dark as Amelie the protagonist, yet this just adds to the tension which features throughout.
I read this in one sitting - five stars!

I have probably read all B.A. Paris’s books and have enjoyed them all. This one started really strongly and had me gripped but I’m afraid I felt the middle section dragged and final resolution moved too quickly. I did enjoy the story, but have enjoyed her earlier ones much more. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this book.

A fast paced thriller which I raced through, love this author.
Orphaned by seventeen with no remaining relatives Amelie goes to London looking for work. She falls on her feet when Carolyn gives her a job as her housekeeper. Through her Amelie meets Ned, a multi millionaire, who is really not all he seems. Events take a disastrous turn when there is a kidnapping and for Amelie events will leave her devastated.

For me BA Paris is a go-to author, having really enjoyed her earlier books, they are always gripping and real page-turners. However, I found this one to be disappointing as the story was just too protracted for me and I found it a real effort to read.

Amelie is kidnapped along with her billionaire husband Ned, but who are her kidnappers and why have they been kidnapped? This is the main story around which the plot focuses. It’s interspersed with what lead to the kidnapping and the final part is the great reveal, which I found to be complicated and difficult to follow.

I found the majority of the book to be rather slow and unrealistic. Unfortunately, even the fast-paced finale didn’t make up for what had gone before. This won’t put me off reading future books by this author though as her earlier work has been superb.

Another engrossing thriller from the impressive BA Paris. Well written and involving from the start it cleverly balances the present, in which a woman is held prisoner following a kidnapping, with the past, where the circumstances leading to this situation are fleshed out. Interesting characters, surprising revelations and a satisfying conclusion.

This is the first book I've read by B.A. Paris. I've been hearing all good things about her on bookstagram and booktok which further made me eager to read this one. I was unable to put it down once I started reading it!

I found the story gripping but it all seemed too convenient. I was waiting for the big OOMPH but it never came. Other than that, I absolutely loved her style of writing and the way she illustrated complex characters. Her writing kept me on edge the whole time I'll be checking out more of her books for sure!

The story is about Amelie and her struggles to be what she is today. She finally has a good job, amazing friends, and money to save for college. However, her world turns upside down when her boss takes her on a trip to Las Vegas and they end up getting married there after making a deal. Little did she know that her uber rich husband, Ned Hawthorne, is not who he seems. She wants to escape from her marriage and reveal Ned for who he really is. One day, Amelie and Ned are kidnapped and taken to a dark house. Amelie is imprisoned in a completely dark room all alone where her survival instincts kick in. As her imprisonment prolongs, she begins to wonder whether this kidnapping can actually save her from her husband.

Read to find out if Amelie ever escapes and whether Ned will finally atone for his sins!

Overall, I'd give it 4/5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me this ARC in exchange for a honest review.

So dark, so taut, oozing tension - I've been a fan of Paris for many years, but this is my favourite book yet. A brilliantly plotted thriller - a true masterclass in the genre!

WOW what a book.
Amelie works at a big company and ends up marrying her boss but all is not as it seems it is not the happy marriage that ppl would think instead she is kept a hostage in the house with no contact with the outside world then her husband and her are kidnapped by some men and she is kept in a room on her own in the pitch black. There is so much to this story and the characters in it i loved every word.
I recommend this book

I have read each of B.A. Paris’s books since her phenomenal debut novel Behind Closed Doors was published in 2016. I think she is among the best contemporary fiction writers who manage to peel away the veneers of middle-class ordinariness to reveal the underlying themes of frightening domestic coercion or psychological abuse that can exist in some relationships. The Prisoner is constructed on both of these premises. Broadly divided into two parts, the first part of the novel is told in alternating ‘then’ and ‘now’ plotlines: in the ‘now’, Amelie and her wealthy husband Ned find themselves imprisoned by captors unknown to them. In the past, vulnerable teenager Amelie arrives in London to take up a job as a live-in housekeeper that will eventually lead her to meet, and marry in haste, the increasingly detestable Ned (who to me seemed very similar to the male character Jack Angel in B. A. Paris’s debut novel). The second part of the book is termed Amelie’s ‘reckoning’ but can she really exact revenge on those who have kidnapped and imprisoned her?
I enjoyed this thriller as much as Paris’s previous books, although there are sections, especially in the second part of the novel, that could have been stripped out to keep the suspense going a little more and to increase the plot’s general ‘show don’t tell’ rate. Overall, I would recommend this book to others and look forward to seeing what Paris writes next. I would also like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for the free ARC I received in exchange for this unbiased review.

I have read other books by this author and this was is good. Not my favourite and I might not reread but it’s a good solid book with a good story and nicely written.

I'm a huge fan of BA Paris and this 1 did not disappoint at all! I was quite shocked to see how inaccurate the official synopsis for this book is!

It's a story about a 16-year-old girl Amelia who suddenly loses her dad and is left all alone without any family (not as a child in Paris as the official synopsis says) She makes her way to London where a chance meeting leads her to a new life and wonderful friends.
Unfortunately, this also leads to her meeting the rich Ned Hawthorne, and from here things spiral out of control and end with her finding herself kidnapped and locked in a dark room.
But what is worse; her so-called husband or the kidnappers?

I thoroughly enjoyed this read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

B A Paris is one of the very top of the list authors for me in the thriller genre so I always go into her books with a high expectation and I think The Prisoner is one my favourites of hers so far!

The atmosphere that she creates is so tense and scary, without ever going over the top with the story just to shock.

Amelie is kidnapped in the middle of the night and taken away to a pitch black room. But she doesn’t seem surprised…

We are absolutely thrown in at the deep end with Amelie’s story and many hints to what has brought her to her current situation. As we delve into her past from being a child, to meeting her friends Carolyn, Justine and Lina and then to her recent marriage to Ned, the pieces of the mystery as to why she has been taken hostage gradually come together.

The storytelling was everything in this book and it was done so masterfully that I enjoyed every bit of it. I didn’t want to get to the end and for it to be over! The mystery itself I felt had just the right amount of surprise without being over the top.

Highly recommended!

The prisoner was another great read by this fantastic author. Brilliantly unsettling, with characters so deftly woven that you never quite know who – if anyone – you can trust. Another riveting and powerful psychological thriller from this talented author.

The Prisoner

Amelie is a survivor making it on her own In London after losing her father she is building a life for herself until she meets Jed and he makes her an offer she can't refuse but it soon goes horribly wrong and she ends up a Prisoner in a pitch black room with no idea why she is there or who has her Prisoner.

Wow ! This book had me absolutely hooked from the start ! I loved that we were thrown Into it from the first page with no clue whats hoing on then the past and present timelines building the backstory. The pure fear of being trapped in the Dark is terrifying. I did enjoy the first half of the book more than second half but still a solid great read for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Hodder and Stoughton and B.A Paris for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest Review

I was really looking forward to this book and the beginning did not let me down, but I felt the storyline became too rushed and lots of the plot lines unexplained

A brilliant beginning then a slow burner.
Alone in the world Amelia marries billionaire Jed then things go downhill when she`s kidnapped and held in a dark room, but she still feels safer than in her marriage.
Kept me in suspense in places but got a bit bored in others and unbelievable in some.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC

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