This is Sarah Enright, with the Sioux City Public Library, and you’re listening to Check It Out.
Today, I am recommending Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris. Can you picture that perfect couple? You know, the ones that have a flawless marriage and everything in their life seems to be enviable, from their house, yard, the clothes they wear, and even their parties? In Paris’ 2016 debut thriller, she introduces us to newlyweds Jack and Grace, who are exactly such a couple, or so it seems.
Grace is a kind, elegant beauty with a desirable career as a buyer for a department store. Jack is handsome, a perfect gentleman, and a powerful attorney. Their courtship begins one afternoon with a chance meeting in a park. Grace is with her younger sister Millie, who has Downs syndrome, and is immediately charmed by Jack when he approaches them and grabs Millies’s hand to dance. Despite the flawless façade, you can almost immediately sense that something is amiss in their idyllic world as clues of something sinister begin to subtly divulge themselves.
At first, it really doesn’t seem too surprising that Grace gave up her career to become a housewife, but it does seem odd that she doesn’t answer the phone or go out in public. Millie begins to warn Grace of Jack’s antics, but it falls on deaf ears. The night of their honeymoon, Jack finally shows his true colors to Grace and the nightmare begins as he exposes his disturbing intentions.
The unsettling aura of this book gripped me from the very start, I could not turn the pages fast enough. It took me on a terrifying ride that had me on the edge of my seat until the last word.
Check out Behind Closed Doors and other books by B.A. Paris at the Sioux City Public Library.
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