B.A. Paris | BRING ME BACK

Plot (via Goodreads):

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.

Review:

I love B.A. Paris. THE BREAKDOWN was one of my favorite reads last year. Her writing is addicting, mesmerizing, and the stories are just so elaborate and beautifully constructed. Reading the plot to this one is reminiscent of the movie THE VANISHING, but more creepy and way more thrilling. From the very opening of this novel, the suspense and tension is at an ultimate high. I can't think of one scene or page where I was bored or waiting for this novel to pick up. I found myself completely immersed from the very beginning and it did not let go until the novels chilling and controversial ending.

What I really like about Paris's writing is how clever and terrifying her openings are. It's reminiscent of an older 90s horror movie to me. Start off scary and with a bang, slow down a bit to get into the story, and pick back up immediately after. I love the pacing of her novels and the characters are just remarkably written with the ability to carry the story line cohesively from start to finish. 

This novel is short, which is remarkable for the pacing. There isn't a moment of dullness or skimming pages to get to the ending, there's no waiting for something big to happen, and Paris definitely doesn't hold back on the creep factor with this one. I was engaged the entire time. Now, something I find interesting with her writing is that the characters are always making decisions that make the reader question "why don't you come clean?" This is something that makes her writing and characters so effective for me as a reader. No one in these situations is going to make the best decision. It's easy as a reader to say what you would do or what you want to happen, but in a high-tense situation like this, all bets are off.

I was totally caught off guard with the ending to this one, which is something I love. I hate guessing the endings or figuring out what is about to happen before my eyes are gobbling up the words. The ending to this novel is quite controversial as I feel it's one you will either love or hate. I'm still on the fence about it because I found it creative, daring, and very well planned out, but still a little far-fetched for me. I will continue to go back and forth with the pros and cons of this ending and if I liked it or not, but personally that's better than being left underwhelmed. I'd rather have an ending like this that is shocking and daring than one that falls flat and doesn't work for me. As an avid reader and a blogger, these are the kind of novels I find to be most fun to discuss.

Special thanks to St. Martins Press for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4/5