Behind Closed Doors
B.A.Paris
ISBN: 9781250121994
A 2016 release from
St. Martin’s Press
Some have labeled this novel noir domestic fiction. I found
it darker and more dangerous than that. The novel is also brilliant, in its
structure, its characteristics, descriptions and stunning in its conclusion.
Grace falls in love with a slick, handsome well-educated
lawyer. Jack is highly trained careful in his preparations and courtroom
tactics and had never lost a case. He is also arrogant, cunning, manipulative
and a human personification of consummate evil.
The structure of the novel carries readers from present to
past and back again several time. The story explores the marriage of Grace and
Jack and details their relationship and its change over time, in a London
suburb and in their travels to Thailand.
Grace has a younger sister, Millie, who is developmentally
damaged and Jack cleverly manipulates the girl to maintain his control over his
new wife. The relationship between the married couple forms the core of the
story, but as the tale unwinds, it is an acquaintance named Esther who
ultimately becomes the rock on whom Grace is able to secure a real future.
Well-written, intense, and elaborate, author Paris is
destined for wide readership and many discussions.