A Review of Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris

Bring Me Back, a new addition to the thriller genre, was released on 6.19.18 by St. Martin’s Press. This was written by B.A. Paris, whose more recognized works are The Breakdown and Behind Closed Doors. I have not yet read The Breakdown or Behind Closed Doors yet, but they are on my bookshelf. I enjoyed this book. Bring Me Back is a quick read with a twist ending you don’t see coming.

We begin in France with a couple driving back to the UK from holiday. Finn and Layla are at a truck stop, when Layla disappears. Fast forward twelve years: Layla is still missing, and Finn has moved on, or so he thinks.

Finn is a character with many faces. His inner battles with anger entwine with his obsession with Layla’s disappearance and the face he tries to wear for his new fiancée, Ellen. Ellen is a seemingly quiet, albeit spacey character. She never really questions the nature of her fiancé, which I find odd. During the course of reading the book, I felt she was a slightly underdeveloped character. After I finished, I decided that this was done with purpose instead of being an oversight. So she is more a mystery to the reader than someone with a complete lack of personality. Layla is an intense and capricious character; she has a penchant for the dramatic, which counterbalances Finn’s face of calm and certainty. She is also Ellen’s polar opposite.

This novel goes back and forth between characters but is easy to follow. I was grateful for this when I was reading. It was refreshing to only have to focus on a couple of different viewpoints. Bring Me Back has well-developed main characters, an articulate description of the location, and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing as to what’s really going on. I felt the ending needed a bit more. This story is about the lies we tell ourselves, the secrets we keep from our loved ones, and begs the question: "How well do you really know the person you claim to love?"

I want to say a special "Thank You!" to St. Martin’s Press and B.A. Paris for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. I look forward to seeing what Paris puts out next. I also wanted to mention that St. Martin’s Press went above and beyond with their outreach. I also happened to receive a little trinket as thanks for my review.