Author: B A Paris
Release date: February 11, 2016
Genre: Psychological thriller
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Summary: Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace. He has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You might not want to like them, but you do.
You’d like to get to know Grace better.
But it’s difficult, because you realise Jack and Grace are never apart.
Some might call this true love. Others might ask why Grace never answers the phone. Or how she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. And why there are bars on one of the bedroom windows.
Sometimes, the perfect marriage is the perfect lie.
My thoughts:
What if Prince Charming was a psychopath, would Cinderella still have received her happy fairy tale ending?
The book, “Behind Closed Doors” is a psychological thriller which deals with the important subject of domestic abuse. The Prince in this case is Jack Angel- a seemingly successful domestic abuse lawyer, who marries his now wife, story protagonist and our “Cinderella”, Grace Angel. Just like in the story of Cinderella, she is in a broken home, hoping for a wonderful man to rescue her and accept her for what she has to deal with. Sadly for her, her wish in a sense came through.
To his friends in the outside world, Jack Angel is the perfect man; he is rich, charming, generous, and devoted to his beautiful wife Grace Angel. To Grace, her husband is nothing more than a mad man, one who revels in seeing her in agony and suffering. Not in a psychical way, to him that would be too easy with no real fun. Rather, he tortures her mentally, using her sister Mille as leverage for his acts. From the first meeting between Jack and Grace, he had everything planned out. Every question he asked, every person he met, everything he said to Grace from then on was all part of his plan for taking away every ounce of her independence. He knew from the start,cutting her off from her job and family, would make her vulnerable and easy to manipulate.
“I look around at everybody laughing and joking together and struggle to understand my life has become a living hell that nobody present could even begin to imagine” – Grace Angel
It is that struggle in the end that gives her the resolve to do what she knows must be done. Thanks to her husband’s meticulous nature, Grace uses her intelligence and his confidence to defeat him. Her loving sister Millie (Who suffers with Down syndrome) gave her a simple plan, “We kill Jorj Koony”. From that simple phrase, she builds a complex but solid scheme of ridding herself from the devil. A plan filled with irony, which makes us as readers feel highly satisfied. This book was quite enjoyable from start to finish; with the gripping writing style as a bonus, finishing off this novel in one day was not difficult. The claustrophobic feeling we felt for Grace was enhanced by the three emotions we saw her go through – happiness, confusion, and then sheer despair.
So who is this book for? If you have weak stomachs and are unable to read about domestic mental abuse, this book is not for you. However, if you do love an intriguing story no matter the subject matter, or if you just love stories with layered characters, then this is certainly a must read for you.
