First published in Great Britain; published in the US by St. Martin's Press on August 9, 2016
There are so many logical flaws in Behind Closed Doors that I cannot begin to detail them all. Even if the book made sense, I could not recommend it because it is a thriller without thrills. The alternate title of Behind Closed Doors could be I Married a Monster but nothing about the monstrous husband is remotely plausible. Evil spouses are a familiar theme in suspense novels and this one does nothing to distinguish itself from the pack, apart from failing to generate suspense.
Jack Angel, a barrister who represents battered women, seems to be the perfect man. Grace fell in love with him because of his ready acceptance of Millie, Grace’s sister, who suffers from Down’s Syndrome. Yet the instant Grace marries him, Jack turns from perfect boyfriend into awful husband. Since Jack’s ability to hide his true nature until his wedding day was improbable, I had difficulty buying into B.A. Paris’ premise. But that’s only the beginning of the novel’s credibility issues.
From the moment their honeymoon begins, Jack -- using Millie to assure Grace’s cooperation -- treats Grace as a captive rather than a wife. Why this is true is not immediately revealed and so, to avoid spoiling the surprise, I will say only that Jack’s motivation is unconvincing. It seems to be based on pop psychology rather than a revealing examination of Jack’s wretched personality.
Paris’ prose is fine (although none of Millie’s dialog rings true) and the story moves quickly. I can’t think of anything else to say of a positive nature. Grace struck me as being shockingly ineffectual, but readers who buy into the premise of Grace’s victimization might like this novel more than I did. I’m not sure, however, why anyone would believe that Grace could be held captive, given her ample opportunities to escape or ask for help. Jack’s threats, mild punishments, and attempts to convince the outside world that his wife was delusional struck me as preposterous. C’mon Grace, just kick him in the nads and walk away. Or on one of the multiple occasions when you’re out at dinner or having the neighbors over for a party, tell everyone at the table (in a calm and rational voice) that you’re frightened of your husband, that you’re leaving him, and that you would appreciate help getting out of the house safely. Does anyone seriously believe that wouldn’t work?
At the same time, I didn’t believe Jack as a character. Yes, sociopaths live double lives, using charm to conceal their evil tendencies, but Jack is nothing more than a stereotype of a sociopath, a cartoon figure whose actual behavior never matches his threatened behavior. That evil Jack could exist in the real world without being discovered struck me as unconvincing, but even worse from a literary standpoint is that Jack is a remarkably dull villain. I was too bored to hate him.
I don’t fault readers for liking books that I dislike, but I can’t help but wonder whether the outpouring of positive reviews on Amazon for a decidedly inferior book by a novice author reflects a marketing strategy. Maybe I’m wrong and lots of people found something to love in this book, but I can’t count myself as one of them.
NOT RECOMMENDED