From the Bookshelf of Around The World…

[close] Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
5★'s

From The Book:
Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace. He has looks and wealth; she has charm and elegance. He’s a dedicated attorney who has never lost a case; she is a flawless homemaker, a masterful gardener and cook, and dotes on her disabled younger sister. Though they are still newlyweds, they seem to have it all. You might not want to like them, but you do. You’re hopelessly charmed by the ease and comfort of their home, by the graciousness of the dinner parties they throw. You’d like to get to know Grace better. But it’s difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are inseparable.

Some might call this true love. Others might wonder why Grace never answers the phone. Or why she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. Or why she never seems to take anything with her when she leaves the house, not even a pen. Or why there are such high-security metal shutters on all the downstairs windows.

Some might wonder what’s really going on once the dinner party is over, and the front door has closed.

My Thoughts:
Jack is a monster in sheep's clothing....and he's proud of it. There have been few times throughout a book that I have actually hoped and prayed for one of the characters to die but I found myself hoping with each new chapter that he would finally get his just rewards. I have to say that this was one of the best and yet most terrifying psychological thrillers I have ever read. The most terrifying thing about Jack was that he was so entirely "normal" to the rest of the world. He practiced cruelty that doesn't leave a single physical mark and takes domestic control to entirely new levels. This will really bother some people so approach it with extreme caution.