Behind Closed Doors - B.A Paris

The Blurb

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 their bedroom windows.

Sometimes the perfect marriage is the perfect lie.

The Review

Wow. 

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.

I haven't read a thriller in a while.  Although I enjoy reading a book that gets my heart racing with nerves, I prefer a psychological slant rather than blood, guts and gore.  There are plenty of those out there, especially with the rise in popularity of 'domestic noir', but few really hit the spot for me.  Behind Closed Doors was all about mind games, both between the couple in the book and between author and reader, and that's what made it such a gripping, intense read.

This book was so much better than the blurb suggests and I'll tell you why. 

Firstly, although it's obviously marketed as a thriller, the early scenes where Jack and Grace get together are so full of love, kindness and empathy that it's difficult to believe just how depraved things are going to get.  B.A Paris lulled me into a false sense of security and then horrified me with what followed. 

Secondly, the blurb makes out that there are people doubting the perfect marriage Grace and Jack portray.  The truth is, people believe what they want to believe.  With their gorgeous country house, Jack's respectable job and patiently awaiting the arrival of Grace's sister Millie's moving in date, they seem to have it all.  But behind closed doors their relationship is far from enviable.  Away from the public eye Jack is anything but nice.  The realisation that this scenario could quite plausibly be happening in houses all over the country was genuinely terrifying.

As the story progresses and both Grace and Millie's lives are increasingly in danger, I could feel the fear creeping inside me.  The terror of what could happen loomed large and I squirmed uncomfortably as I reached the final pages.  However, nothing matched the tingle that ran down my spine as I read the powerful final line.

Behind Closed Doors is an outstandingly good read. 

I'll say it once more, just to drive the point home.

Wow.

Behind Closed Doors is published by Mira UK on February 11th 2016, available for preorder now.

With thank to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

House of Shadows - Nicola Cornick

 

Today I'm joined by Nicola Cornick, author of House of Shadows (published yesterday by Mira), talking about writing a time-slip novel.  

 

I vividly remember the comments I received from other authors when I told them that I was writing a time-slip novel and asked for their advice. Most of it could be summed up in one word. “Don’t.” Complex and challenging were amongst the phrases used when we discussed how to structure the parallel narratives. There was pity in their eyes as they contemplated what I had let myself in for.

Naturally I ignored the warnings. Time-slip has been a favourite genre of mine to read for years, ever since I picked up a copy of Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine when I was in my teens. I’d wanted to write House of Shadows for a long time.

Writing parallel narratives allows you to use one strand of the story to illuminate the others. It adds so much depth and richness. Initially I planned to write each strand separately so that I could follow the story of the characters through in each different time period and then weave them together after they were written. I started with the 17^th century story of Elizabeth, the Winter Queen, because it was with Elizabeth that the idea for the book had started.  I was intending to tell all her story, then write Lavinia’s tale, set in the 19^th century and finally Holly’s in the present. However I just couldn’t get the story to work like that. There were too many connections between the characters that I needed to feed in in the right place. So I started again, threading the three different story strands together as I went along.

 

Keeping the characters’ voices separate and distinct was really important. It was also essential to create stories of equal richness so that a reader would become emotionally invested in all the parallel strands. The research had to be as accurate as for any historical novel but I actually found the contemporary thread the most difficult because I’d never written contemporary fiction before.

Writing House of Shadows was complex and challenging but it was also worth every moment. I learned so much in the process and exploring the mystery of the life of Elizabeth, the Winter Queen, was a wonderful adventure.

 

House of Shadows by Nicola Cornick is out on 5^th November (Mira, £7.99)