Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

14 reviews

nmf16's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I enjoyed this fast-paced thriller and got through it in just a couple of days. 
The only reason it didn’t get 5* is because I felt the ending was a bit rushed and there were a couple of plot holes that left me thinking “but what about that…..” still a really enjoyable read though! Would recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Torture, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Death of parent and Miscarriage

lovelymisanthrope's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I received this book as a gift.
"Behind Closed Doors" follows Grace, and her seemingly perfect husband, Jack. Grace and Jack seem to have it all and they live a very luxurious lifestyle. Their friends are all envious of them and their perfect marriage. Jack is a high-profile lawyer who never loses a case, and Grace is the picturesque homemaker. Unfortunately, things are never as good as they seem on the outside, and Grace and Jack are far from the perfect couple.
This story took me awhile to get into. I knew from the beginning that something was off, and I was very weary of Jack as a character, but it took a long time to finally piece together what was really going on, and what Jack's true motivations were. While I enjoyed the thrill of not truly knowing what was going on, once I did know, I was no longer invested in the story. Jack's behavior and actions towards Grace seemed plausible enough, but his true motivation for what he wanted and why he wanted it felt a little too unhinged to be believable.
Jack is absolutely insane, and the fact that he was able to hide that fact from everyone in his life is kind of impressive. I feel like someone who exhibits these types of behaviors for that long would have slipped up somewhere and had someone asking questions.
I was slightly disappointed in Grace as a character. I felt like she was broken too easily, and with so much at stake, she could have continued to fight harder. I empathize that she was in a difficult situation, but I kept yelling "come on" through the pages.
Overall, this book did not feel 100% believable in any aspect. There were too many plot points that relied on characters accepting what they were told without question. A thriller does not need to be believable to be good, but for me it definitely helps to make it more thrilling.
Overall, this story was fine. I had an okay time reading it, and I probably will not think about it much in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Murder, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Grief, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty

poopyanna's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Drug abuse, Gore, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Physical abuse

Minor: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Suicide, and Infidelity

kelseyr713's review

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I’m a bit torn on how to rate this, because I couldn’t put it down and HAD to find out what happened, but on the other hand Jack is a cartoonishly portrayed villain with zero redeeming qualities and Grace’s initial bad decisions are infuriating to read. The ending is satisfying though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Torture, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Murder, Abandonment, Sexism, Animal death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, Infertility, and Pregnancy

violetbentbackwards1036's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Infertility, Torture, Abandonment, Alcohol, Infidelity, Medical content, Suicide, Death of parent, Grief, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Murder, Pregnancy, Animal death, Confinement, Miscarriage, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Ableism, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Car accident, Emotional abuse, and Violence

readersmultiverse's review

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

• This book was incredibly tense and at times, challenging, to read. You almost feel the deep sense of helplessness and horror of what’s happening as you read. I felt sick at times. 
• The story progresses relatively quickly, which I appreciated. It’s a page turner and a short book which made for easy, captivating reading. 
• I adored Millie. Such a smart, caring and perceptive girl! 
• I was very satisfied with the ending; really enjoyed the last chapter. However I wish an epilogue would have been included. As a reader you go through a traumatic experience with a character in the book, and it would have been nice to have full closure at the end. 
• The entire Thailand ordeal traumatised me deeply. Thailand horror + the missing epilogue is why the book lost at least half a star from me. No more than that though because overall the book was highly addictive and intriguing. I couldn’t wait to find out what happens next and rooted for our main character throughout. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Bullying, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Animal death, and Torture

Moderate: Death of parent and Physical abuse

thebookpaiges's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Alcohol, Death, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Violence

Moderate: Miscarriage

Minor: Infertility, Gore, Suicide, and Blood

froggydanny's review

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Torture, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, and Death

Minor: Car accident, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Panic attacks/disorders

inmyhead's review

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I think it's definitely a good book for people that like to have to think about what they read, definitely great for people that like phycological thrillers. The book never really got boring to me but the first part is definitely the slowest. It gets so good in the end, and the ending doesn't leave you displeased. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Cursing, Death, and Death of parent

If you've ever been in an abusive relationship I don't know if this would be triggering but it could be, theres also talks of basically torture towards a character that's neurodivergent, and there's talk of drugs and alcohol in severe causes.

lifeofchrstnlvly's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

It was boring and presented nothing new. I was just reading an uninteresting book and that was it. My emotions were not stirred, I didn't root for any of the characters (not even Millie), I didn't care who dies.

For a thriller, nothing in it was thrilling. The plot was predictable. Grace was irritating and I can't feel any sympathy for her. Jack's unhealthy mental state felt that it was thrown into the story for everything to make sense (also, him choosing Angel as his new surname was absurd). It felt like Millie's character was written just to evoke more sympathy from the readers (it didn't) and to provide more diversity. 

I give authors of books I didn't like another chance (by reading their other books), but this one, I'm not so sure. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Miscarriage