I’m delighted that it is my turn on the blog tour for Behind Closed Doors as I can now share my review with you all…
Behind the very stylish door to the home of Jack and Grace Angel things aren’t all they initially appear. We first meet the successful couple, Jack a lawyer who spends his time standing up for victims of domestic violence and Grace who was a buyer for Harrods, hosting an elegant dinner party. Grace no longer has her high-powered job though, she’s a housewife, perhaps waiting for the patter of tiny feet.
The food served by Grace is exquisite and the conversation quickly turns to Jack and Grace’s first meeting. Neither had been married before despite Jack being highly sought after by his female colleagues; Grace’s marriage prospects had been hampered by her commitment to looking after her younger sister Millie, who has Down syndrome. Jack wasn’t put off by this life-long task though and the couple talk about welcoming Millie into their home when she leaves the school she attends.
What happens behind the scenes though is deeply disturbing and not in the conventional way but is it really possible that no-one can see the truth. I can’t really say much more except that despite the horror there is something compellingly realistic about the way that the action unfolds.
With the book split between the past and the present, so we see how the relationship progressed through a perfect courtship to marriage and then the honeymoon in Thailand where revelations made cast a whole different light on what had gone before. In the present we see that things aren’t quite the way the dinner party guests imagine but there is a deadline looming and a plan is needed, and fast.
This is real edge of your seat stuff and is so truly horrific a certain amount of suspense of belief is required but with the characters being so credible I found myself questioning whether or not this could happen, and I came down in favour of the author mainly because while I would hope this wouldn’t happen given the characters and circumstances of all involved I can believe that it might. The pace of the story is unrelenting which only serves to raise the tension and the mixture between past and present, especially as the gap between the two closes, works really well in giving the reader no opportunity to catch their breath.
A must read for all those lovers of the most popular recent psychological thrillers, you know the ones I mean, the ones that are populated by vile characters and keep you turning the pages just to see quite how bad things can get!
I’d like to say a huge thank you to the publisher HarperCollins who kindly arranged for me to receive a copy of this book and invited me to take part in this book tour.
Even better news, there is a whisper that the author already has another book in the making which I for one will be looking forward to reading.
This sounds like how I felt reading The Girl on the Train. It was so well plotted and paced that I accepted it when it strained credibility. I think I’d like this one!
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That’s one of the books I was referring too – I think you would too 🙂
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So glad you enjoyed this so much, Cleo. I do keep hearing good things about it, and the premise is really interesting. It’s already been on my radar, so perhaps I’ll add it to the wish list. That premise – what’s on the surface vs what lies beneath – can be really effective.
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I wanted to read it based on the premise and it just stretches that public/private face that bit further than is really comfortable but it makes for a great story.
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So glad this ended up working well for you. I was so intrigued that I broke my resolution and ordered it. I had one more book that I wanted to order anyway, Peter May’s Coffin Road, and I just added this one on. It will show up here eventually. Looking forward to it. And nice to know that the author is moving on to the next book.
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Oh I don’t know whether to say ‘Yay’ or feel guilty… They are both excellent choices of books and if you buy two at once it only really counts as one anyway! Yes the next book is due out in September!
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The unrelenting pace of a thriller does keep me glued to the pages, and this one sounds perfect! Thanks for sharing.
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You are very welcome Laurel, sometimes I don’t want to think too much, and being thoroughly entertaining is something that this book does really well.
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I want to know what goes on when the guests have gone! An extremely tantalising review… 🙂
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Thank you – I’m sorry I just can’t tell you – Sometimes the authors make it very hard to write reviews without spoiling the plot 😉
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Sounds like you enjoyed this one. Personally, I always worry about perfect couples….
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I’m the same but then I’m an extremely sceptical person…
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I understand why you are not telling us much about that secret behind the door but oh boy am I frustrated now….. LOL
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Thanks – phew – I haven’t given anything away 😉
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This sounds really good. I love psychological thrillers, especially when they are done really really well.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.blogspot.com
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This was one of those that had the addictive quality – well worth a read!
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