Bring Me Back
by B.A. Paris
Published June 19th 2018 by St.
Martin's Press
Finn
and Layla are young, in love, and on vacation. They’re driving along the
highway when Finn decides to stop at a service station to use the restroom. He
hops out of the car, locks the doors behind him, and goes inside. When he
returns Layla is gone—never to be seen again. That is the story Finn told to
the police. But it is not the whole story.
Ten
years later Finn is engaged to Layla’s sister, Ellen. Their shared grief over
what happened to Layla drew them close and now they intend to remain together.
Still, there’s something about Ellen that Finn has never fully understood. His
heart wants to believe that she is the one for him...even though a sixth sense
tells him not to trust her.
Then,
not long before he and Ellen are to be married, Finn gets a phone call. Someone
from his past has seen Layla—hiding in plain sight. There are other odd occurrences:
Long-lost items from Layla’s past that keep turning up around Finn and Ellen’s
house. Emails from strangers who seem to know too much. Secret messages, clues,
warnings. If Layla is alive—and on Finn’s trail—what does she want? And how
much does she know?
A tour
de force of psychological suspense, Bring Me Back will have you questioning
everything and everyone until its stunning climax.
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Oh gosh...where to begin?
While I did not hate this book, I did not love it either. My maw maw
always told me that if I had nothing nice to say, just to keep my thoughts to
myself, and that is what I am going to do with this review…..to a certain point.
The writing itself was good; the problem I had is with the actual story. It started out strong and I was excited to keep on, but as the story progressed, certain things just annoyed me and seem too far-fetched and unbelievable. But, but, it is fiction you are probably saying….Well yes, that is true, but some things just need to seem believable for me to buy into what you are selling.
My thoughts as I finished Bring Me Back:
· The story was not as suspenseful as I would have wanted it to be.
· What did I just read?
· Finn - (the main character) needed anger management classes – big, intimidating looking men need to tone it down when angry…..they tend to scare the general population.
· Finn needed a good pair of eyeglasses, because seriously, he must have been blind not to see what was right in front of him.
· Where was the ‘stunning climax’?
Because life for me is crazy at the moment, I purchased the audio version of this book even though the publisher was kind enough to provide me with an ARC. The narrators, Kevin Hely and Cathleen McCarron, were what kept this book from entering the dreaded DNF pile in the darkest corner of my room. Mr. Hely plays the biggest part of this performance with Ms. McCarron playing a smaller role, but each one did an amazing job with what they had to work with. Kudos to them!
I am giving this story a 2 star rating and the audio performance 4 stars.
