Legal Law

Behind Closed Doors – Book Review

On the surface, Grace and Jack appear to have the perfect marriage and are completely devoted to each other. Jack is a successful lawyer who protects battered women, while Grace is the perfect little housewife with a green thumb and culinary skills that rival Gordon Ramsey. But behind closed doors things are not always what they seem. Grace and Jack are suspiciously never apart and it seems like Jack always has her hand on her elbow or on her back, one might see this as a sign of affection, but could it be more? Why does Grace’s friend never see her without Jack? What secrets could this couple hide behind closed doors?

I kept seeing this book in stores, on Goodreads, and being recommended by friends in my book club. I finally picked it up and curled up in bed with the literary cats and devoured this book. Everything else faded away, I was barely listening to text messages or even the music I was playing. I got lost in this story that I couldn’t get enough of. Everything I read online had me intrigued at first and then once I started, it exceeded my expectations.

I was a bit tired reading it because I wasn’t sure if there would be any actual abuse, something I sometimes have a hard time handling, but with all the rave reviews, I decided to see how dark this book got. I can honestly say that there is no outright physical abuse, it is all psychological. Jack feeds on the fear and anticipation of what will happen next, and the excitement of escape attempts and pretending to be the perfect husband for the perfect wife who knows what is hidden inside her perfect home.

Paris has the ability to attract readers from the beginning of the story. Paris’s writing is fantastic and there are so many quotes and moments that make the reader laugh even though this is a pretty serious novel, like Millie’s claims that she doesn’t like “Jorj Kooney” (George Clooney). Here are some samples from Paris. ‘ writing from the book:

“We go downstairs and into the hallway, he grabs my coat from the closet and holds it open as I slide my arms into it. On the way out, he holds the car door for me and waits until I’m inside as he closes it behind me. I can’t help but think it’s a shame he’s such a sadistic bastard, because he has wonderful manners.”

And then, as he drank in the sound of her fear and breathed in her scent, he wished he could keep her there for eternity.

Paris has a great way of using her words to describe every emotion, every sense, every interaction, and every minute detail. He spared nothing with this novel and nothing is filler information. It goes back and forth between the present and the past, but is not marred by the continuity of the novel and is easy to follow and keep up with what is happening and when. I love the intelligence of not only Grace, but Millie as well. I loved seeing a character with a major disability like Down syndrome portrayed as highly intelligent and capable of many things. I think this is something we need to see more often to help raise awareness about terrible stereotypes. And the ending, oh my gosh, really makes the book.

This is probably the best book I’ve read this year so far, and I highly recommend it to everyone looking for that great book to read. I can’t wait to get my hands on another one of his books.

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