My Book Review > Behind Closed Doors, by BA Paris

At first, I wondered what the logic behind this sad story was; how can a sane woman accept the social asphyxia Grace suffered because of her husband. Soon, the atmosphere became gloomier; somehow, it reminded me ‘Fifty Shades’, but in a darker way! Indeed, Ana Steele accepts the sadomasochistic relationship imposed by Christian Grey, and in spite of his insanity the latter loves her and cares for her; her life isn’t in danger. Ultimately, ‘Fifty Shade’ is a (weird) love story. But, here, it soon becomes obvious that situation is pretty different; Jack isn’t role-playing, he’s not addicted to some sort of BDSM game: he is the devil incarnate! Actually, he doesn’t ‘touch’ Grace: he has no intercourse with his newlywed wife, he doesn’t hit her either… but he imprisons her, he terrifies her, alleges she’s crazy, and starves her whenever she tried to escape! Worse, he threatens to make Grace’s little sis (who has Down syndrome) ‘pay’ for any attempt to resist him or to escape. In fact, his ultimate goal is to confine Grace’s sister in a special room in the basement and…!? He’s not a control freak like Christian Grey: he’s an emotional terrorist, a heartless psychopath. ‘Jekyll’, when in public, then acting like a gentleman and the ultimate lover; ‘Hide’ when alone with his victim. Eek! Halfway through the book I felt like overwhelmed with anxiety, disgust and… dunno. This book made me realize that such a story isn’t just an insane tale: it’s the sad reality for too many women around the world (indeed, in a man’s world too many girls and women are left at the mercy of unscrupulous or sadistic men). Jack had no reason to be cruel to Grace, quite the contrary; she’s a sweet woman! Yet he was. He anticipated each of Grace’s every move and thought and enjoyed playing this deadly game of cat and mouse. Jack was a psychopath who didn’t respect life; hence, he did not hesitate to dehydrate his dog to death to make Grace understand what could happen to her… She had no chance to escape him and save her sister. Fortunately, in an act of desperation, she will… Oh, I shouldn’t tell you the end of the story! Anyway, it’s certainly not my favorite kind of story; it’s too ‘cruel’; and it makes you want him dead (because… there’s obviously no other option for Grace and her sister!). But it’s a gripping story!