Publisher: Mira
Release: 11th February 2016
Genre: Thriller
Source: Copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Synopsis:
"Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace.
He has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You might not want to like them, but you do. You’d like to get to know Grace better.
But it’s difficult, because you realise Jack and Grace are never apart.
Some might call this true love. Others might ask why Grace never answers the phone. Or how she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. And why there are bars on one of the bedroom windows.
Sometimes, the perfect marriage is the perfect lie."
Review
We all know a couple like Jack and Grace. He’s a handsome businessman; rich, successful and totally devoted to his wife. She’s the supportive housewife; she has the big house, throws extravagant dinner parties and has a husband who adores her. Together they’re the ultimate couple; they’re the envy of all who know them. But what if the perfect marriage is the perfect lie?
Behind Closed Doors follows Grace, and from the opening pages you know that something is off about her seemingly perfect marriage. Through chapters that alternate between past and present you follow the relationship between Jack and Grace.
In the beginning Jack seems like the perfect partner. Grace doesn’t have many people in her life who are important to her but she does have her younger sister Millie whom she’s fiercely protective of. Millie has Down’s syndrome and, being her guardian, Grace has struggled in the past to find a partner willing to take on both her and her sister. So when Jack and Grace meet through Millie, Grace is thrilled to find someone who cares for her sister as much as she does. After a whirlwind romance Jack and Grace decide to get married but after the wedding Jack’s perfect façade drops and his true intentions towards Grace and Millie are revealed.
In the present day Grace is kept as a prisoner in their home, only brought out to entertain guests at their dinner parties and play the role of Jack’s trophy wife. With Jack’s position as a lawyer and Grace’s lack of family she’s the perfect victim. With the days counting down until Millie leaves school and comes to live with them, can Grace find a way for her little sister to escape the same fate?
Behind Closed Doors was a book that I was consumed by from first to final page. Unlike a lot of thrillers it’s not the twists and turns that grip you, but the horror of Grace’s daily life and the will she/won’t she escape element. It was so interesting to read about what Jack could get away with as a powerful public figure. The book really explores themes of compliance when it comes to authority figures.
Behind Closed Doors is a book that I couldn’t put down. If you pick it up prepare to lose yourself in its pages until the end. It’s a fascinating page turner that will make you question the idea of perfection and wonder what goes on behind closed doors.
