BRING ME BACK Review

She went missing. He moved on. A whole world of secrets remained—until now.

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. (Synopsis from Amazon)

My thoughts....3.5 stars

Even though she's only written three books at this point, personally speaking there're some common themes they share...

-How well do we know those we invite to share our lives? The ones we intend to be most intimate with, do we ever truly know them?

-She makes the implausible, plausible.

-She keeps me guessing right to the end. Every time I think I know, I don't. That's such a thrill to me, the unpredictability and anticipation of the next twist. Where are we going & how are we getting there?  

-There's always a sense of justice being served, one way or another.

Ms. Paris delivered on the first two in BRING ME BACK. However, a page or two into Part Two and I knew with certainty who the "culprit" was. Never had a doubt. That being said there was one reveal at the end I hadn't guessed, but it didn't make a difference when all was said & done. Nor did I feel justice had been served, though I'm sure there are other readers who'll disagree.

While the sinuous creepy path Ms. Paris led me down made for a good read, the lack of the last two elements, especially the third, kept it from being a stellar read.