What a deliciously wicked idea - to write an alternative ending to a fantastic psychological thriller and have readers compare both of the reads. Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris is a cracking read and . Be prepared to doubt everything you read and be suspicious of every character. You just never know who might be lying.
Read my review of the New Ending, the First Ending and find out which one is my favourite of the two!
B A Paris is the internationally bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors and The Breakdown. Having sold over one million copies in the UK alone, she is a New York Times bestseller as well as a number one bestseller on Amazon and iBooks. Her books have sold in 37 territories around the world. Having lived in France for many years, she recently moved back to the UK. She has five daughters.
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Buy Bring Me Back (featuring an explosive new ending!)
A young British couple are driving through France on holiday when they stop for gas. He runs in to pay, she stays in the car. When he returns her car door has been left open, but she's not inside. No one ever sees her again.
Ten years later he's engaged to be married; he's happy, and his past is only a tiny part his life now. Until he comes home from work and finds his new wife-to-be is sitting on their sofa. She's turning something over in her fingers, holding it up to the light. Something that would have no worth to anyone else, something only he and she would know about because his fiance is the sister of his missing first love.
As more and more questions are raised, their marriage becomes strained. Has his first love somehow come back to him after all this time? Or is the person who took her playing games with his mind?
Review of Bring Me Back: New Eplosive Ending
Everything in my first review still applies, especially when it comes to the specific type of twisted magic Paris brings to the pages. In this new ending the author takes the twist, turns it one more time and places the remains in front of the reader like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
In an extraordinary marketing idea and ploy, this bestseller has been given a reboot and the option for readers to view the story from a different angle altogether. What if the guilty party is innocent? What if everything we know about Layla and Ellen is only what we are meant to see, read and believe?
The only problem with creating two endings for the same story, if you have read the first version, is whether you have the ability to leave the details of the first read behind you to be able to read the second version with fresh eyes. In my case not really an issue, because it's been a while and I read a new book every day.
For me the first ending gives us the visceral reaction of both the author to her own plot and of the readers to that plot. It's not meant to be fair or give us a happy ending. It's a psychological game of cat and mouse. It's supposed to leave us shocked, and perhaps even in awe of the audacity of the author.
The second ending is a double twist, and is a bit like making the grey cells do triple the work. This is the solution, but hey wait a minute while I, or rather the author, change the rules of the game. Although Finn is still the one who cops the most grief and suspicion, this ending allows for a better outcome for him. That isn't the case for Ellen though. Be prepared to be shocked and for everything you think you know about Bring Me Back to be thrown up into the air.
Review of BringMe Back: first Ending
As per usual you just never know what you're going to get when you read a B.A. Paris. Well, that isn't exactly true, you do know you're probably going to get a boatload of crazy.
Paris doesn't just cross boundaries, she creates them. Watch her drawing those lines in the sand, the lines others are going to struggle to replicate or mirror, as she runs rings around her readers with this intricate plot. It's a think outside of the box kind of read.
As a reader you think you have the plot sussed and then the author just whacks you up the side of the head with a completely different solution and scenario.
In this case the #ForgetSleep tag couldn't be more accurate because your Sherlockian skills and grey cells will be asked to work overtime on Bring Me Back. Is Finn a killer? Did he forget the crime? Is she dead? Or is someone screwing with his already slightly unstable mind?
Finn has spent a lot of time recovering from the dark cloud of suspicion he has hanging over his head. The majority of people think he killed Layla, and it doesn't help that the new love of his life is the sister of his missing girlfriend. It's weird right?
Over a decade later the traumatic disappearance is brought back to the surface when a very specific item turns up, something that was really important to Layla and only a handful of people know about. It makes Finn doubt everything, even his relationship with Ellen. It's as if an invisible person is slowly chipping away at the fake exterior and trying to expose the real Finn. The Finn with anger issues, the Finn who is controlling, and the Finn who lied to the police. Yeh, that Finn.
What happened to Layla is the question of the hour, and what kind of secrets Finn keeps hidden in the dark recesses of his mind. Paris plays with the tension like a predator with its prey. Meanwhile the prey is confused as to what its role is, hence the switch from potential killer to violent abuser to whimpering victim. It's a bold, riveting read with a surprising conclusion.
Which Ending I Prefer!
For me it has to be the original ending, because it is darker, more wicked and the plot is brutally honest. There are no expectations of pity or understanding. It is just the compelling end to a devious plan.
The new ending is far too nice. It makes allowances for the feelings of the character, who is put in the worst position in this story. I wonder if the fact many readers were upset by the fate of Finn played into this new storyline at all. I did like the double twist, but then I do enjoy it when an author goes beyond just the first turn of the knife,
What drew me to this story in the beginning was the similarity to one of the most tension filled movies I have ever seen. A girl who disappears at a motorway petrol station, and her boyfriend who in his obsession to find her encounters more than he expected.
That initial spark of doubt, which Paris draws on throughout the book is what made and makes Bring Me Back an excellent psychological thriller. No matter which version you pick you are in for a hell of a read!
Buy Bring Me Back at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Read The Breakdown and Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
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