Congrats B. A.
on the release today of
The Dilemma!
The Dilemma by B. A. Paris
Print and e-book, 304 pages
Published June 30th 2020 by St. Martin's Press
A woman's birthday party takes a dark turn in a poignant, heart-stopping new novel from the reigning queen of suspense, NYT and USA Today bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors.
Livia is finally having the birthday party she always dreamed of. When she and her husband Adam fell pregnant as teenagers, she was disowned by her parents. Their marriage has had its ups and downs, but now, twenty years on, they are blissfully happy now with their two grown-up children, Josh and Marnie. And tonight, Adam is throwing Livia the party of a lifetime, to make up for the fairytale wedding they could never have.
Marnie has been studying abroad and can’t make it to the party. Livia can’t help but be slightly grateful for this, as she’s recently uncovered a secret about their daughter which, if revealed, will shake the foundation of their family to its core. For just one night, Livia wants everything to be perfect.
Adam, meanwhile, has set up another surprise for his wife: Marnie will be secretly flying back for the family celebration. But soon it emerges that Adam is faced with a dilemma of his own, and he too may have to keep a terrible secret. After all, if you could give the person you love the most in the world a few more hours of happiness, you would . . . wouldn’t you? As the day of the party dawns, one thing is clear: Marnie’s arrival could shatter everything.
My thoughts about The Dilemma ~~
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first lines.)
First line—"It's the cooling bathwater that wakes me."
Once again, here is another book full of secrets. That seems to be a theme in a lot of books lately, at least in ones that I have been lucky enough to read. And secrets can definitely keep a book interesting, that's for sure.
The Dilemma has secrets, but these secrets are being kept for good reasons—not to hide bad things from the past, but to keep loved ones from being hurt. As the 'perfect' birthday party approaches—the party of a lifetime—we see how the stress of keeping these secrets impact the main characters. What a roller-coaster ride of emotions this author put me through.
While The Dilemma had a different feel to it for me from B.A's other thrillers—it didn't feel quite as intense—it was still an exciting and enjoyable read. And as always, I look forward to the next book by B. A. Paris.
I received a copy of The Dilemma via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
About the author
B A Paris is the internationally bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown, Bring Me Back and The Dilemma. Having sold over a million copies in the UK alone, she is a New York Times bestseller as well as a Sunday Times bestseller. Her books have been translated into 40 languages. Having lived in France for many years, she and her husband recently moved back to the UK.
Her fifth novel is out in 2021 ~ Goodreads
Connect with B A
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