Author: B.A. Paris
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: February 17, 2026
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
B.A. Paris knows how to mess with your head, and this book had me second-guessing everything. The creeping paranoia of being watched, the silent phone calls, the unexplained flowers—it all gets under your skin fast.
The novel's initial structure alternates between Nell's current life and her past identity as Elle Nugent. Fourteen years ago, Elle witnessed student Bryony Sanders getting into a stranger's car—a seemingly innocent moment that became the catalyst for murder and obsession. Paris skillfully uses this dual timeline to reveal how one traumatic event can fragment a person's entire life, forcing them to reinvent themselves while never truly escaping the past.
Where the novel stumbles slightly is in Elle's all-consuming fixation on Brett Parker, the man she believes murdered Bryony. While obsession is central to the story's psychological depth, watching Elle's life completely disintegrate—her relationships crumbling, her future collapsing—sometimes felt like it pushed past believability into melodrama. The intensity of her fixation, while compelling, occasionally made me question whether any person would truly sacrifice everything so completely for a case where she had no personal connection to the victim.
Yet this same obsession creates the novel's most fascinating element: how past trauma shapes Nell's inability to form genuine connections in the present. Her relationship with Alex becomes a study in two damaged people trying to build something real while drowning in secrets. Paris excels at showing how the lies we tell ourselves are often more dangerous than the lies we tell others.
The second half shifts entirely to the present, focusing on the central mystery: who wants Nell dead? Here, Paris hits her stride. Just when I thought I'd pieced together the puzzle, she pulled the rug out from under me. The climax arrives with shocking force, revealing connections I never saw coming and transforming everything I thought I understood about the story.
What elevates this beyond a standard thriller is Paris's exploration of identity and reinvention. Can we ever truly escape our past? Does changing our name change who we are? Nell/Elle's dual existence raises questions about whether we're defined by our worst moments or whether redemption is possible when we're haunted by unfinished business.
A big thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
