Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wanted to get to this review closer to the time I finished the book, so my memory would be fresh. Sadly, I wasn’t inspired to write a fully fleshed out review.

I enjoyed the book. I really did. It was cheesy, yes. It was predictable. While the ending was unfolding, I was hoping I was wrong about how it was going to end. But I wasn’t. That’s why I’m giving this three stars. I wanted so badly for Paris to throw just one or two more twists in so the characters could avoid the outcome I saw coming. An outcome that was disappointing and unfulfilling.

Finn and Layla, a young couple, are on their way back home after a vacation when Layla goes missing. The search for her is thorough and she remains missing ten years later when, after their grief brings them together, Finn and Layla’s sister Ellen are to be married. This is, of course, when things get complicated and Finn begins getting messages that Layla is still alive.

As he searches for the truth, the messages become more frequent and more convincing. When he finally begins to figure things out, the obvious comes to fruition and the reader is left wondering why they just spent this time reading this story. In a way, it feels like Paris ran out of ideas and resorted to some old tried and true plot twists.

Despite the cheesy cliffhanger chapter endings, despite the foreshadowing that allowed me to pick up the events to follow, despite the characters becoming more and more unlikeable, I really wanted it to end differently. To surprise me and to take us just a little further into the future for some aftermath.

I can only forgive so many disappointments. There was one too many. Not a great read. Not an awful read. An average mystery without much to distinguish itself one way or another. I’d rather read a cozy mystery from a series that revolves around one of my favorite topics, like cats, books, or knitting. Even if I can predict the ending, it’s not trying to be anything but fun.

Many thanks to St Martin’s Press and B.A. Paris for the ARC in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

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