Behind Closed Doors by B A Paris

Grace had a good job, loved her little sister with Down's syndrome and enjoyed her life.  When her sister starts waltzing in the park with no partner, she thinks it's special that she learned to dance like that.  When a man walks towards her, she gets up to defend her.  But he just bows and then dances with Millie.  He touches her heart when he does that.  Then he asks her out on a date.  She should have said no...

St. Martin's Press sent me a copy an early reader's edition of this book to read for review (thank you).  It will be published August 9th.

This book scared me.  It's so plausible it's chilling.

Grace is charmed by Jack and he's so loving and caring.  He builds her her dream house for a wedding gift and they go to Thailand on their honeymoon.  She's thrilled to have found her love, she'd almost given up on the idea.  But Jack has secrets.  He's movie star pretty and they depict a perfect marriage but what happens at home is another story.

He doesn't even come home on their wedding night.  She's all dressed up when she leaves the bathroom but he's gone.  He tells the hotel staff that she has mental problems.  Then he begins locking her out on the patio all day while he does his thing.  He's not only a controller.  He's eats fear.  He wants her scared, he gets his jollies from that.

Every time she tries to escape, he locks her in for days.  He takes away her visits to Millie.  He forgets to feed her.  And if she defies him enough, he locks her in the basement.  He's playing mind games with her and he's winning.  There is only one way out for her.  And she's not thinking suicide.

This is a tense, suspenseful read that I couldn't put down.  It has a nice ironic ending, too.  Give it a try, you won't be bored.