Book review: When I Kill You by BA Paris

When I Kill You by BA Paris is a twisty thriller featuring a woman who believes her past has come back to haunt her. For Nell has not always been Nell, and over a dozen years earlier 19-year old Elle witnessed a young woman being snatched off the street. She became obsessed with the person she believed to be guilty of the girl’s murder… and things ended badly. For everyone involved.

About this book

Nell Masters is certain someone is following her. The hairs on the back of her neck rise when she travels to and from work, there are silent calls to her office, and a huge bouquet of flowers arrives without a card. And Nell has a reason to be looking over her shoulder, because she has a secret that she’s hiding from everyone in her life, including her new partner, Alex. But Alex also has secrets of his own.

Fourteen years earlier, when Nell went by the name Elle Nugent, she witnessed a student, Bryony Sanders, getting into a stranger’s car.

Now, Nell tries to convince herself that this unnerving feeling of being watched is all in her mind. Has someone from her past discovered her new identity?

My thoughts

In the present Nell talks about having atoned for her actions in the past but she’s keeping them from Alex – an American businessman whose work regularly brings him to London. It’s obvious her senses are heightened given her still-lingering guilt but we know she’s not imagining things as the person stalking her is keeping a journal and their resentment of Nell is palpable.

Nell and Alex’s relationship is still fairly new and they’re learning about each others’ pasts… Nell finds herself suspicious of Alex’s intentions, discovering he has a son and messy family-related baggage and has kept details of past relationships from her.

Nell is certain that her stalker is related to her own past but Paris also introduces several characters who also attract Nell’s suspicions, despite their lack of obvious motive.

Paris throws in a number of twists and the pace rises to a crescendo when Nell decides to offer herself up as bait to find out who hates her enough to want her dead.

This is the fourth book I’ve read by Paris whose work I consistently enjoy and whose ‘whodunnits’ I often get wrong. 🙄

When I Kill You by BA Paris was published by HQ Fiction (Harper Collins) and is now available.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.