Publisher: Hampton Creek Press (ebook – 13 May 2024)

Series: Standalone

Length: 514 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

In the mood for a thriller that’s a little more adult than your typical tale of spies and killers?  Then make sure to check out the cool new book from veteran author J. D. Barker, Behind a Closed Door, that sets a married couple on a dark path of deceit, manipulation and murder.

J. D. Barker is an interesting author for me, mainly because I have previously only read the collaborations he has done with other writers. This includes the compelling Dracula adjacent novel, Dracul, which he cowrote with Dacre Stoker, as well as the intense and powerful novel he wrote with James Patterson, Death of the Black Widow. The second of these books ended up being one of my favourite novels of 2022, and I loved the intense and highly entertaining story the collaboration created.  As such, I have never had the opportunity to read a story purely from Barker’s mind, so I was very intrigued when I got a copy of his new book, Behind a Closed Door.

Husband and wife Brendan and Abby Hollander are facing marital difficulties as their challenging careers and spiralling personal lives take a deep toll.  Desperate to reignite the spark of their marriage, the couple are convinced to download the popular app, Sugar & Spice, which has been taking the world by storm.  The app awards points for daring, romantic and erotic activities between the two, and Brendan and Abby quickly find themselves reconnecting through their amorous exploits.

However, not everything is what it seems with Sugar & Spice, and soon the couple find the app manipulating them in ways they never imagined.  Forced to participate in a series of increasingly taboo tasks, Brendan and Abby are caught up in a series of dangerous seductions, unwanted encounters and terrible lies that threaten to overwhelm them.  Worse, the app begins to request unthinkable criminal acts, the fallout of which paint Brendan and Abby as dangerous killers.  Unable to leave the app’s twisted game, the couple’s only hope is to find the creators and shut it down.  But with more and more people being dragged into the hype around Sugar & Spice, can the Hollanders escape the insidious evil coming for them?

Behind a Closed Door proved to be an exciting and addictive thriller from Barker that I had an outstanding time getting through, thanks to its unique story, compelling characters, and diabolic scenario.

The author starts Behind a Closed Door off slow, as he carefully builds up the protagonists and the dark scenario they are about to enter.  The book initially comes off as a more of an erotic drama then anything else, as there is a focus on the two protagonists coming together as a couple thanks to the Sugar & Spice app.  This continues for a good chunk of the first half of the book, and I must admit that I initially had a hard time getting too involved in the plot.  However, in hindsight, Barker provides some excellent build-up to the plot here, while also hyping up the more adult elements of the book.  Thanks to his excellent use of quickfire chapters and perspective changes, you get to see how adventurous the app initially makes them feel, while also providing intriguing and chilling hints about the events to come.  There is also some excellent initial character development here that pays off big as the story continues.

I personally got more drawn into Behind a Closed Door when the worm inevitably turned, and the app started to force the protagonists into darker scenarios.  This initially results in some substantially heightened drama, as the protagonists attempt to come to terms with some of the dark things they have done, as well as the actions of those closest to them.  I really enjoyed how sinister events became here, especially as both protagonists are pushed in some terrible directions and are drawn even deeper into the app’s dark web.  Previous elements of the plot, such as Brendan’s job, also become a lot more significant, and it goes to show how effectively Barker set things up in the beginning of the story.

The final half of the book is where things really get interesting, as the protagonists find themselves in major trouble.  Forced on the run due to the dark deeds they found themselves drawn to, they must contend both with typical law enforcement, and the many people who have downloaded the app and are being coerced into messing with them.  There are some amazing reveals about the true nature of Sugar & Spice here that draw the entire plot together, and I loved just how desperate things got for the protagonists, especially as Barker just kept throwing elaborate twists and turns at them.  I honestly powered through the final 200 pages of this book in no time at all, it was that damn exciting and addictive, and I deeply appreciated the elaborate and intense action that emerged.  Everything perfectly leads up to Behind a Closed Door’s big conclusion, as the protagonists come face to face with the true evil of the story and are left battered and destroyed by it.  I loved how dark things got towards the end, and Barker cleverly resolves it with some great moments that call back to earlier plot points.  Throw in some exceedingly smart reveals, especially about who was really manipulating the events of the story, and this ended up being an outstanding read that I could not get enough of.

One of the things I most enjoyed about Behind a Closed Door was the excellent and flawed characters that Barker featured throughout it.  The most prominent of these characters are the protagonists Brendan and Abby Hollander, who download the app to reinvigorate their marriage after a series of personal fumbles.  Both characters come into the story feeling very relatable, as the pressures of life are wearing them and their relationship down, and you understand their desire for a fresh start.  As such, you grow close to them and feel their pain as the plot continues, especially as they are forced or mistakenly follow through with the dark desires of the app, while also forgiving them for some dumb mistakes they make.  I really liked how both the characters developed, especially Abby, who grows into quite a strong and resourceful character.  Her actions and ability to make the hard decisions ensure she is the true badass of the story, and I liked how well Barker hid many of her harder qualities and motivations until they needed to come out.

Additional characters of note include the Hollanders’ best friends, who end up helping and hindering them in equal measures, and the assassin duo Romeo and Juliet.  Romeo and Juliet are hardcore Sugar & Spice users who plan to ride the app’s game to a happy ending and prove to be fun counterparts to the protagonists with their willingness to do anything and the role reversal in who is taking control of the situation.  Romeo and Juliet’s twisted relationship is a fantastic part of the plot, and Romeo proves to be a real standout character, especially as he violently tanks his way through the various hurdles of the book’s conclusion.  Barker did a great job with these various characters and their elaborate character arcs of excess and twisted love were extremely fun.

I also must mention the dark and cynical note that Barker includes about technology.  Throughout the course of Behind a Closed Door, Barker is constantly critical about the ways in which humans have become dependent on technology and information, especially through your phones, and this becomes very apparent when the protagonists download the Sugar & Spice app without considering the consequences.  While the nefarious actions of the app in Behind a Closed Door is exaggerated for plot reasons, it speaks to fact that most people (myself included) are willing giving up their personal data and privacy for the sake of a cool app or convenience.  This reliance on technology becomes even more apparent later in the book when the protagonists are forced to go off the grid to survive.  I loved the before and after contrasts as the characters find their own devices and everyone with a phone turning against them, and it was great to see Barker portray everything as being too connected.  This becomes particularly apparent in the last part of the book, especially when you realise the elaborate plan of the antagonist, which ends in a very satisfying way after Barker’s earlier warnings.

Overall, I was very impressed with Behind a Closed Door, which proved to be a particularly epic and addictive thriller.  J. D. Barker has written a deeply compelling and intense thriller that makes excellent use of its more adult trappings and saucy inclusion to tell a complex tale of deceit, lies and betrayal.  Fast-paced, suitably dark, and loaded with memorable moments, Behind a Closed Door was an outstanding book that is really worth checking out.

Amazon