B.A. Paris

Surrey, England, UK

B.A. Paris (Bernadette MacDougall) is a Franco-British writer of fiction, mainly in the psychological thriller subgenre. Her debut novel, Behind Closed Doors (2016), was a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller. It has been translated into 40 languages and has sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide.

Her other books include The Breakdown (2017), Bring Me Back (2018), The Dilemma (2019) and The Therapist (2021). B.A. Paris was born in Surrey, England, in 1958 to a French mother and Irish father. She is the third of 6 children, including 4 brothers and a sister. After completing her education, she moved to France, where she worked as a trader in an international bank in Paris for several years. During this time, she met her husband, with whom she now has 5 daughters. They eventually left the world of finance to set up a language school together.

It was only after turning 50 that B.A. Paris began writing, when one of her daughters suggested she enter a writing competition advertised in a magazine. While she didn't win, this led her to write her first novels, including her internationally bestselling debut Behind Closed Doors. She is published by HarperCollins Publishers in the UK and St Martin's Press in the US.

Today, B.A. Paris lives in Hampshire with her husband and continues to write psychological thrillers. They have 5 children together.