This thriller felt like it was written solely to meet a book deadline. Here’s the story: A woman moves into a home with her boyfriend. He doesn’t tell her a murder took place there. The women becomes a Scooby-Doo neighborhood sleuth because the woman who died was named Nina (she’s the therapist) and the woman has a sister named Nina. That’s it. I did power through it, but it was painful.

So my MIL’s book club keeps picking B.A. Paris books (worst book club ever, right???) and this was this month’s selection. I remembered I had an ARC gathering dust somewhere so I figured what the hey – I ignored this long enough - why not check out the audio version from the library and give a listen whilst doing the weekend trudge? And now after having read two of this author’s awful stories, I can firmly say my opinion of her stuff is . . . NOPE!

The premise here is a weak one. Leo gets a real steal of a deal on a house in a gated estate that would allow his long-distance gal pal Alice to not only move in with him, but also the financial freedom to retain her own cottage. Then she finds out the previous owner was murdered and not only is totally not okay with living there, but also becomes SUPER nutso about “solving” the murder – despite the husband being believed to be the one whodunit and who is also now dead.

Eeesh.

Not only was this one a real stretch when it came to Alice feeling the need to Scooby Doo the dead chick, but also alllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the drama surrounding Leo not disclosing he bought a murder house . . . while Alice insisted on continuing to stay there and making HIM leave WHEN HE WAS THE EFFING OWNER! So stupid. Not to mention becoming besties with the entire circle immediately and being the most Edna Kravitz-y new neighbor ever and thinking everyone a suspect aside from the obvious suspect AND what a lackluster ending.

One of the best thrillers I read in 2021. The writing style was engaging, quick to the point and never felt like it was dragging on. A wonderful introduction to domestic thrillers.

This is my first book by BA Paris and will be my last. It was ok. Felt like any surprise was tiring by the end. I would have preferred either more connection to the MC backstory/sister or none. This amount just felt weird. Also the boyfriend job/story felt odd and incomplete.
thanks for the ARC

Woooohoo I LOVED this book. When Alice and Leo move into a newly renovated house in The Circle, a gated community of exclusive houses, it is everything they’ve dreamed of. But appearances can be deceptive…

This was my first B.A. Paris book, but will definitely not be my last! Twists, turns, and lots of edge-of-your=seat reading, and this book got me good!! I don't want to give away too much, so I'll just leave it at: if you enjoy mystery/suspense/thrillers, this one is definitely one to read!!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.
B.A.Paris will leave you guessing! Although there are more red herrings than I need in my thrillers, this one had me hooked from beginning to end!

Absolutely loved this book! BA Paris writes the best thrillers out there. There were so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. Paris kept me hooked up until the very last page.

Finding out the secrets of her new house is all that mattered. Getting that information is a long process since no one wants to share what happened two years before. An absolute page turner!

Thank you, BA Paris and NetGalley, for a copy of this eARC! I truly believe that BA Paris is unlike any writer I've read. The suspense built in plot always keeps me interested and the twists constantly surprise me. The Therapist was no different. The cover really interested me, but knowing that BA Paris is an artist of the writing craft made it a quick request that I don't regret at all! Thank you so much again!

A gripping tale that keeps you guessing. You know that something is up from the beginning of the small knit community. The twists and turns in this book will have you questioning who can be trusted. Another great read by B. A. Paris!

Loved this book! The plot was not only intriguing but was very fast paced. The twist!!!! Oh. My. Goodness. The twist was amazing! I never saw it coming.

Great book, B.A. Paris!! Great book!

I admire BA Paris for always trying new things because I like when authors do that! Is there anything worse than an author who writes the same book over and over again? However, the idea of this was intriguing but the execution was all over the place. This is not something I find myself recommending very often

An average thriller. It wasn’t terrible, just formulaic and predictable. Not one that will stick with me.

Once again, B A Paris delivers an edge of your seat thriller that keeps the reader guessing from start to finish.
Red herrings abound as everyone is suspect. I must admit that I felt a bit claustrophobic about The Circle. Paris does such a great job of pulling the reader into the story. Add in a plot twist paired with a grand reveal and you have all the key ingredients for a bestseller. If you enjoy fast-paced thrillers I suggest a session with The Therapist!

Another fantastic B.A. Paris novel. Just like all her other novels I could NOT put The Therapist down.

The story is set in a gated community in London. Everything seems perfect for Leo and Alice, a coupe who newly purchased a house in the community, but of course perfection isn't always reality. Little did Alica know, a woman was murdered in the house she now calls home.

B.A Paris kept me engaged and all my responsibilities went out the window! I just needed to know what was about to happen next. I kept guessing what would happen at the end and each time I was wrong over and over again.

I definitely cant wait for BA. Paris' next book!

A woman and her partner buy a home shadowed by the murder-suicide of the prior tenants. Delving into themes of trust and secrets can upend even the most polished of lives. Absolutely enthralling! B.A. Paris’s The Therapist is one of those unputdownable thrillers that will keep you flipping the pages late into the night (preferably with the lights on if you scare easily!).

Setting and Plot

The book is primarily narrated by Alice in present day and “the therapist” in the past timeline. In the present timeline, Alice has recently left her cottage in Harlestone to move to London and live with her long-distance boyfriend Leo. This move required quite a bit more time together than previously, when they only connected on weekends.

Their house is in a neighborhood called The Circle—a cul-de-sac of 12 houses. I thought the neighborhood and the cast of characters was fascinating and well-developed. I always enjoy a book where the setting is a part of the plot and that is certainly how I’d describe The Circle. Even the house that they live in with the garden doors and the closets and back patio felt completely like a piece of the story. We also learn that Alice and Leo differ quite a bit on how they want to engage with the neighbors. Leo doesn’t want to make friends with the neighbors but Alice invites several couples over for drinks in the garden against Leo’s wishes.

When an uninvited guest Tim shows up, Alice gives him the tour. Only later, Alice discovers Tim has disappeared and no one at the party knows he who was. Maybe he isn’t a neighbor after all…

Meanwhile the prior occupant Nina was a therapist who saw patients in the home until she was murdered in the very house Alice and Leo now live in. Nina’s husband takes his own life in the wake of the crime when suspicion falls on him. Alice becomes fascinated by trying to understand what happened to the prior tenants. Was it really Oliver who murdered Nina, or was something even more sinister at play?

The Characters

The characters in The Therapist are classic B.A. Paris characters. Flawed, complex, and living through the stressful and suspenseful situations she throws them into. The majority of the story is told from Alice’s perspective and she is a largely likable character in my opinion. We learn more about Alice’s backstory, that her parents and sister (who is also named Nina) were killed in a car accident more than ten years ago and this adds complexity to her discovering that the prior resident was named Nina and was murdered in the home.

Her partner Leo is an interesting character, to say the least. I didn’t like him as much—I found him aloof and a bit shady—but it can be hard to get to know a character solely through the perspective of another character. Leo at times is dismissive of Alice’s cares and fears and motivations, which is harder to swallow when I felt that she really did move her life for him and not the other way around. Leo also didn’t tell Alice about the previous tenants before they move in and I felt it showed maybe a bit of selfishness at best that he didn’t consider how she might feel about it given the death of her own family.

The other characters from the neighborhood were fascinating. This isn’t the typical stepford neighborhood we sometimes see in these books, the neighbors have their own unique situations and personalities and secrets to be revealed. Then there is the mysterious Tim who no one besides Alice saw. I wondered who Tim was and why he showed up to Alice’s party. There is also a private investigator that Alice works with after he is hired by the sister of the late Oliver. They have a shared mission of wanting to understand what happened and I enjoyed that character being part of the story.

Then of course we have Nina, the therapist. Her chapters aren’t as lengthy or frequent as Alice but I think she was important to include. We don’t get a great sense of the timing of Nina’s chapters relative to her death, but I enjoyed learning about her and her dynamics with her patients.

Overall Thoughts

This is a read-in-a-day sort of book which I find to be common for B.A. Paris. The Therapist was probably one of my favorites by this author, though I’ve loved most of them. I thought the plot was great and focused heavily on the characters while still moving forwards. I love a character-driven suspense novel so this delivered above and beyond. At times I get used to neighborhood books like this having a fairly shallow cast of neighbors, but that wasn’t the case in The Therapist. Every house in the cul-de-sac felt like it was part of a real neighborhood. The neighbors were at different ages, life stages, socioeconomic means (relative to them all owning a home in this nice neighborhood). And they all hold secrets. All of them.

The twists were a delight for me, a very few I sort of suspected and many others I had no idea they were coming. I felt the suspense was set to increase throughout the book which made it a lot of fun to read and ponder how it would all conclude.

A thrilling read for the thriller-lovers out there!

This wasn't my first book by B.A. Paris and it won't be the last. While I did find this one a little slower than their other works I still super enjoyed it. It's a great job of what happens in gated communities between hushed whispers and what happens when you're determined to dig out the truth and find out what crime really took place in a small area.

This was just an ok read for me. I love B. A. Paris, but this one fell flat. I wasn’t a fan of Alice, so maybe that’s what it wasn’t great for me.

I love B.A. Parises other books, and this one didn't disappoint. The story is set around Alice and her boyfriend Leo who purchase a beautiful house in a gated community at a very affordable price, an almost to good to be true price. This affluent neighborhood is called The Circle. After moving in Alice discovers why; there was a murder in the house they bought. Alice becomes obsessed with learning the how's and the whys of the murder of Nina, who was a therapist.

The pacing of the book was good and there were some twists, which I love. I would think this would be a great vacation book, toss it in your beach bag or read it on the airplane.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the review copy.

A suspenseful, easy and entertaining read.
I like how the author sets up her books! The shorter chapters were easy to read & make it fast pace read...always wanted to go on to the next chapter. All of BA Paris books are very addictive suspenseful books.