A intriguing story of a couple that moves into a home where a murder occured. Soon the neighbors are involved and their dream home becomes a place of mysterious happenings and questions unanswered. Secrets abound and as they investigate the victims they become obsessed in solving the murder.

I like this as a fast paced good beach read. The charcters were not that likable but the premise of the book makes for a interesting read.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley. I gave it 4 stars for the intrigue and uniqueness of the plot.

Imagine moving into a home and discovering a brutal murder took place in your bedroom.Would you move? Would you feel betrayed that your significant other didn't tell you?
Alice is excited to move into a newly renovated home in a very upscale community. The neighbors all seem so nice but Alice soon discovers they are keeping a secret, one that will change everything. Dreams of a future in her new home change to investigative work trying to put the pieces together as to what happened. Alice discovers a therapist named Nina used to own her home and was murdered there. There is a man in jail for the crime but his sister has hired a P.I. to help find the real killer because she knows her brother is innocent. Alice feels betrayed and hurt that she didn't know about the murder before she moved in and frankly doesn't feel comfortable living there knowing the details of what happened. She can't go back to her own place because she has leased it out so she will stay and try to help bring the real killer to justice. The more she finds out the more she thinks she knows who the killer was....but she might have it al wrong.

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my honest review.*

Alice and Leo are moving in together after long distance dating for a year or more. Leo buys a house and has renovations done without Alice seeing it in person and Alice is able to keep her family home outside of London while they settle in. The new home is in a gated street community for safety, but Alice is having a hard time connecting with the neighbors. And then Alice is devastated with news about a tragedy that happened in the home.

As Alice begins to gather info about the tragedy and whether Leo was aware of it before purchasing the house, everyone becomes a suspect of something. Everyone! There was so much info coming at Alice and everything was pointing to someone different. And because Alice moved into the house without knowing of the tragedy, she was off putting to some of the residents of the community thinking she was cold hearted and uncaring. Something that could not have been further from the truth.

There were some great twists and misdirection through out the novel and it definitely kept me on the edge of my seat! I enjoy reading Paris' novels as they are well paced and I really feel like I know what the MC is feeling and thinking. And some points still give me the willies!

I’ve read a few of B.A. Paris’ novels now, including Behind Closed Doors and Bring Me Back and The Dilemma, and they’re always good thrillers that are easy to speed through. So it was a no-brainer when I was offered The Therapist and I have to say each book gets better than the last. The Therapist is my favorite of her novels by far (although Bring Me Back is also up there)!

A couple (Alice and Leo) move into a private, gated community only to discover the former tenant of their new home (Nina) was brutally murdered. As Alice gets to know her neighbors, she begins digging into Nina’s life and questioning who murdered her. Everyone in the community is a suspect—even Alice’s own fiancé!

Alice begins to uncover all sorts of deceptions and strange connections between the neighbors. It seems everyone’s spouse was interested in Nina and no one wanted to talk about the murder as if they could just pretend it didn’t happen. The detailed description of The Circle (the gated community) added so much to this narrative, but also added a realistic creep-factor. Having all of the houses built in a circle around a small park space makes total sense when house hunting for a family-friendly community, but B.A. Paris really showed the other side of that in which all of the neighbors can watch and monitor everyone else’s homes. This is one thing that has definitely stuck with me as I’m in the middle of my own house hunt!

The Therapist was a bit lighter (and less disturbing) than some of the typical psychological thrillers I read, which made it a really fun and easy read. Yet, it still had so many surprises! It kept me guessing at every turn and I really felt like Alice, only figuring out what was going on as she did. I try to keep my reviews spoiler-free, so I’ll just say that was seriously floored by this novel! I did not see those final twists coming. This one was definitely one of my favorite books of the summer and of #SRC2021!

This was my first book by B.A. Paris, but it won't be my last! This was an excellent slow burn, with an interesting cast of characters. I enjoyed the main character, although admittedly, sometimes I wanted to give her a bit of a shake! :) I thought I had figured out the mystery at about 52%, but of course, I was wrong. There were a number of twists that kept me guessing, and the ending was definitely a surprise. A great read!!

This book was provided to me compliments of #NetGalley for my honest opinion.

B.A.Paris knows what you like and how to draw you in. This one is a must read.

Leo buys a big house in London so he and his girlfriend, Alice, can live together. It’s in a gated community. One day Alice invites the neighbors for a drinks evening. Most of them come but so does a gate crasher who she thinks is a husband of one of her neighbors. She shows him how they’ve opened up the bedrooms to make a bigger space. Then she doesn’t see him again that evening.

Leo has kept lots of secrets from Alice, most of which are too much for her to bear. She moves out of their bedroom.

Of course, there’s more, but I’ll let you read it for yourself. I normally really like how Paris handles characters and their flaws, but Alice was just too undecided about everything. Until about halfway through the pages, I was confused about all the couples’ names and who was who.

Other than those two issues, the book read fast and smooth. It kept you guessing because almost everyone had a motive to be the killer. If you’ve not read Paris before, please pick this one up. You won’t regret it.

The Therapist was not a book that drew me in.
I had a very hard time getting into the plot.
The characters were not very engaging. The main character, Alice, really started getting on my nerves which made it hard to keep reading.
This may be a book others will enjoy. It just wasn’t for me.
I would like to read more from the author.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

4 stars! A suspenseful, easy and entertaining read!

Alice and Leo purchase a home in a tight knit gated community known as The Circle. Alice is excited to make new friends and feel a sense of belonging in this new neighbourhood while Leo holds back from socializing too much. Soon after they move in, Alice senses something isn’t right. She begins to question her neighbours intentions and doesn’t know who she can genuinely trust, including Leo.

This was the perfect read for me during a really busy time. The shorter chapters were easy to fly through. The pace and flow were consistent and kept me highly intrigued and invested. Each chapter had my curiosity building and my suspicions changing. There isn’t a lot to overthink with this book which I loved - it was exactly what I needed at the time I read it. There were some questionable elements to the plot but the writing was so smooth and addictive that they didn’t bother me.

I truly love this author! I’ve read all of her books and highly recommend them if you want an addictively suspenseful and entertaining story without having to think too much. They are books that you can just sit back and enjoy as the plot unfolds, keeping you intrigued to the last page. Nothing too intense or gripping, but extremely enjoyable nonetheless. They all follow that same formula of slowly building up tension and suspense and throwing some great unexpected twists and turns in the mix.

Thank you to St Martins Press for the physical review copy! I am already looking forward to what this author comes out with next!

This book is OUT NOW!

I loved this clever thriller. The characters were well developed, and the story kept you at the edge of your seat.
As always, B. A. Paris crafts an intriguing tale. Highly recommended

I included this title as part what's new in suspense, mystery, and thrillers in the month of July. I promoted on Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram. https://www.bethfishreads.com/2021/07/22-mysteries-thrillers-suspense-novels.html

Look for my audiobook book review in AudioFile Magazine.

Even thought I figured out who the bad guy was early on, it was still enjoyable to read how the protagonist, Alice, gives in to her fantasies time and time again. She indulges her imagination beyond what any normal person would do, so it was fun to watch her go off the rails.
Holding her new boyfriend to high standards , Alice fusses and obsesses about a murder that happened before she moved into the house. But any reasonable standards by which to evaluate information seems to escape her and she reacts to each new revelation in an over dramatic fashion.
I enjoyed reading her story, and things move pretty quickly and the ending is more or less satisfying.

Alice moves with her partner Leo into a new home that has a horrible history, one that raises her suspicions of all her brand-new neighbors. I unquestionably appreciated The Therapist in that Sunday afternoon, read it as fast as you can way. The B.A. Paris mystery is laid out and the suspects are not improbable in that way that can be frustrating. It’s effortlessly consumed and very well-paced, and I appreciated the way Paris focused on Alice’s state of mind as she grew increasingly paranoid and desperate for answers. It’s a fun, read in one go, type of mystery.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This was a good, quick Mystery/Thriller read. Alice and Leo move into a house in a gated community called The Circle. They think they've moved into the home of their dreams, but Alice quickly realizes that's not the case. Two years before, therapist Nina was killed in the house, allegedly by her husband. Alice starts digging into the murder, convinced the husband didn't kill his wife.

The more Alice gets to know her neighbors, the more she suspects they have dark secrets of their own, and that they know more about the murder than they are saying. Alice's obsession with the murder puts a strain on her relationship with Leo, and as Alice keeps digging she puts her relationship and life on the line.

This was a quick and easy read. I enjoyed the book, but it's not a very deep or twisty mystery. Alice's character was pretty flat. The death of Alice's sister is eluded to several times in the book, but why Alice feels so deeply about it is never explained until the end of the book. The explanation is unsatisfying, as is the fact that it's dumped on the reader and then quickly dismissed and never explored. This was an unnecessary plot point that added nothing to the story, especially the way it was handled. It was enough that anyone would be weirded out by living in a house where someone was murdered, nothing else was needed. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this book and like the author's writing style.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. All opinions are my own.

The Therapist - B. A. Paris
Genre: Thriller
Star rating : ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫

Thoughts:
B.A. Paris knows how to write a thriller that keeps you at the edge of your seat! I fell in love with her work after reading Behind Closed Doors. The Therapist didn't disappoint. I enjoyed the stalkerish feel in this book. I loved that It took me a while to figure out who the “bad guy” was, and she does a great job keeping you guessing to the very end. If you are new to thrillers, I recommend picking up B.A. Paris books.

Thank you, @stmartinspress, for the copy of The Therapist.

Without giving spoilers, I can say that this is about a husband and wife who move to an exclusive, gated community in London. The neighbors vary from friendly, to nosy, to avoidant, to hostile. And then there is THE mystery about the house and its previous resident. Not a perfect book, but more than good enough!

B.A. Paris is back! For me this book is right up there with the suspense of Behind Closed Doors. If you were a fan of that one, then I think you will enjoy The Therapist. It's hard to put down once you start it and will keep you guessing until the end.

Alice and Leo move to a gated community called "The Circle," where the neighbors are mostly nice but also secretive. Alice wants nothing more than to find friends and get to know everyone. She soon finds out that boyfriend, Leo, bought the house holding back a big secret about its past. Soon Alice falls into an obsession of trying to find out the truth about what really happened to the previous owners. Alice's main character flaw, which drove me crazy at times, was her naivety. She is a likable character though so that will make up for it. Like Alice, I suspected every neighbor to be a murderer at one point or another. It was like a game of Clue set in a gated community vs one house.

Looking for a fast paced domestic thriller? Pick this one up.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this copy for review.

This book focuses on a couple who just moved into The Circle. A cluster of houses in a gated area with a very close knit little community of neighbors. But of course nothing is like it seems and the main character Alice is obsessed with finding out what happened to the woman who used to live at her house. So of course. I wanted to read this. I loved BA Paris's books The Breakdown & Behind Closed Doors. This one started off incredibly slow....for like more then 75% of the book I was bored. The main character frustrated me and I found her incredibly annoying. I was also suspecting all of her neighbors so Paris definitely swayed me that way. Just when I was assuming I would not be loving this book...the twist happened. And I was blindsided. Just like Alice was and I felt dumb for not suspecting anything (just like Alice did). Any author that can get me to be completely unsuspecting gets a high five in my book. I will say, I hoped for more suspense or drama throughout the book. The ending was a blast to read but it was A LOT to get too. I'm not sure I would have finished if I wasn't listening to it. It was losing my focus a lot. BUT. The twist was fantastic. 3.5 rounded to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exhange for an honest review.
I have wanted to read a book by B.A. Paris for a very long time.
When I discovered that her newest book, "The Therapist" was available to review, I jumped at the chance to receive a copy.
I found it to be an addictive story that pulled me in & didn't let me go until its final page.
The ending was a totally unexpected surprise.
I will definitely be reading more books by this author.

The Therapist
BA Paris

The Therapist was such a compulsive read - it definitely had all the creeps and intensity of an atmospheric thriller read which I enjoyed.

This is a story of Alice and Leo who moves in to a beautiful home in The Circle - everything seems idyllic until it was learned that the previous home owners were part of a murder-suicide. Now everything quickly turns sinister as Alice becomes obsessed with discovering the truth.

This was a great read I thoroughly enjoyed.