4 stars

I’ve read B.A. Paris’s other books, and while none have captivated me quite the same way that Behind Closed Doors did, I’ve enjoyed them all, and The Therapist is probably my second favourite. The novel contained a few good twists and turns; I found myself distrusting a few different characters throughout, and although I wasn’t totally surprised by some parts of the ending, I did enjoy the way the story wrapped up, and I’m very glad to have been able to read it in advance of its publication date. I would recommend this book to others who are also looking for a fun, suspenseful thriller.

I have enjoyed all of the BA Paris books I have read so far, and this book is no different. She is a master at giving voice to all of the insecurities, doubts, fears and panic we feel when faced with different challenges. Although I guessed the ending, the path is a twisting one that makes you question the motives of everyone in the story, including the main characters. I really enjoyed the interactions between the characters because they reflected real people - some days your neighbor is your best friend, other days you can't avoid them fast enough. I found myself not liking the main character Alice much, but it didn't prevent me from liking the story and the way the suspense and panic built. If you like psychological thrillers, you can't go wrong with a BA Paris novel! I highly recommend this read!

The Therapist is the latest book by B. A. Paris. With this story Ms Paris immediately grabs the reader's attention, quickly turning The Therapist into a page turner. I read this in less than a day as I couldn't put it down. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy to review.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of "The Therapist" in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was eagerly awaiting a new book from B.A. Paris and this book did NOT disappoint. It grabbed me from page one and did not let go until the last page. I wanted to keep turning pages so see what happens next but I also did not want the book to end.

The story begins in the past with a therapy session between two unidentified people. We can't tell if they are both women, both men or a man and a woman.

The story then moves to present day London where Alice Dawson and Leo Curtis are moving into Number 6 at The Circle. Alice decides to have a drinks party to meet the new neighbours. While Leo is not happy, he goes along with it. We meet Connor and Tamsin, Eve and Will - Edward and Lorna rarely go out, while Maria and Tim are having trouble getting a sitter.

A man arrives at the party and Alice assumes it's Tim, briefly wonders why he calls his wife "Mary" instead of Maria. She never really gives him a chance to introduce himself. Who is this mystery man and why would he crash a drinks party?

Alice rented out her cottage in Harlestone to move in with Leo. He says that he's estranged from his parents. He doesn't like socializing, he feels that they don't need anyone other than their own company.

Strange things happen in the house ~ Alice's white sundress goes missing and then reappears smelling of being freshly washed. A white rose appears on the window sill, a bottle of expensive champagne is in the fridge, shoes moved in the closet, the feeling that someone is in the room while they are sleeping.

The previous occupant of the house Nina Maxwell was murdered in the bedroom. When Alice learns that Leo knew this and didn't think to tell her, she embarks on a mission to find out who killed her. Even though he husband Oliver was accused of the crime.

Alice overhears Tamsin, Eve and Maria talking about her. Tamsin doesn't like Alice and her behaviour borders on rude. Lorna and Edward are rarely out but Alice does learn that their only son was killed in Iraq. Alice can relate to their pain because she lost her parents and 22 year-old sister in a car accident when she was 19.

The story is woven through with therapy sessions from the past that once the reader gets to the end of the book all make sense. The mystery man is also revealed. The story concludes 6 months after the final scene. It neatly pulls together all the different things that were happening in the book.

5 stars are not enough for this book. It met my expectations and absolutely exceeded them. I can't wait to see what B.A. Paris writes next.

This was a fun book with a quick pace that kept me guessing throughout. I especially enjoyed the ‘gated community’ setting, keeping the tension and suspense within a small and secluded neighborhood. My only complaint was the number of characters. I spent a lot of time trying to keep everyone straight (and which house they lived in), that it took away from my detective skills in trying to solve the case. Overall an enjoyable read that I would recommend!

The Therapist by B. A. Paris
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Alice and Leo move into a new house in an exclusive neighborhood. But when Alice discovers a devastating secret about the new house she becomes obsessed with the past. In a new house surrounded by people she barely knows she becomes suspicious of everyone and everything.
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What I liked:
-I loved the full cast of suspicious characters! I never could settle on who to trust, I kept ping-ponging back and forth from guess to guess.
-It took me forever to figure out what was going on in the POV of the therapist.
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What I didn’t like:
-Some of the actions from our main character made her come off as a hypocrite and that bugged me a little bit.
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4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 I really enjoyed this thriller! Thank you Netgalley for my digital copy to read. Pub date 7/13/21.

This was the first book that I’ve read from B.A. Paris and it certainly won’t be the last! One of my favorite parts of a suspenseful mystery thriller is playing detective. I say it all the time, I would make a terrible one, but that doesn’t stop me from trying and failing. And trying again, but mostly failing. I digress. THE THERAPIST had that neighborhood vibe where everyone is a suspect. My theories bounced around from person to person, committing to someone then committing to someone else. This story was a fun rollercoaster of emotions, as my spidey senses zoomed around like a pinball machine.

A woman moves into an exclusive gated community with her partner. She decides to hold a housewarming party to get to know her neighbors. Her partner is put off by the idea. Everyone is friendly enough, if not slightly standoffish. The woman wonders why. She soon realizes that… a murder occurred in the home she now lives in. Her partner knew and he did not tell her! I would be so upset! Rightfully, she is, but she’s also unsettlingly intrigued because they never found the killer. Going back to the whodunit, it could’ve been anyone! And it does seem like it is everyone at one point in the book, which made it even more fun. When the killer is revealed, once again, I was surprised, but also delighted that I guessed it. Process of elimination is a wonderful thing, until you’re down to final choices and guess the right one!

Unlike many readers, I really loved this author's previous novel (The Dilemma), which was a bit of a departure from her typical thriller style. With this book she is back in thriller mode, and I did enjoy this one as well. I still stand by my opinion that I don't think thriller writers always have to stay within that genre to write a good book, but it does seem that some get pigeon holed with what readers expect. This one has all your normal thriller must haves, lots of secrets, lies, twists and turns. I liked the fact that we are given these throughout the novel as opposed to just a big dump at the end. I'm not sure if I really liked the main protagonist Alice (not even sure if I was supposed to), she had her moments when she pulled me in, but she also did some really stupid things that annoyed me. In the end my opinion of her didn't matter because the pacing kept me turning pages to find out what really happened in Alice's new neighborhood. There were most definitely tense moments, and the pages written from the therapist's viewpoint were interesting as the reader tried to figure out which therapist (there were a few mentioned) was writing them. The end was a humdinger, although by that point I would not have been surprised by anyone being guilty! I will say that the sections with Alice's neighbors did get a bit repetitive, but with the plot moving quite fast I almost felt like it was giving me a breather before the next twist.

This would be a perfect read if you want a bit of escapism and a plot that isn't so complicated that you have to think too hard. This one should get a lot of traction from those who like thrillers as opposed to romance summer reads.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for my digital ARC. I have liked this author's books in the past and looked forward to reaching The Therapist. Sadly, I did not find it as intriguing as some previous novels. I thought the storyline was really dragging and repetitive and the many cast of characters in the neighbors were a little hard to keep track of. I never took a liking to Alice and was actually happy to have the book completed so I could move on. Sorry, B.A. Paris, this one wasn't a favorite for me.

A gated community. Shocking information about the new house. New neighbors. Trust them or don't?

We follow Alice while she attempts to find out more information about what happened. Alice bugs others with her constant questions. She bugs me too. We're not sure what's what with Alice's partner Leo. Secrets galore, which in turn lead to twists when they're revealed.

Thanks to BA Paris, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read this suspenseful book.

Thanks to the publisher for the advanced ecopy and audiobook of The Therapist by BA Paris. I went back and forth between the two reading options.

The audiobook narrators were very good.

The Therapist was my fourth BA Paris novel and I enjoyed it very much. I read it in basically two sittings with much resentment that I had to put it down at all. As a lifelong introvert, I could absolutely NOT relate to Alice's immediate desire to throw a party for all the residents of her and Leo's new neighborhood, but I KNOW people LIKE her. Haha. Anyway, that party device worked well for setting up the mystery of who killed the former resident of Alice and Leo's home. I kept guessing the entire novel and thought the resolution was satisfying even if overall the likelihood of such a plot happening and working in real life is next to zero.

The Therapist was fun. The characters were interesting. There is only on BA Paris novel I have yet to read, and I own it so I will cover that one eventually. Basically, put me in the camp of being a big fan of hers and I look forward to each book she publishes. I have not been disappointed in a single one.

“What if Nina Maxwell’s spirit is living on, here in the house, waiting for justice to be done?”

The Therapist is my fourth B. A. Paris book, since I skipped The Dilemma after being let down by Bring Me Back. The Therapist did not disappoint, but I did find myself thinking that certain aspects of the book could have been exploited more to elevate the book from the huge domestic thriller genre.

Alice and Leo decide to move in together after dating long distance, and they pick a quant gated community in London called The Circle. Alice soon learns that the house had been owned by a therapist named Nina who had been murdered by her husband, Oliver, right in Alice’s new bedroom. Alice soon finds herself curious (more like obsessed) about Nina, and she starts to wonder if maybe the police had gotten it wrong and that Oliver, who soon after becoming a suspect committed suicide, hadn’t been the culprit. Alice starts to suspect everyone in the small community of being involved somehow in the brutal killing, even while tying to become friends with them.

The Therapist takes place mostly in the present time, with a few back flashes, that don’t add much to the plot or the suspense, though are interesting to look back on after having finished the book. At the beginning of the book I hated Alice; felt she wasn’t very bright and that this was going to be another book with a woman who just makes dumb decisions, but those feelings changed about half way through. She becomes a significantly stronger and more relatable character.

Once Alice starts suspecting someone is sneaking into her house at night, I found myself hoping that this would add some gothic notes to the book, and turn the house itself into a bigger character, this turned out not to be the case. Nevertheless, the second half of the book threw me off with red herrings, and I have to say that I did not see the ending coming!

I would recommend this book to those who crave a thriller that will surprise them and keep them guessing.

3.5 Stars - Rounding up to 4

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Therapist by BA Paris is a great thriller set in a gated community, The Circle, in the heart of London. Alice is on edge leaving her small cottage for the big city, but is thrilled with her new relationship and chance to start over. When she learns that their home was the sight of a grisly murder, and there are questions about the identity of the murderer, Alice can’t keep the sense of unease away. I always love the twists and turns and writing style of this author and this book was the page turner I was looking for! I highly recommend this book. I received an ARC from NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Such a good twisty thriller! Fast paced and constantly making you question everything you think you know, I really enjoyed it! I ended up guessing the "whodunnit" but was still surprised by some of the twists at the end. If you need a quick poolside thriller, this is it!!

(3.5 stars) Quick, immersive read. Short chapters with a fast pace kept me drawn in, finishing this book in one day. I’d call this an escapism thriller. (Is that a thing? It totally should be a thing.)

So many questions. So many lies. Paris creates the perfect ambiance for this mystery. The community should be a beautiful, exclusive haven in the poshest area of London. Instead this gated community seems much more like a prison. Those big, open windows in every house dictates that someone is always watching. Yet no one seems to sees the important things. Inside the gates, everything feels more ominous.

The neighborhood’s menacing feel is enhanced by the neighbors themselves. The secrets and lies…the spying and manipulating…just who are they really? Alice wants to like them. She wants to trust them. But each one seems to have a shadiness that leads her to question whether they are friend or foe.

Oh Alice. Our main character has experienced great loss. That allowed me to overlook her obsessive and obtuse nature at first. Loss certainly does change people. But eventually she wore me down. On one hand, she’s entirely too trusting. On the other, she is suspicious of everyone and paranoid about everything. Rather than thinking logically, she overanalyzes and talks herself into some of the most ridiculous of theories while allowing important clues all around her to go unnoticed. Ultimately, Alice’s naivety did not make her endearing.

The plot flows quickly. Before I knew it, I was closing in on the big reveal. But after the suspense mounted, the ending fell flat to me. It made sense. I had suspected it even. But it wasn’t as satisfying as I had hoped.

The crazy thing about this book is that even through its flaws, it kept me entertained and engaged. Maybe this is the “beach read” version of a thriller? If you’re looking for a good escapism and favor mysteries, I’d say this is your next read.

Thank you B.A. Paris, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.

I get very excited when a new book by B.A. Paris comes out. There's just something about her writing style that make her books so fun to read. The goal for me when I read a thriller or mystery is to have a good time and I did with The Therapist even though it had a weak ending.

Alice and her partner, Leo, have just moved into a home located in a gated community called The Circle. She soon learns something horrible about the house and what happened to the previous owners. Alice suspects there is more to the story and is determined to find out the truth. Unfortunately her new neighbors are not exactly forthcoming with a lot of information. Hmm.. a neighborhood full of secrets.

The setup is here for a good story as it's one of those reads in which you don't really trust any character. Your suspicious radar detector is working in overdrive throughout the story. And because of that you can't say with 100% confidence you know exactly what is going on. When the author does start revealing everything to the reader, it felt disappointing. Other than a few minor details, nothing comes out of left field. If you are a regular reader of the genre I don't think there is anything about the conclusion that will wow you.

Endings are tricky thing to pull off though and I still overall enjoyed this book.

Alice and Leo decide to take a leap in their relationship, moving in together for the first time. Leo finds a fantastic house at an exceptionally low price and the two jump at the opportunity to move into the exclusive community “The Circle.” A short time later, Alice learns a devastating secret about the previous owners and becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth. But when the neighbors are continuously lying and she learns that she can’t even trust Leo, she begins to wonder whether “The Circle” is as perfect as it seems.

There are only a handful of authors that I read religiously and B.A. Paris is one of them. I am so glad this one exceeded my expectations (having been let down by the last two). That said, there isn’t a lot of depth here. My interest in the book comes mainly from how easy it was to picture The Circle and all of its residents. After all, it was basically Desperate Housewives in written form...which makes me want to watch the series again, just saying. Seriously though, I enjoyed all of the characters (except Alice, bc she could actually benefit from continued work with a therapist and yet doesn’t seem to care at all.)

There was a lot going on that didn’t seem to add to the story, and I felt like the ending was fairly predictable. I suspected the right person from pretty early on. There were definitely a couple twists I didn’t expect, but not enough to bump up my rating.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I have enjoyed several other books by B.A. Paris and this one was unfortunately my least favorite, though it still gets a solid 3 stars for me. This genre is getting incredibly , shall I say "competitive" , as there are so many thriller mysteries out there to read. It is currently the "IT" genre. Which in turn makes an author's job more and more difficult. They must think of new twists and turns all while hiding the true mystery until the end.
This story moved along well and kept my interest from the start. Nina and her partner Leo agree on a house in a small knit community for security and proximity to the city. Soon the secrets of the neighborhood are revealed and Nine feels unsafe in her new home. With lots of characters and back stories this book is a lot to keep track of. The ending was well done as much as I had my suspicions the way in which the murder happened what quite a twist.
Not a bad mystery, definitely worth your time if you enjoy British set mysteries.

I really enjoyed this one! Super original story and relatable characters. The only thing I didn’t like was the false twists the author threw in (like the neighbor always standing at the window) to throw off the reader from figuring out who could have been the bad guy. Lots of good twists, too though! Thanks so much for the opportunity to read and review; I will definitely recommend it to others!