This is the 3rd attempt for me to read this author. These books always get high ratings and the author seems to have a great following. Unfortunately, I just do not enjoy the writing and this was no different. Better than Behind Closed Doors, at least, but still, just not for me. I thought the narrator was one of the dumbest characters I've ever read. I wanted to slap her. The closed community vibe and Alice's growing obsession with what happened had its creepy moments and also spurts of excitement, but ultimately, I just did not enjoy this. I wanted to know the other characters better. I found the ending to be rushed and unbelievable. I didn't connect with or like Alice enough to even care by the end of the book. I grew bored with her constant questioning and quasi-detective work. I know fans of this author will enjoy this and I recognize this as a personal preference thing. I appreciate the opportunity to review this book and I respect the time and work that goes into writing, but as a reviewer, it is my responsibility to write my own honest opinion and this was a big miss for me.

This book was super weird, in a very awesome way! It took a minute for me to get hooked, but that was more a product of severely limited reading time. Once I got going, I couldn't put this down! This is my first B A Paris, and I will definitely be looking for more!

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this book. BA Paris has been a hit or miss for me. I did however guess "who did it " , but it was still a great read.

I read an advanced digital copy of this novel courtesy on the publisher through NetGalley. Review available on goodreads.

This was a satisfying thriller. I should preface by saying, I do enjoy the domestic thriller genre and this was exactly that - couple moves to new home on a tight knit street in a gated community, only to discover a murder has been committed in their house. The big reveal at the end wasn’t hugely shocking but the book was fun and fast paced all the way through. I read it in a day. This wasn’t quite 4 stars for me but it was definitely 3.5!

Where are my B.A. Paris fans at? Her upcoming thriller, The Therapist doesn’t release until mid-July, but you gotta get it on your radar now. I fondly remember getting an ARC of the author’s debut, Behind Closed Doors way back in the day. I inhaled it in just a few days, and it still remains one of my very favorite thrillers. That book blew my mind, and I still recommend it to people today. The Therapist is just as thrilling, shocking, and unputdownable. You all know how much I love neighborhood dramas, and everyone getting into each other’s business. It’s always a great source of entertainment, am I right? Well, prepare to be thoroughly entertained when Alice and Leo move into a newly renovated house in an exclusive gated community called The Circle. Secrets emerge as Alice tries to befriend her fellow residents, and suddenly she’s desperate to solve a murder case that occurred earlier in the community. Alice begins to question everyone in The Circle, and the reader starts to speculate and point fingers right along with her. The Therapist is an extremely clever, twisty, and suspenseful whodunnit mystery that you don’t want to miss. It gets a solid 4/5 stars from me! Be sure to grab a copy this summer.

This was a fun book for me that didn't require a lot of over thinking! It was pure escapism!

I had a similar reaction when I read the author's The Breakdown in 2017 (which I loved and gave 5 stars too because it just had that addictive quality to it). So much better than last year's The Dilemma. The main character Alice even reminded me of Cass from The Breakdown! They are both naive and paranoid but I still likeable.


This one has a quick pace that kept me guessing. I enjoyed the neighborhood concept of a "gated circle" where they looked out for each other and they believed they were all really secure. Or perhaps it is more like a prison? There are 12 houses that were originally identical until some did a few renovations.

Leo and Alice are the new couple on the circle looking for a new life. It will be a bumpy ride!!

It is a lighter mystery with that quick pace that had me just enough on edge to keep turning the pages. There is some repetition, some moments I had to gasp like someone threw all the wrong ingredients in my salad, but even with much of the logic thrown out, I gobbled it up! If you prefer dark and disturbing, this may be too light for you.

Recommend to those who like a little escape, along for the ride without minding the over the top disbelief factor!

This book was received as an ARC from St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was the ultimate thriller. I love when the book is set around a house where it is absolutely perfect and could be someone's dream home and then as we all know every house has secrets. This time it's the history and livelihood of the previous tenant being a therapist. Getting to know your neighbors is a great thing but they can reveal information that can change your life. In the case of Alice and Leo, it was not for the best. If you have a fascination for thrillers and history of homes, then this book will be right up your alley. There were many shocking moments and that had my heart racing and jaw dropping and I was actually disappointed when I was finished with this book and I am never disappointed after a thriller (I am usually relieved).

We will consider adding this title to our Adult Fiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest opinion.

B.A. Paris delivers another pyschological thriller that will have you questioning every one that lives in the Circle. Alice and Leo move into the exclusive community,the Circle, where the neighbors aren't very welcoming to Alice, at first. Alice discovers that a woman was murdered in the home prior to her purchase, and Alice feels responsible to figure out who committed the murder. The intrigue of the story has Alice and the readers questioning everyone's motives and alibis. Like other B.A. Paris books, this one will keep you guessing who the therapist is till the end!

How about that. I started this book wrong....

It was good. Slow to start. Lots of discovery and talking. But all of a sudden at 70% ish, it just came snowballing down, picking up speed.

I had no idea that the killer was actually the killer and didnt like Leo from the start...

Good book, first by this author.

Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC!

The Therapist is the newest novel by B.A. Paris, the author of one of my favorite psychological suspense thrillers, Behind Closed Doors. While this one has does have the reader guessing who is responsible for a heinous crime of a previous neighbor/homeowner in a gated community, it takes awhile for things to come together. Definitely a slow burn read.
Alice and Leo move into the prestigious house who once belonged to Nina, a therapist. Alice soon discovers that there are secrets in this close knit neighborhood and who is she to trust to solve the mystery surrounding Nina.

I liked this newest novel by Paris, I just wished it had a bit more suspense to it. I felt Alice to be a bit whiny, but then we all question ourselves sometimes and want to see the good in people and not distrust our gut feelings. Overall, a decent read with a bit of psychological play at the end.

Thank you to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for this advanced copy for my honest review. This novel is due out in July 2021.

This is my first book by B. A Paris. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read it.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun to try and keep up with all the little clues in the book. And I didn't know how it would end like I do in some books I've read.

I questioned a lot of why the main character Alice did things she did. But it's always normal to question some things in a book. And in the end it all made more sense, .

I finished this creepy thriller in less than a day!

Alice and her partner, Leo, move into The Circle, a small community within London. Although she feels unsettled at first, she quickly begins to make friends with the other couples in the community, and feels a kindred connection to Nina, the previous homeowner of her new unit in The Circle. All is going well, but secrets begin to be revealed - from her neighbors, from Leo, and even Alice’s own history.

Like many B. A. Paris before, The Therapist kept me turning pages, guessing who could be trusted, and trying to figure out the mysterious lives of those who reside in the private community of The Circle.

I received a complimentary copy of The Therapist from NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Great novel! This one had me on the edge of my seat for most of it! Every time I thought I had something figured out, a new piece of evidence would point me in a new direction. Alice became an amateur detective herself when she was confronted with the murder mystery history of her new house in the “The Circle”. She became suspicious of her new “friends”, their husbands, and even Leo, her own long-term common law husband as possible suspects in the murder. With the help of a handsome private investigator, Thomas Grainger, she gets closer to the truth than she intends, oh, but what a great story! (This would probably also make a great movie!)

It's only April and I've gotten to review TWO new-to-me authors! This year is a success already and it's barely a quarter past minted! I'M SO EXCITED, AND I JUST CAN'T HIDE IT...

(whew) --Pointers exhaled from my system--

Now. "The Therapist". I've had a few. But then again...they have absolutely nothing to do with this book, which is actually a real cracker of a tale which seemingly has little or nothing to do with therapy of any sort...but actually it does. Kinda sorta. I will try to explain without giving anything away, which would be a darned shame because I really enjoyed being puzzled by this story.

Alice and Leo have moved into a home in a gated community. It is, by all appearances, their dream home, obtained at a fire-sale price which ought to be waving all sorts of red flags for Alice right there, but there you go. Of course being as all of this is introduced in the first quarter of the book you know damned well that it isn't anyone's idea of a dream, and it becomes more like a nightmare, one which starts during their housewarming, where a misidentified (or is he?) guest makes an appearance. He's not who anyone thinks he is...or says he is. Who is the mysterious stranger, who later identifies himself as a private investigator? What sinister message does he share with Alice regarding the history of her new home?

Now, to be fair, having just finished a Stephen Graham Jones story a week or so prior, and being in a very horror-kinda groove, I was maybe reading some things into this story that really might not have been there. Which is a GOOD thing, actually...this means the author definitely does not telegraph her punches. To stick with the dark genre oeuvre for just a moment longer, she had a whole "House Next Door" thing going for me here, very very creepy, with a lot of the stuff happening to Alice when she is alone in the house...which she is, to an unhealthy extent, I think! But as a result of the news her PI is sharing with her, she's having serious trust issues with Leo, and I can understand why. And when one of her neighbors lays that ol' X-Files bit on her...you know, "Trust no one"...well, you might be excused for jumping to some conclusions. I sure did.

Anyway. The actual "therapist" makes frequent, abrupt appearances throughout, and you're never quite sure of the identity of this mysterious character. Until the end, which is as it should be, but it does make the little interstitial bits somewhat confusing. But stick with her, gang, she's got a pretty good thing going here. You'll end up rooting for Alice like I did, and the climax is awfully darned satisfying. This is no "cozy" mystery, no more than it's a ghost story a la Anne Rivers Siddons. B A Paris may have chopped out her own little niche here, and that can't be a bad thing.

Now then, the next question: Is it too late in the day for a run to the book store for a look-see if they have any more by her in stock...?

I was excited to read The Therapist by B. A. Paris, but I must admit I was mostly disappointed. This came as a surprise to me because I loved the author’s first book, Behind Closed Doors; I also liked The Breakdown and The Dilemma. Since this booked marked a return to the domestic suspense genre (after The Dilemma veered in a different direction), I expected to love it, which may have enhanced my disappointment.

I would like give it 2.5 stars but will round up to 3 because the writing was good. I like the author’s style of writing short chapters that often end on a cliffhanger. My problem was that the plot felt unbelievable and I couldn’t make myself like any of the characters. Alice’s actions in particular did not seem to match her character. For example, based on her backstory, I couldn’t believe she would so quickly trust another man after Leo. I figured out who the killer was quite early, which is unusual for me; I prefer to be surprised. There was a twist at the end I had not predicted, so I appreciated that.

I may recommend this to readers who are new to domestic suspense, but I’m afraid seasoned readers will want more substance. I do look forward to the next title by B. A. Paris, since I have liked some of her other titles.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

The Therapist was a mix of "I am now scared to live alone" and "can I trust anyone in my life?" kind of vibe. The setting works well with the mysterious murder of a therapist named Nina Maxwell. The setting takes place in a private/exclusive gated community of twelve houses. It seems like everyone knows everything about each other and sees everything yet everyone seems to look the other way when questions come up about Nina's murder. Alice and Leo move in to number six and meet all their neighbors + a mysterious man one night and chaos ensues from there. It was a really quick read but I wasn't a huge fan of the protagonist and wish there would have been a some more mystery/plot focus on Nina Maxwell and her husband. Overall, a good read!

When Alice and her boyfriend decide to live together and they manage to find a beautiful newer home in a small gated area of London. The home is beautiful, but since it had been listed for quite a while, Alice’s boyfriend is able to get a really good price on it. It’s not until Alice starts making friends with the neighbors that she finds out the true backstory on the house, putting herself in danger in the process. Another really good page turner from B. A. Paris---probably not my favorite, but definitely a good one to keep you interested and get your mind off your own troubles!

Special Note: Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Alice goes out of her comfort zone and moves into a house in The Circle with her boyfriend Leo, sight unseen. In The Circle there are 12 houses which are all exactly the same model. Alice invites all of the neighbors over for drinks in order to meet everyone and establish her place in the small group of friends. When a man shows up late, she assumes it is one of the neighbor's husbands. Shortly after, he disappears and none of the other guests have seem to have seen him at all. Just when Alice gets her bearings, she finds out that a murder had taken place in her house. The victims name was Nina, which is also the name of Alice's deceased sister. In the past, whenever Alice came across someone with the same name, she becomes obsessed. The same is true for this Nina and her murder case. Deeply disturbed, Alice begins fighting with her boyfriend about his lies and turning to the mysterious man for comfort. It turns out he is a "private investigator" looking into the murder. Soon, Alice decides she wants to leave The Circle for good and return to her old cottage. This is when things take a serious turn and Alice finds out that people in her life are not who they say they are. I loved this book! B. A. Paris really kept me on my toes. There were so many twists and turns she had me second guessing almost every character in the book. Great plot!

This book was intriguing and un-putdownable (yes, it's a word!). Although, I don't know why the author continually creates a protagonist that is so incredibly dumb. I also found the storyline a little far-fetched, but I still was hooked to the book. I know we always read these in reviews, but I truly didn't see the last twist coming!