I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I struggled hard with this book. Really hard. I had to force myself to finish this one. I couldn't wait to read it either. I was pumped to dive into another book from Ms. Paris. I've loved most of her previous books.

This book is painstakingly slow. Actually, painstakingly slow doesn't even begin to describe it. Truth nugget: This is one of the dullest books I've read in a long time.

The majority of the book went through the main character's every day routines over and over again. There felt like there was no point to this book. I truly thought about giving up.

Towards the end, things finally picked up. At that point, I had already checked out. The twists and aha moments didn't hit me with the desired effect they should have.

I hate to say it, but this book just wasn't it for me. I will look forward to the author's next book though. We're all allowed a dud here and there.

I was super excited to read B.A. Paris' latest book and so glad when I received an advanced copy. The premise revolved around Alice and Leo moving into their dream house in the exclusive community in London called The Circle. The only drawback, the house has a tragic past. The story revolves around the incident as Alice tries to piece together what happened. I found the middle was a little redundant in regards to Alice constantly questioning the other neighbors to see if she can get to the bottom of what happened as well as the secrets the other neighbors may be harboring. It seemed like her questions were the same over and over. I think this could have been cut down a little bit as it seemed to slow the story down a bit. With that said, however, the last third of the book really picked up. Several red herrings as well as a nice little twist at the end definitely made up for it. Certainly worth the read.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for my copy

The Therapist is a twisty thrill ride where everyone is lying to others or to themselves. The reveal of the killer is a tad clunky and somewhat of a let down rather than the "A-HA" moment it should of been. That being said, B.A. Paris has written another heart pounder where I could not put it down. The undercurrents between the neighbors of the Circle were deliously juicy. The dynamics between Alice and Leo were plausible but perhaps a bit one sided on creating empathy for Alice and her plight while painting Leo as the bad guy. The spying of noisy neighbors in the exclusive enclave was propelling the plot along while Alice bumbled through the investigation of who killed Nina the previous occupant.

I had been waiting so long for an ARC of this and finally got it. I wanted to love it because I'm a big fan of B. A. Paris but this one just didn't do it for me. Maybe I just have a hard time with super annoying and dumb protagonists? But the choices the main character made throughout the novel just really took me out of the whole thing. In the end it was just too predictable for me. Sorry!

The Therapist was a quick read. Alice and Leo move into their new beautiful home called The Circle. It’s a gated community with a selective number of houses. It’s almost to good to be true. Life’s perfect until Alice discovers secrets that Leo has kept from her #netgalley #goodreads

4 solid stars. This may be my favorite of Paris’ books. I enjoyed Alice as a narrator and I really loved the concept of the gated community with tons of secrets; I know it’s been done before, but I think the development was spot on and I found myself continually questioning who the murderer could be. I didn’t particularly love the ending, I wish it had been someone else, but I imagine others will enjoy it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Therapist pulls off the most amazing feat-it is both too much and not enough. The plot is disjointed, and B.A. Paris wastes an inordinate amount of time trying to get us to believe a totally implausible story. The biggest mystery is the identity of The Therapist-several characters fit the bill. Throw in people who repeatedly go out of their way to make life harder than it needs to be-(they are the literary equivalent of the Geico "don't make bad decisions" commercial where a group of kids thinks the best place to hide from the bad guy is behind a row of chainsaws)- and The Therapist leaves you shaking your head in disbelief (like the villain in the Geico commercial!). But don't hold The Therapist against Miss Paris-she is a very talented writer who knows her way around a good mystery (Behind Closed Doors & The Breakdown are among her best)-this just isn't one of them.

It seems I'm in the minority of reviewers who haven't raved over this novel. The many plot threads stretched my suspension of disbelief to the breaking point, and the info dump at the end that explained everything came too late for me to appreciate the twists. I wish I could offer more enthusiasm, but I do appreciate the opportunity to read this book. Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing an ARC to review.

This was my first read from B.A. Paris and I was impressed! I enjoyed this thriller because of it's twists and turns and unexpected ending. The author did a good job making all of the characters somewhat unlikeable, which left the reader assuming that the mystery murderer could have been anyone. While the middle of the book was a bit slow and Alice, the main character, was kind of annoying, I overall enjoyed the read and would recommend this book to those who enjoy thrillers.

This was an excellent thriller. Although Alice is a bit naive, it works with the story building. I also like how a lot of the characters were unlikeable. I could not put this book down. My full review can be found on goodreads.

I enjoyed The Dilemma by B.A. Paris and was excited to read The Therapist when St. Martin's reached out with an ARC to read.

Overall it has all the markings of your standard psychological thriller which I enjoyed, there are twists and turns. I enjoy reading thrillers and don't usually try to guess the ending but instead go along with the ride the author has constructed. I didn't find the main character super likable or relatable there were a few things about her that I personally found a bit annoying. Overall though it's a solid ready for those who enjoy the thriller genre.

I received a copy of this ARC from St. Martin's Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review. This story was intriguing. I connected with the protagonist quickly and enjoyed her character a lot. The story was easy to get into and I had many "suspects" as I read further. I enjoyed "The Therapist' as much as I loved all of B.A. Paris' books. If you enjoy a good thriller, that is easy to read and unputdownable, I highly recommend this one!

The most beautiful of places can hold some very devious secrets... This is what kept circling in my mind as I was going deeper into this rabbit hole of a story. Nothing was really as it seemed, and I was blown away by the ending!

Another wonderful novel of suspense! Alive and her husband move I to a gated enclave in London known as the Circle. Alice struggles to fit in after she discovered that a woman had been murdered in her house. She becomes suspicious of almost everyone. The ending is a twisty exciting conclusion. Loved it.

I was given this book for giving my honest review by NetGalley.

Wasn't sure when I started reading this book if it was for me--that changed quickly!

The Therapist keeps you guessing, usually incorrectly, on what was going to happen next. Lots of twists and turns. Good characters, and a lot of intertwined mysteries. At times you think the hero has lost her way, or her mind. Plot keeps shifting, in a good way.

I highly recommend The Therapist, and am now a fan of B. A. Paris.

Leo and Alice think they have found the perfect home, in the perfect neighborhood. But there are lies and hidden knowledge of what happened in their house that come to light. This does not sit well with Alice and causes problems for her and Leo. It has some great moments of suspense but would have preferred a little more closure on some of the relationships. I thought parts of it were drawn out but that the end was almost wrapped up too quickly. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

When Leo finds the perfect, newly-renovated house, he and Alice move into the exclusive gated community of The Circle. Alice happily sets about meeting the neighbors and, in the process, discovers a devastating secret about their new home.

It isn’t long before Alice becomes obsessed with tracking down the details of what took place in the house some two years earlier. But it’s a taboo subject around The Circle and everyone seems to be keeping secrets.

Although no one wishes to discuss either Nina [the home’s previous resident] or what happened in the house, Alice is determined to uncover the secrets. But as strange things happen in the house, can Alice truly trust the neighbors and is she truly safe?

Alice wants to help find the truth, but her investigative style tends to alienate everyone rather than to provide information. Most of the characters have a tendency to be annoying, but Alice tends toward being irritatingly harebrained and her relentless obsession soon wears thin [perhaps from a bit too much repetition] and readers are likely to find it difficult to empathize with her.

Occasionally spooky and creepily atmospheric, the setting works to enhance the narrative’s ominous feeling. There are a few unexpected . . . and clever . . . twists and a completely unexpected revelation requiring massive suspension of disbelief. In this unfolding story of secrets and murder, astute readers are likely to identify the villain long before the revelation. Still, for readers who enjoy a suspenseful, mysterious quick read, it’s a good way to spend an afternoon.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books and NetGalley
#TheTherapist #NetGalley

Holy heck! B.A. Paris writes novels that ALWAYS knock my socks off! Her latest book The Therapist is fan-freaking-tastic, dare I say, my new top favorite from her! This mystery/thriller had my mind spinning in so many different directions that I didn’t know what side was up! If I am being completely honest, I never figured out any of the who, what, where, why or how—LOVE THAT! The pacing was lightening fast and completely unputdownable! The Therapist is a 5+++ star novel that is definitely one of my top reads of 2021! B.A. Paris is a sure read for me so I went into this book totally blind and didn’t even read the description— if you can, I highly recommend it! I am already excited to read what B.A. Paris comes out with next!

What do you do when you have a massive TBR pile and someone sends you the new BA Paris novel? You give a little screech and bump it immediately to the top of your list, of course!

Needless to say, I’m a big BA Paris fan. Behind Closed Doors and The Breakdown are two of my favorite recent domestic thrillers. I did not think this this book had quite the pace or intensity of those two, so I can see why some readers are disappointed. However, I still enjoyed this read, which had all the great writing, twists, unreliability, and rug pulls we’ve come to expect from our Thriller Queen.

In this book, Alice and her boyfriend Leo, at Leo’s urging, move into a surprisingly cheap house in an exclusive gated cup de sac called The Circle. But Alice soon finds out there’s a reason it was so cheap — she’s living in a murder house. A RECENT murder house. And the killer may still be roaming around her cul de sac.

As Alice investigates the crime, we get the usual fun BA Paris touches. Is it Alice’s sketchy boyfriend who is up to no good? Does the nosy woman down the street know something? Or is our narrator herself actually a little crazy and obsessed?

I really enjoyed the read, which I found suspenseful, well-written and interesting. I was a little disappointed not to have the usual level of intense BA Paris style scares and insanity, but the writing was, as always, great and page-turning, the plot interesting, and the ending very satisfying.

I’d give this 3.5 BA Paris-level stars, only because I KNOW she’s capable of 10 out of 5 stars, but it is still a solid 4-star unputdownable thriller, compulsively readable, and written and plotted at a higher level of skill than most of the thriller writers out there today.

And of course now that I’m finished, it’s time to go back to excitedly waiting for her next one!

Many many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and BA Paris for the advance copy that made me literally fangirl shriek aloud when I saw it in my inbox! I can’t wait to keep reading more BA Paris and have that feeling all over again.

I continue to be a B.A. Paris fan! Really enjoyed this one!!

Can’t await to recommend it to people for their summer beach/vacation reads.

Alice is trying to leave behind a painful past for a new start with her partner in an idyllic area of London. A gated community with beautiful homes where all the neighbors know one another . But the change isn't what she hoped and all of the sudden she is surrounded by mysteries and is suspicious of everyone around her.

The Therapist is a compulsive read. There are plenty of characters to be suspicious of and some red herrings too.

Will be on everyone’s summer reading list. So excited I got to read it early. Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy.