One surprise after another! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could not put it down. I have not read anything by this author before but will certainly look out for her in the future.
Thank you Netgalley and Quercus Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my unbiased opinion.

Fast paced thriller and easy to read, I finished it within a day.

I really liked the setting, I liked the pace, I think the characters were the weakest part but still generally believable and able to hold my interest.
Initially I thought the translation seemed a bit off with some clunky descriptions in the first few pages but throughout the rest of the book I thought it was really well done.

I don't often like thrillers written in first person but I think this book managed to make it work. The main character is a therapist who has some insight into her own thoughts and feelings, and manages to examine herself logically. However, some of her actions seemed implausible and simply served to drive the plot, which I found unsatisfying. She also seems really bad at her job as a therapist which was disappointing.

I wish this book had better plot twists. It was all so obvious from quite early in the book. I felt pretty let down when I got to the end, I was hoping for a last minute shock but nothing was surprising.

I found this really hard going but persevered through to the end which was surprisingly good. It reads in parts as if the lead character is dreaming and I was confused sometimes by where the narrative was going and whether I was to assume it was a dream. Maybe a translation issue?

This disturbing, tightly-written and repressed book was a great read! The main protagonist's closed off personality really adds to the feeling of spiralling as the book progresses. The surprises work to differing degrees, the first makes sense in hindsight in an "oh! of course!" way but I think the second was a little more signposted. Not that this detracts from this thriller!

Sara runs her own therapy practice and her husband, Sigmund, is a partner in an architectural firm. When he doesn't arrive at a ski trip with friends, Sara phones the police to report him missing.

It was an engaging read with an interesting set of characters. The therapy sessions were authentic. Indeed, she could almost have written a book entirely based on these characters. There was a good balance in the structure between the present time and both childhood memories and her memories of times spent with Sigmund.

With the police suspecting Sara and the strange things she was seeing and hearing, I wondered if perhaps she was responsible or there was something supernatural going on. However, it is all revealed when we find out who was responsible. The final twist was cleverly written.

Thanks indeed to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The author took time to build the characters so, when the pace of the plot quickened, I was absolutely invested in them all. Such a sense of trepidation throughout the whole book, it is a dark and too realistic tale. Not a book to set aside - read it in one go!

WOW I was not expecting that twist! I firmly believed I knew where this was heading yet I was pleasantly surprised. Plenty of tension throughout and I really felt for the characters which always makes a thriller so much more enjoyable when your invested in the characters. Fantastic debut and I’m looking forward to recommending this title to customers!

This taut thriller has been hailed as “One of Cosmopolitan's 13 of the best books to read this summer 2021” so I was intrigued to find out why it had been chosen for this list. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book as we all know I love a good thriller.

This book didn’t disappoint and enjoyed the twist at the end. Will keep my eyes open for more books by this author in the future.

A brilliantly addictive page turner which I thoroughly enjoyed. Extremely well written with good characters and I will definitely read more from this author.

The book held my interest throughout and for me personally it was a great page turner.

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Chilling, Claustrophobic Domestic Suspense....
Chilling, claustrophobic domestic suspense. A slow burn, with a gradual and palpable mounting tension, and an engaging plot line as the reader is pulled from one direction to another. Just who is lying?

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book - it was full of intrigue and suspense and a few curve balls thrown in to throw you off the real culprit.. Loved the way it was written, especially the thoughts and feelings that Sara was going through.

A good, slow-burner thriller. I did guess the killer or suspect right from the beginning. I felt it was kind of obvious as to what was going on.

However, it didn’t stop me binging the book and enjoying it in the one sitting. The twists and turns it took and being set in Norway was great, I’ve been there once before so I knew most of the places. It was nice to read a thriller based outside the UK.

Thanks to Helene and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my review!

A taut, compelling thriller that kept me turning the pages. Recommended! Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC

I loved this book! Started off with a fast pace and kept up the pace throughout the book. The English translation could be better though. I did like the writing style of the author.

This taut thriller has been hailed as “One of Cosmopolitan's 13 of the best books to read this summer 2021” so I was intrigued to find out why it had been chosen for this list.
It opens with Sara the main protagonist saying goodbye to her husband Sigurd as he sets off for a weekend trip with his friends. Sara is a therapist seeing her clients in an office created in the grounds of the house they’ve inherited from Sigurd’s grandfather. It seems like an ordinary day but soon Sara is caught up in a web of deceit when Sigurd goes missing and she realises that she might be the police’s number one suspect. Part of the story is told in flashback and we realise that Sara is not a totally devoted wife and in fact her marriage to Sigurd (an architect) was not always happy.
As the police investigate further, we meet a variety of characters including Sara’s older sister Annika, an efficient lawyer who seems to have a home and lifestyle that Sara envies. There’s also the older generation including Sara’s emotionally remote father and Sigurd’s mother who is a glamorous jetsetter who Sara thinks disapproves of her. In the wings are Sigurd’s unreliable friends Thomas and Jan-Erik, as well as his colleagues in the architectural partnership.
I found Sara to be a difficult character to warm to, although she is a therapist she seems judgmental, lacking in empathy and a bit cold. I wondered whether this was because I was not reading this book in its original language as it has been translated from Norwegian. The surrounding characters were portrayed well and I could easily visualise them and understand their actions and motivations. This book works well as a domestic thriller with the tension building and the plot is credible (though some of Sara’s behaviour does strain credulity). There are some plot twists and I definitely didn’t predict the end.
Overall, this book is ok and I enjoyed Sara’s journey even if I didn’t warm to her. I read this book in one sitting as I was heavily invested in how it would end.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Book Group for the e-arc in return for an honest review.

I usually love a good Nordic crime thriller, and the setting of “The Therapist” definitely adds to the suspense that builds. However for me, this was a slow burner, without much payoff at all.

A therapist’s husband is found murdered in a cabin in the woods, and our narrator doesn’t seem to give much away in terms of emotion or feeling. There were many points that I thought we had an unreliable narrator and it was quite frustrating to read.

The first three quarters are a slow narrative of Sara reminiscing on her relationship with Sigurd, the police investigating Sigurd’s death, and the appearance of a stalker or intruder in Sara’s home. I was enjoying the book at first. However, without giving too much away, the ending felt rushed to me, I was caught way off guard but not in a good way!

For this, I will rate this 3 stars. I didn’t love it, however it would be too strong for me to say I hated it. If you get the chance to read this then of course go ahead, but you aren’t missing out massively.

This book was readable but wasn’t very gripping. I didn’t relate to the protagonist and I felt like I could have put it down half way through and walked away from it. It is an okay read, and worth going for it if you want something to fill a day or two but it won’t leave you reeling with excitement.

Whilst this book was not what I expected it was truly excellent.

Sara is a therapist, her husband Sigurd has gone away for a weekend, she gets a call from him telling her he has arrived and she continues on with her day. Later she receives a phone call from his friend's asking if she knows where he is. Things start spiral out of control.

This thriller has a claustrophic feel which is the perfect atmosphere.

Excellent

I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Therapist- the cover and description appealed to me and I was keen to try a new author. I haven’t read a lot of Scandi fiction, so I was excited to branch out a little!

Initially I wondered whether the flow of the story would be affected by the translation- there’s always the risk of losing subtle nuances and turns of phrase- but generally it read as fluently as if written in English.

I had mixed feelings on the story. The characterisation was strong and I liked the exploration of Sara’s marriage and the poignant descriptions of how a relationship that starts off with such promise can become mundane and strained, and the helplessness of watching your marriage drift apart without knowing quite how to save it. I struggled to empathise much with Sara despite her unfortunate situation - she struck me as quite cold and i found her inhibited emotions a little frustrating, although her somewhat strange childhood no doubt impacted on the way she expressed herself.

The final plot twist was unexpected and the motive of the killer was certainly original, and related to wider themes in the book about natural justice, family and what it really means to love someone. Sara’s character arc ended in an interesting place, leaving the reader to wonder what she will do with the shocking realisation she comes to in the final chapter. I enjoyed the fact the story ended at this point, rather than taking the reader any further as to how the ‘cliff hanger’ is resolved.

I did find some parts unnecessarily long winded and clunky, with some extraneous detail. The detailed therapy sessions at the start got the book off to a slow start and there was a bit of unnecessary padding at times. That said, I was hooked enough to want to keep going.

I enjoyed the book but I didn’t find it continually gripping and my attention wandered at times - so an overall rating of 3 stars.

This was quite a good and enjoyable slow burn book. First time I've heard of this author so definitely keen to read more books by Helene Flood