The Therapist
By B. A. Paris

A Thought-Provoking and Tension-Filled Drama

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
When Alice and Leo decide to move in together, Leo buys a house in a small high-end gated community known as The Circle. There are only twelve houses in this exclusive neighborhood. Just as Alice is getting to know her new neighbors, she learns some devastating news about their newly remodeled home; a murder/suicide had occurred there. The neighbors thought Oliver and Nina, who was a therapist had a happy marriage. Everyone was shocked when they heard Oliver had killed Nina and then himself.

Alice is angry that Leo did not tell her about the murder when he brought the house. She becomes obsessed with learning more about Nina and her murder. Alice’s sister who died in a tragic car accident, was also named Nina. Knowing that the murder victim's name was the same as her sister impacts Alice’s state of mind.


REVIEW
THE THERAPIST is an intriguing story with an irresistible premise. What would you do if you belatedly discovered someone had been murdered in your new home. As the story unfolds, Alice becomes more and more obsessed with the previous owner, and the neighbors do not want to talk about it.

My reading preference is on books with strong and smart female characters. Too often, in the media and literature, women are portrayed as weak, ditzy, and foolish. While I realize that not every novel can have an intelligent and courageous female character, I was somewhat disappointed in Alice’s character. While she drives the narrative, she seems to do so in an overly emotional reactive manner. She rushes to judgement and frustratingly suspects everyone in The Circle of something.

While I didn't love Nina’s character, I thoroughly enjoyed the thought-provoking story. Author B. A. Paris’s writing is suspenseful and will keep you guessing all night long. THE THERAPIST is one of those books that will have your head spinning. It’s a quick and immersive read.

Paris’s previous novels include Behind Closed Doors (2016), The Breakdown (2017), Bring Me Back (2018), The Dilemma (2020). I listened to the audiobook narrated by Olivia Dowd and Thomas Judd, whose performance was admirable.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Macmillan Audio
Published Jul 13, 2021
Narrated Olivia Dowd and Thomas Judd
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

First line: My office is small, perfect and minimalist.

Summary: When Alice and Leo move into their new home in an exclusive gated community in London they see this as the perfect beginning to their life together. But as Alice meets her neighbors, she learns about the dark history of her new home. After this discovery, Alice becomes obsessed with finding out what happened and who was involved.

My Thoughts: B. A. Paris always writes a fun, twisty thriller. They are always very fast reads. Something that will keep you reading until you finish the book late at night. This one kept me wondering throughout. Everyone is a suspect. Even with a headache I finished this book because I had to know how it ended. There is lots of misdirection to throw the reader off.

I admit that it was nothing groundbreaking or original. It was just plain fun to read! I have been in a slump with lots of 2 star reviews so it was nice to find something that kept me interested and wanting to read. If you want a quick summer read then this would be it.

FYI: Violence.

Once again, B.A. Paris does not disappoint. The way the story is written is through the eyes of Alice. It does flashback to the Therapist, but who is the therapist? That one will throw you for a loop as who you think the Therapist is, may not really be the case. Alice and Leo move into The Circle, which is supposed to be this prestigious neighborhood… However, Alice needs to figure out who her true friends are and who is lying or hiding a secret. Alice also believes there is a ghost of some sort living in her new house with her “perfect” boyfriend Leo.

One of my favorite authors does it again with the fast paced thriller. This book had my rapt attention throughout the whole novel. I didn’t see the end coming. Highly recommend!

I enjoyed The Therapist. I was pretty sure early on where it would end up, but had no clue how the connections would be made. This book moves really slow, in a good way. I really liked Alice and her thoughtful, well-meaning nature. I didn't find her too obsessive, and I saw great growth in her as the book progressed. B.A. Paris has a beautiful way of story-telling. So much so in fact, that I didn't care where the story led-- I was just relishing the journey.

I loved the narration by Olivia Dowd for the audiobook. I thought the brief switch, with Thomas Judd narrating a little unusual but probably necessary for the authors intent.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I always love a good "who did it?" I enjoy authors that keep me guessing. Typically, I figure out who the "bad guy" is rather quickly or as soon as they pop up in the book. This story kept me guessing a little longer than others.
Alice is smart woman with a painful past. She was raised by her grandparents after her parents and sister were killed in an accident. As an adult, the pain of that loss is still great. One day she has a change encounter with Leo. He is charming and also intelligent. They hit it off and after a while of dating, they decide to move in together. Alice rents out her cottage and Leo buys a house in a gated community. The house and neighborhood is beautiful. The neighbors all get along and welcome Alice and Leo when Alice invites them all over for drinks in order to meet her new neighbors. That one innocent night starts Alice down a twisting path of questions without answers, things that go bump in the night, and a not-so-closed-case murder. After finding out about the murder that took place in the house she now lives in with Leo (and which Leo did not tell her about), Alice becomes frantic, almost obsessed with figuring out who really killed Nina, the woman who lived here before. The troubles drive a wedge between Alice and Leo, but she is relentless. Can she really trust her neighbors? Did one of them actually kill Nina? Why are they so willing to accept that the person that was accused of the murder actually killed the woman?
This was a great book and is one that I would definitely visit again.
Thank you to the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Audio review: This narrator did a fantastic job. Her accent was lovely to listen to and she voiced the characters well, giving them emotions and captured my attention from the start. There is not a bad thing I can say about this narrator or how she told the story. I have listed to quite a few audiobooks and many come off sounding like a computer reading to me. Not this one. She was great! I will be glad to listen to her narrate other books in the future.

This was a decent story, but it was a little slow for me. I was not fond of the main character so it made it hard for me to like a lot of what was happening. So much was based on her obsession with a therapist who lived in the house before her and her murder.

This is so much better than B A Paris's last novel The Dilemma. That one was not up to the normal caliber of her previous books. She redeemed herself a little in my eyes from that one at least, but this still was not as good as previous novels. I'm hoping she is getting back in the groove and the next one will be even better.

Thanks to NetGalley for ARC audiobook of The Therapist!

This book really did have you suspecting everyone at one point or another. I’d think I had it figured out and then something would change and I’d be second guessing myself! It did a really great job of making you just as confusing and self-doubting as Alice.

I will say though, that because the book had you suspecting everyone at some point, I can’t say that I was shocked by the conclusion, but even in that there were some twists I never saw coming.

I felt that this book was slow to start and I had a hard time getting into it, but by about halfway through, I was invested in solving it. By the time the conclusion actually started coming together, there was only a half hour or so left in the audiobook and I was looking for that to be drawn out a little more.

Overall, this was an enjoyable one!

The Therapist is the latest psychological suspense thriller from B.A. Paris, with a murder mystery that occurs in a small private housing community. Alice and her boyfriend Leo buy their first-ever house together in an exclusive gated housing estate called The Circle, in Finsbury London. It astonishes Alice that they have been able to buy this house because it appears way beyond their financial means. With only 12 houses, the neighbours provide an intriguing array of colourful characters and relationships that range from friendly to hostile, from genuine to deceitful, and from interesting to boring.

Alice is an exhausting character, fretting about the neighbours and how she should fit in, wondering why Tamsin seems hostile, and why she has thoughts that someone is always watching her. Alice soon discovers that the house's previous owner, Nina Maxwell, was murdered by her husband, Oliver. While this is news to Alice, Leo has known this for quite a while - which becomes a major issue of trust and openness; why didn’t he explain all this before buying the house.

Alice doesn’t believe Oliver killed his wife and tries to unravel the mystery of the murder, which she is coincidentally able to involve a private investigator Thomas. They suspect almost everyone in the community, and every chance Alice gets to interrogate her neighbours, she does. The ability to generate as many suspects is a great feature of the mystery, and Alice’s behaviour is an important way to uncover the secrets. Still, it does become frustrating, watching her stumbling about missing some very obvious clues, grabbing at stupid thoughts, and making bad decisions. I felt there were quite a few plot holes that eventually descended into unbelievability.

I listened to the audiobook version, which was very well performed, with a narrator very easy to listen to at length, and it probably kept me invested in the story much more than if I’d been reading it. The Therapist is a great easy read murder mystery that will entertain many and keep some readers captivated throughout. I struggled to stay invested in the story with the annoying main character and the convoluted plot restricting my rating of the book – 3.5 stars but rounding down. I would also like to thank Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with a free audio ARC copy in return for an honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for my ARC and ALC of The Therapist.

Alice and Leo are in love when they move to The Circle, an exclusive gated community in London. But the shine quickly wears off as Alice learns more about her home and neighbors. Nina Maxwell died in Alice's house - and will the secrets surrounding her murder come back to haunt Alice?

I love a good domestic suspense, and the audio for this one was great. Narrator Olivia Dowd brought this insular community to life for me - I loved her readings of the snarky neighborhood conversations. Main character Alice comes across as a bit naive, like many thriller protagonists, but I think that comes with the territory.

This book may feel like a slow burn, but the last 20% were totally worth it to me! A twist ending that actually fits with the plot - sign me up. I was very satisfied with the ending as well as the red herrings that came before. I do think the middle could have been shortened a little - I didn't care for Alice and Leo's relationship drama as much as the other plot points - but this was still a solid read.

If you're looking for a mile a minute thriller, this may not be the best choice, but if you like suburban drama, I'd give this one a try. I think this one is better than Paris' recent book The Dilemma but not as compelling/dark as Behind Closed Doors.

After deciding to move in together in order to see each other more, Alice and Leo begin meeting their new neighbors. They live in the exclusive “circle”, a gated community that is supposed to be safe. When Alice learns that Leo was not upfront about their new house, things quickly begin to unravel. After finding out about a murder/suicide that occurred in their home, Alice is determined to find out what really happened.

While the story was suspenseful and I did want to keep reading to find out the ending, I found Alice to be a bit of an annoying character. And with so many suspicious characters (nearly every single one) , it was difficult to feel any type of satisfaction at the end.

Overall, this book was suspenseful and entertaining. A quick read, with no attachment to any characters.

****huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Could you live in a house knowing that a murder had occured there previously? The Therapist by B.A. Paris begs to answer that probing question.
A couple, Alice and Leo, move into a gated community and are forced to come to terms with both their new homes' history and the possibility that the killer may still be out there.
There are a lot of elements at play in this twisty thriller. Past histories, paranormal activity, and the representatives individuals use as they introduce themselves to the world all play into Alice's impromptu investigation. At times, I struggled to know what direction the author was going to take us in but enjoyed the ending.

This was a fun and quick thriller that centers around a woman who moves into a newly purchased house that her partner has acquired in a gated and elite community. She tries hard to meet the neighbors and become friendly with them. Early on after moving into the home, she throws a get together with the neighbors and a man shows up who was uninvited but plays himself as being one of the neighbors who the couple have not met yet. Then he returns on a different day and claims to be a private investigator who is trying to look into the case of a murder that has occurred at the home this couple is now in. The police believe they have arrested the correct person and the case has been closed. Over time, unusual things begin to happen and the protagonist is desperate to solve the mystery. Twists and turns occur throughout the story leaving you turning the pages to find out the full story..
I read this in e-format as well as listened to the audiobook and loved the narration. Both of the narrators, Olivia Dowd and Thomas Judd did a fantastic job with the narration and made the book really fly. I enjoyed the different voices as well as the dual timeline. Highly recommend the audiobook!
This is a fun, page-turning beach read for the summer.
#TheTherapist #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #MacmillanAudio

The Therapist

Happiness is like a butterfly, the more you chase it, the more it will elude you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.~ David Thoreau

This quote from the book by Thoreau really resonates with me. This is the fourth book I’ve read by B.A. Paris, and sadly it doesn’t measure up to my favorite of hers, Behind Closed Doors. The plot was a little too intricate. The flashbacks didn’t really reveal much or interest me and it turned out the person I had originally suspected was the guilty party.

Synopsis:

Previously Alice and Leo had been just a weekend couple, but decided to take their relationship to the next step and move in together. Alice agrees to move into a location more convenient for Leo’s job since she has the ability to work from home. They move into a gated community called the Circle where there are just 12 homes that are supposedly very secure.

Alice soon finds out the home was such a bargain because the previous owner had been murdered in it. This doesn’t sit well with Alice and because Leo kept this from her she has a hard time trusting him and taking their relationship to the next stage. She also learns Leo has a past he wasn’t forthcoming about and she also has her own baggage (guilt) that she is dealing with.

Alice begins to suspect everyone around her, even her new neighbors, of the muder even though the victim’s husband was already convicted of the crime.

I was hoping to hear more from the therapist’s perspective. I have had some interesting (unprofessional) experiences with therapists and I am always curious to see them as characters in a book.
3.5 stars

This was a really good book! I felt anxious reading this wondering what was really going on in this woman's house! I must admit, the read was good but nothing super shocking until the end. I was surprised by the ending and this really hooked me!

The Therapist by B. A. Paris is a great read. The main characters, Alice and Leo, are flawed people trying to cohabitate. I think that Alice was not very likeable. She repeated the same couple of thoughts over and over. The plot was interesting and made up for the unlikable character. Overall, I enjoyed the book.

Narrators Olivia Dowd and Thomas Judd were good. I will find other books narrated by either one of these two.

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my honest review. *****

Alice is a character that I didn't know if I could trust and some of her decisions frustrated me, but that is what makes a book that you want to keep coming back to. Leo also frustrated me and I didn't know where this book was going, but I enjoyed it! The Circle is not a community I would like to live in although it sounds fantastic. I understood why Alice wanted to get to the bottom of Nina's murder because of her sister being named Nina. I did not figure this one out! Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book! I did a combo read and listen and the audiobook narrator was great!

I'm usually a big fan of B.A. Paris, however, 'The Therapist' didn't feel as smartly written as some of her others I've read.

I didn't particularly like any of the characters...none of them were very likable, nor did they seem well fleshed out...not even protagonist, Alice. They were all one-dimensional, which is probably why I didn't connect with any of them.

*SPOILERS AHEAD
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What frustrated me most was how it all came to a head and an end. I felt like Paris pulled the "never talked about character" as the killer. The elderly neighbors' crazy son? I mean, I can look back on the story and see where she tried to plug in clues, but they were flimsy. Overall, I was pretty disappointed by the entire story.

Thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was my first time reading a B.A. Paris book and I enjoyed it.

Alice’s story was a slow burn, I struggled to get into the book but once I hit just over half way I realized I trusted nobody and suspected everyone! I was definitely sucked into the story in the last quarter of the book and needed to know how everything played out.

I had no idea what to expect as Alice began to uncover more and allude to her own past. I think I can safely say, everybody was a suspect in my eyes at one point in time. Most of the characters were likely but all with their own undertones of sketchy. I didn’t love Alice’s character, but I can see why she was the way she was now that I’ve finished the book.

I really like the premise of the book and where B.A. Paris went with the ending (a twist I wasn’t expecting) but I feel like the first half of the book was a bit too slow for my liking. I feel there were a few chapters that weren’t necessary and could have made the slow burn a bit more enjoyable.

Rating this a 4/5 - the ending was really strong, the characters kept me guessing and at points I had no idea where things were going.

[I received an audiobook ARC version via Netgalley]
Publication date is July 13, 2021.

4/5 ⭐️
Thank you to Netgalley for giving me a arc of this
So I enjoyed this. About 3/4 of the way through I thought I had a idea of who did it. But as usual I was wrong. I liked the characters and their development. I enjoyed the few twists that were put in the book as well.