The Therapist
B.A. Paris
The plot of this tale had great potential but fell short of my expectations. In this tale we meet Alice and Leo. The couple were looking for a new home and Leo found the house in a very nice gated neighborhood, The Circle. Leo seems to want them to stay to themselves, but Alice wants to meet the neighbors, hence a party. Something strange happens at the party; an uninvited guest arrives.
Leo kept a secret about the house from Alice; the former owner, Nina, a therapist was murdered in the house. Alice is determined to gather more information on Nina and the murder. Alice grows suspicious of the neighbors. Even Leo is alarmed; he senses a presence in their home.
Alice isn’t the sharpest tack in the box; there are clues surrounding her and yet she misses almost all of them. While she is missing the clues that are right in front of her, she is suspicious of everyone.
I struggled to make it through to the end. I didn’t like Leo. Alice was paranoid. I really wanted to like this book but it just didn’t do it for me.

This was a great twisty read. I loved that it kept you guessing until the end. I enjoy the author, B.A. Paris' novels.

Thanks to Net Galley for the early listening opportunity!

Where to begin... ok, so I must admit that sometimes this type of mystery does not hook me at all. After the numerous Girl on the Train-Esque mysteries were published, I grew tired of reading them with their obvious plotlines and whiny, clueless main characters. However, this one kept my attention even though I had somewhat of an idea of who the murderer was from the start.

The main character, Alice, isn't the most likable. Yes, she may have gone through a tragedy of her own, but she becomes obsessive to the point of me thinking that someone at some point should seriously consider getting her help ASAP (aside from when Leo suggests it at the end). I have to admit that she did annoy me about 80% of the time and there were a few eye rolls on my part, but her interactions with the other characters saved it. I enjoyed listening to the background stories of the other characters and yearned for more information about them.

Also, the setting? Loved it. Like others, I was wondering why there weren't any cameras if it is such an exclusive gated community.

Overall, I thought it was a great escape and summertime read- perfect for the beach or a lawn chair.

The Therapist was a gripping psychological thriller. There was a point that the book felt redundant. However, the ending by far made up for it. I speculated several characters to be the killer. Even if you are able to figure out who the killer is, you will not know all of the sorted details. There is a lot to the ending.

I received this galley from NetGalley.

The Therapist has some very chilling moments. Mystery abounds, and several surprising revelations occur on the way to explaining it all. The protagonist is a likeable character who is easy to relate to and interesting in her own right. The setting is very unique, with its own built-in sense of eeriness and menace.

This is a must-read for thriller fans. Very engaging, and hard to put down once it gets going.

Overall Impression: As less of a thriller reader, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but it’s unlikely to make a favorites list for me. It had me guessing up until the very end though, which is the mark of a good thriller.

The Therapist follows Alice as she moves into house #6 in a small gated community with boyfriend Leo only to find out that the previous owner had been murdered in her and Leo’s bedroom. Alice becomes obsessed with finding out more about the woman’s murder and looking for her real killer.

But everyone in the circle has secrets, including Leo.

This one did have me guessing right up towards the end. At some point, both Alice and I thought that each neighbor was guilty and didn’t know who to trust.

This was my first by the author, but won’t be my last. I keep hearing about Behind Closed Doors, so will pick that one up soon! I also really enjoyed the audio version of this one and adored Olivia Dowd’s narration.

If you like domestic thrillers, go pick this one up next month!! You won’t be disappointed!

Thank you to #netgalley and #macmillanaudio and #baparis for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was great and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. So many interesting characters (and suspects). I never saw the real killer coming. The narrator of the audiobook did a great job. I will definitely recommend this book!

B.A. Paris has done it again!! I was GLUED to this audiobook. I just finished reading The Breakdown, so I was initially suspicious of Leo, then as the plot develops I became suspicious of every single neighbor in the circle and really felt like I was thinking through the "whodunnit" of the murder alongside Alice. I couldn't have loved this more, and I have already recommended this to every single friend of mine who loves true crime and mystery novels. Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook for an honest review.

Paris does it again!!! This one kept me guessing and guessing right along with Alice, I think I had as many suspects as Alice did and figured it out just before Alice did!

When Alice moves in with her boyfriend things seem to be going great they have a beautiful house in a gated community great new neighbors but is there a secret hiding in this idyllic neighborhood? What will Alice do when she finds out the truth about their new house. Obsession grips Alice and she must find out the truth of what happened in her home, so begins this guessing game that may have fatal consequences.


Olivia Dowd & Thomas Judd narration was so well done Dowd did a really good job of bringing the emotions to life.

Another hit from B.A. Paris, the only problem with getting this one early is I have to wait even longer for her next book!

4 Stars

I received this audiobook from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

Listening to this Audiobook made me take an extra walk just so I could finish it! Suspenseful and exciting with an unexpected twist!
Alice is starting a new chapter in her life along with a new relationship that is just taking off. Her life has been immersed in tragedy and she has just moved into an exclusive gated community to begin once again. Of course, the idyllic life is not to be and so begins life-altering events. The author, once again, provides the unexpected in her plot. I thought I had figured out the"whodunit" but was completely wrong. That's a sure sign of good plot writing when I wasn't even close.
The narrator was wonderful and I especially enjoyed when the voice changed from female to male at one point but will reveal nothing further. If so, it would only detract from the thrilling adventure of reading it!

I fell in love with B A Paris books after my first reading of Behind Closed Doors. Since then, I have measured all of her books by that book. I will say that this book didn't pack the same punch but I liked it very much. I enjoyed the audio version and liked the nararator. Pick this one up, I think you'll like it!

I found this book to be dull and dragging until it came to a slap dash, chaotic end. It seemed that very little happened in the first 90% aside from the protagonist growing increasingly neurotic and some neighborhood gossip. Then, in the last 10% it was full of thrilling moments and big reveals. One of the biggest shocks of all was thrown in so casually at the end that I had to rewind and make sure I caught it because it wasn’t elaborated upon at all. Such a disappointment that the most interesting bit wasn’t used to develop a richer plot line.

Every single B.A. Paris book I've read, I've absolutely loved. I've never heard an audio version of one of Paris' books before, so this was a great experience. The narrator was very expressive and had different tones for each character, which makes the story so much more engaging. I loved the twists that this story had, though I felt that some areas could have been better. For example, the main character seemed a bit off, but maybe thats part of the charm.

Sadly, this one was a bit of a miss for me. The story is intriguing and the initial setup was so great. My issue was Alice, the protagonist. I hated her. I can’t recall a book in which I was so put off by a character (that wasn’t intentional). I found her weak-minded, needy, self indulgent, and a bit spiteful. I’m not going to lie, y’all, I had my fingers crossed for her demise (you’ll have to read to find out if my wish was granted). I felt badly for Leo (her boyfriend), even though he’s kind of a tool too. Still, no one should have to deal with — let alone live with — Alice. All the other residents of the circle are interesting in their own way. You want to find out more about them and look forward to each bit as the story progresses. But, Alice is just a mess and, like, not in a fun way.

I predicted the outcome fairly early on, but I also read a lot of this genre. I don’t want to be overly negative because the story is interesting and it made this a very quick read for me. I just can’t rate it higher than this because I spent the first half of the book not really caring what happened to main character and the second half wishing her ill will, lol.

I very much enjoy this author and will continue to read all her work... as long as they don’t have Alice.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Publishing Group for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am a huge fan of audio books and a huge fan of B. A. Paris. The story is set in a gated community of 12 houses. Alice, a newcomer to the community sets out to solve a murder mystery. The story is slow, predictable and boring. I was a bit disappointed since I was looking forward to adding the author’s book to my collection.

This was addictive and hard to put down. I wasn't sure what to expect from a story just called "The Therapist" - especially when the main character <i>isn't</i> a therapist. But slowly, the story unfolded.

I really liked the mc, Alice. She was bold, independent and yet wanted friends and was good at being one (or at least I thought so.) I liked how strong she was with Leo and how clear she was about her expectations and boundaries.

Her new home sounded lovely and I think I would have enjoyed a little diagram showing all the houses in the circle and who was in which house (I did as an audio, so I'm not sure if it will be in the book).

The mystery was excellent and so well done. I was chasing down so many red herrings I had no idea what the next turn or surprise would be. The narrator did a great job with the audio book, keeping the voices separate and really drawing me in. I loved this one -so glad I gave it a chance!

<i>A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.</i>

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝:⁣⁣
◘ I liked the ending despite’s all the negatives listed below.⁣
⁣
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐝:⁣⁣
◘ Felt like too many characters were introduced all at once. Author helped reference the neighbors so you could remember who was who, but I still lost track throughout. ⁣
◘ 3/4 of the book was uneventful and quite boring. Wish it wasn’t such an underwhelming journey to get to the finish line. ⁣
◘ The reason Alice was so invested in the murder was laaaaaaame. And while I’m on the subject, she was the most annoying main character on the planet. It was difficult reading how dumb she acted. If anyone needed a therapist in this book, it was Alice. ⁣
⁣
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⁣⁣
★★★☆⁣⁣☆⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
I stupidly started this the last week of May and had to take many breaks. That might be why I didn’t enjoy it as much. It wasn’t the best book but it also wasn’t the worst book. ⁣
⁣

This book kept me interested for the most part. However, nothing surprised me or kept me on edge, like previous novels by this author. I keep expecting another Behind Closed Doors, and unfortunately, this also isn’t it. The main character is very annoying, and I found myself rooting against her through most of the story.

The plot was very forced as well. What are the odds that the narrator’s dead sister shares the same name as the woman who was murdered in the new house? It’s very far fetched.

I would like to read a thriller, psychological or domestic, that doesn’t involve an uneducated rookie character attempting to solve a murder. Let’s let sleeping dogs lie and leave this story arc in the dust.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

This book focuses on a couple who just moved into The Circle. A cluster of houses in a gated area with a very close knit little community of neighbors. But of course nothing is like it seems and the main character Alice is obsessed with finding out what happened to the woman who used to live at her house. So of course. I wanted to read this. I loved BA Paris's books The Breakdown & Behind Closed Doors. This one started off incredibly slow....for like more then 75% of the book I was bored. The main character frustrated me and I found her incredibly annoying. I was also suspecting all of her neighbors so Paris definitely swayed me that way. Just when I was assuming I would not be loving this book...the twist happened. And I was blindsided. Just like Alice was and I felt dumb for not suspecting anything (just like Alice did). Any author that can get me to be completely unsuspecting gets a high five in my book. I will say, I hoped for more suspense or drama throughout the book. The ending was a blast to read but it was A LOT to get too. I'm not sure I would have finished if I wasn't listening to it. It was losing my focus a lot. BUT. The twist was fantastic. 3.5 rounded to 4.

Thank you to Netgalley for letting me listen to this book in exchange for a review.

I only realized today that I've now read all of BA Paris's book but [book:The Dilemma. This will need to be rectified.

But the question of the day is this, what would you do if you moved into your dream home only to find out that a brutal murder happened there?

Would you stay?
Would you run for the hills?

This is exactly the scenario that Alice and Leo face after moving into the home of their dreams but instead of moving out, Alice becomes obsessed with finding out who did it since she doesn't believe that the right person is behind bars.

She makes friends with all the neighbors asking questions etc and is continually suspecting someone else for this reason or that.

Will Alice get herself killed in the process of trying to find the killer?