This book is SO GOOD—one of my favorite titles so far in 2021! The narration is absolutely fantastic. Give me all the British accents and spellbinding vocal talent! Stories with therapists tend to rank high in my book and this one did not disappoint. The plot centers around a beautiful, gated, close-knit London community, where Alice and Leo are the new couple on the block. When Alice learns of a heinous crime committed previously in their new home—why didn’t anyone tell her about it?!—she begins pulling on the thread of the mystery that might threaten to undo them all. I found myself looking forward to long drives and laundry to fold, just so I could pop this back in my ears and see what would happen next. The writing is excellent, and the story is perfectly paced. I absolutely loved this one!!! Five stars!

This story had me SO intrigued. Any book that features the *someone living in a house where there was a prior murder* I'm going to enjoy. I also really loved the audiobook and narrator!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for allowing me early access to this book. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

It all started with the murder of the therapist, Nina, who lived in the Circle, a private gated community in London. The therapist interjects in the novel occasionally with observations from her therapy sessions. She seemed to be a well-liked, helpful member of the small community with her husband, Oliver. It doesn’t take long before all that changes.

Alice moved to London with Leo her boyfriend due to a business opportunity for him. They had only met 18 months prior due to a fender bender. Since she works as a translator for a publishing group thought it a great experience to work remotely. While impressed by the magnificent home, Alice can’t shake uncomfortable feeling living there. It seems that everyone in the neighborhood including Leo know more than Alice about the house’s gruesome history.

Leo seems reluctant to formally meet the neighbors just yet but Alice freely joins the community chat and welcomes everyone over. The party is filled with interesting characters and tension that Alice can’t quite figure out. Alice become humiliated and angry to realize she is the only one who doesn’t know that the former owner was stabbed to death in their home. She maintains her home in Hastings and her best friend Debbie who helps her when things go awry. Alice doesn’t have any family since her sister Nina and parents died in a car crash.

Alice decided to investigate who actually killed Nina as his sisters Helen and Olivia insist he was wrongly accused. The grief too much to bear he killed himself. The Circle community seems satisfied with at explanation despite the discrepancies of the night in question. Alice gets in over her head with dangerous characters who would prefer she left the past alone.

Alice and Leo have moved to a tight-knit gated community in London. When Alice learns about the History of her house, and of Nina, the therapist who used to live there, she becomes increasingly suspicious of all of those around her and singularly focused in solving the mystery.

This both was slow burn at times, and faster paced at others, with lots of twists and turns, lots of different motives, and good suspense and tension. The characters were less developed than I would have preferred, and I found myself frustrated at Alice and the outcome.

I don't usually read psychological/domestic thrillers and mysteries with the intent of trying to solve the mystery as I feel like I enjoy them more when I just go along for the ride, but I did find this one to be predictable. However, I did still enjoy the experience, and would generally recommend this one to readers who enjoy small community settings.

I thought Olivia Dowd's narration was excellent. She kept me engaged in the story, and invested in what was happening.

This was an okay read. I went through it quickly but at the same time, there wasn't a lot of excitement or much going on. I was not a fan of Alice and felt that her character took away from what could have been a good setting and plot for a mystery. The ending did speed up a bit and added some excitement, red herrings, and a twist.

I read this shortly after finishing Behind Closed Doors (a favorite of mine) and it fell short in comparison. This book took me awhile to go get into. I still enjoyed it the story and narration, and appreciate the opportunity to read it!

There were a lot of things I enjoyed about The Therapist but the things I didn't enjoy overshadowed the book and would lead me to not recommend this one. The neighbourhood was a classic what happens behind closed doors, who's hiding what secrets? Which at first had me chasing ideas and theories but the further I got the more disappointed I was.

I think the characters were interesting and wish that more had been revealed about each couple, I felt the story just scratched the surface. However the relationship between Alice and Leo was unrealistic and just never clicked for me. The biggest complaint I have is the title of the book, I enjoy when reading the book and the ah-ha moment comes where you connect the title with the story but this one just didn't work.

I found this book to be very enjoyable. The characters were really interesting and the Narrator did a great job giving them personalities. Every time I thought I had it figured out another twist would come and had me guessing again! Loved it!

Another best seller headed your way from B.A. Paris. I read it in one sitting, and enjoyed the story line. Unfortunately for me the main character, Alice, is so idiotically stupid that I ended up love-hating the book. She's what I would call a dumb smart person. Alice and her boyfriend Leo decided to buy a new home in a community that will allow them to bring their part-time long distance relationship into a fully committed relationship. She doesn't bother digging into his past, and then is shock to learn that he has secrets. Additionally, there was a murder in their new house two years prior. The suspected killer is already dead, so the community has moved on. Of course Alice becomes obsessed with finding the real killer, which gets her into some pickles.

Overall it's a fast paced read, but without a lot of mystery, and again, I stand by my frustrations with Alice's refusal to ask the right questions, or remove herself from obvious dangers. 3 out of 5 for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley & St Martins Press for an audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the plot for this one. A good neighborhood drama always draws me in! It was definitely a slow burn and took me a while (but sometime I cannot concentrate on audio). Of the two big twists, one I figured out a little while before but I did not expect the other twist! And it made perfect sense! I definitely recommend this one.

This was my first audiobook via NetGalley and it was a successful experience!
I loved the twist and I only was able to think that half of it was true.
B.A. Paris does not disappoint, and if you loved previous stories, I’m sure you’ll love this one too.
The narration is also well done.

Thank u for this Audible I absolutely enjoyed it and will be recommending this to many of my friends in my books clubs…

Not my favorite book from this author but i did still enjoy it. I kinda had it figured out a little before half way through but was still enjoyable. Thank you for the opportunity to read this.

Alice is excited to be moving to London with her partner Leo. They have found a house in a gated community where they can be together and build a future. They can make friends with the other residents of The Circle, maybe one day get married, and start a family. And they got such a good deal on the house that Alice didn’t even have to give up the cottage where she’s been living. It seems perfect.

Shortly after they moved in and joined the neighborhood app, Alice invites everyone in The Circle over for drinks on a Saturday night. She thought that would be a good way to get to know the others in the neighborhood, but when Leo finds out that she did that, he is not happy. He does go along with it though, and hangs out in the backyard with their neighbors, talking and drinking.

Alice tries to get in with some of the women in The Circle, wanting to make new friends and find a place where she could belong. However, she feels a little frozen out by some of the other wives. But she’s determined to keep trying. It’s not until a couple of weeks later, when she finds out the truth about their house, that she understands why the other women might be a little reluctant to be friends.

A private investigator comes by the house to talk to Alice, and she realizes that he was at the drinks party, pretending to be someone from The Circle. She had even shown him around the house, like she had with a couple of the neighbors. While most of the houses there have the same layout, Leo had combined two of the rooms upstairs to make one larger bedroom, and Alice had thought that they were curious to see how it turned out. But the PI, Thomas, tells her that there had been a woman killed in one of those upstairs bedrooms. She had been a therapist, and her name was Nina Maxwell.

Alice is taken aback. She had no idea of the murder and is immediately upset with their real estate agent for not informing them about it. She no longer feels comfortable in her own home. And then she realizes that not knowing about Nina’s death, and showing her new neighbors around the upstairs bedroom, must have come across as insensitive. She is mortified of what the neighbors must think, and goes around to make apologies.

There is still the problem of not being informed of the murder before they bought the house and moved on. And there is the coincidence of the name Nina, which was her sister’s name, her sister who died young in the same car accident that had killed their parents. But it does answer one thing for Alice. There were times at night that Alice thought there was someone else in the house. Now that she knows what happened to Nina, Alice thinks it’s her ghost, and starts talking to her.

Nina’s husband had been charged with her murder, and then he committed suicide. But based on what the PI had told Alice, she is starting to wonder if justice had been done after all. As she digs into the information of the murder, Alice realizes that The Circle has a lot of secrets, and it’s possible that someone killed to keep those secrets hidden. But if Alice tries to bring those secrets to light, will the killer decide that she should be silenced before Alice finds out the truth?

Bestselling thriller writer B.A. Paris is back with The Therapist, a domestic thriller that looks at what can happen in a gated community when you’re locked in with lies and secrets. Locked in Alice’s imagination, we are taken on a journey of questioning and curiosity into accusations and paranoia.

I got to listen to the audiobook for this, and I adored narrator Olivia Dowd. From the beginning of the book, she made the tension palpable. I could feel it in my shoulders almost right away. She has a beautiful voice for this novel, and I thought that listening to her read this novel made a fun reading experience into a truly wonderful journey. I definitely recommend this as an audiobook, if you can take it.

A copy of the audiobook for The Therapist was provided by Macmillan Audio through NetGalley, with many thanks.

3.5 Stars

I love a good psychological thriller and this is definitely one of those books.

I found the plot of this book very interesting. I tried to figure out how I would feel about being deceived into moving into a house where a woman has been murdered. The MC Alice is in that exact predicament. Her boyfriend purchased a house, then remodeled it and then didn't tell her that this was the case. Of course she is angry that he didn't tell her, but now she has to decide if she wants to live in the house or leave. In the mean time, she tries to solve the murder even though it has been "solved."

I kind of got hung up on Alice's character. It got a little repetitive on how angry she was at her boyfriend Leo for not telling her about the murder. She sat in limbo for too long for my comfort levels in a story. It made the story drag on for a bit.

Other than that, it was a pretty good whodunnit book. Everyone is a suspect and the twist at the end was a pretty big surprise.

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

The Therapist by B.A. Paris was such a WILD ride. I'm so glad I listened to this on audiobook because the narrator really put the emotions into what she was saying. I thought I had it all figured out but Paris said "think again!" and I was rocked. What a wonderful read (or listen, really).

I always enjoy a good thriller. This one sounded awesome, but I was confused. I felt that it started slow, which did not help my confusion. The narrator did not help the story progress any faster. The main character lost trust in everyone in her life, but the one person whom she shouldn't have trusted. I did enjoy the twist at the end. The killer was not who I expected, but it was a great twist. I may have enjoyed the thriller more if I read the hard copy, which would probably have helped my confusion. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for the chance to review.

The Therapist is another thriller by B. A. Paris that will leave you suspecting everyone and surprised at the end. Alice and Leo have just moved in together for the first time and have found a house in an exclusive neighborhood for a discount. After a house warming party a mysterious man, who party crashed the weekend before, appears at their doorstep. He does not come bearing glad tidings but instead disturbing news about their house. Alice discovers that Leo knew this news and so did all of the neighbors and no one told her. Why would everyone keep this secret and who are they protecting.

Over the course of the book both Alice and you the reader begin to suspect everyone. This is one of those books that you can't put down because you need to learn what happened. If you like thrillers pick this one up.

This was my FAVORITE B.A. Paris book yet!!! This is a 5 star must read! It had me on the edge of my seat from the beginning to the very end. I never saw some of the twists and turns… I was blindsided in the best way possible!!!!! Favorite thriller of the year !!!!!!

The Therapist by B.A. Paris is an entertaining audiobook that will leave you on the edge of your seat. The characters are interesting, and the story is perfectly creepy. The audio version of this thriller is also well-narrated and will keep you guessing, although the outcome is quite predictable.

Alice and her boyfriend, Leo, move into a gated community that seems idyllic on the outside. However, this little neighbourhood has many secrets and a haunting past. When Alice discovers that the house she is living in has a mystery to solve, she jumps right in and attempts to get to the bottom of it.

❀ LOTS OF CHARACTERS

There are quite a few characters to keep track of in this book, but the writing makes it easy to follow along. It seems as though almost everyone is a suspect at some point, and Alice has a hard time knowing who to trust. Although the ending of this book is easy to predict, it is still enjoyable to watch Alice unravel the secrets of the house she is living in.

❀ WELL-NARRATED

The narration is spot on and I really enjoyed listening to Olivia Dowd. Even through a couple of the slower-paced sections of the book, Dowd kept me engaged and wanting to know more. I always find that a great narrator can keep me invested in a story, so I appreciate her efforts.

❀ CREEPY AND INTERESTING

If you enjoy listening to a creepy and interesting thriller, The Therapist by B.A. Paris is one to try. It has lots of intriguing characters that will keep you wondering, and the narration is excellent. I look forward to reading the author’s next book.