Rehab, Murder and Addictions

After reading many books regarding alcoholism and drug addiction, I had difficulty finding this novel particularly new or inventive.

We are first introduced to Meg, a professional “gotcha” employee at a gambling casino in Los Angeles. She is a pro and is an asset for the bosses. She spends much of her day imbibing booze and pills. She is an addict who thinks she is under control. Sometimes Meg loses days and on one of those days, her famous sister, Haley leaves Meg desperate phone messages.

Meg was too “busy” to pick up her messages and during that time Haley died in a remote rehab facility for the rich and famous. Out of guilt and the need to discover answers about her sister’s death, she checked herself into the same clinic. I’m not sure how she was able to be accepted so quickly, but she managed to drink on the plane and hide meds and booze from the clinic’s professional staff.

Quinn describes the clinic’s layout and services in detail, but I had too many questions about the staff. Haley was quickly cremated and her sister seemed to replace her presence in terms of addiction. The outcome was somewhat twisty but not worth the read for me. I felt I was inundated with the descriptions of the booze and drugs and sloshed from one scene to another.

My gratitude to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark. All opinions experessed are my own.

The Clinic is well plotted and atmospheric, it definitely has a creepy vibe. The characters, there a lot of them are pretty nicely drawn and have believable back stories but they should have been developed a bit more.. The thing I did not like was the choppiness of the chapters. You would think the short chapters would make it easier to get through but it had the opposite effect for me. It seemed like the author did not trust her readers enough to hang in there for more than a page or two and I found that annoying. Also, the story could have been told with more points of view-there should have been chapters from different perspectives and could have been edited differently. The resolution of the story feels a little contrived but not sure if it would really fly in the real world but that is why we read fiction right? All in all, a pretty good read.

This was such a unique plot for a book! I was thrilled to receive an ARC, I just had to dive right in. It kept my attention and had me captivated in the main characters story. Highly recommend

I really liked the writing!!! I was hooked and wanted to know what was going on from the start.

The double POV, as they are my favorite novels. This is one of the books that you always are like yep thats whats going on then there is a twist that comes and you are like nope guess not. Guessing at every turn.

Great book and will read more from this author.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

In Cate Quinn's "The Clinic," the dark and mysterious world of addiction takes center stage as protagonist Meg dives into a remote rehab facility to uncover the truth behind her sister Haley's alleged suicide. Quinn weaves a suspenseful narrative, blending the complexities of family dynamics with the harrowing realities of addiction.

The story's strength lies in its multifaceted characters, particularly Meg, whose struggle with addiction and determination to unearth the truth creates a compelling and relatable narrative. The remote setting of the clinic adds an eerie atmosphere, intensifying the mystery surrounding Haley's death. Quinn's portrayal of addiction is raw and unflinching, providing a realistic backdrop for the unfolding drama.

The narrative is expertly paced, with each revelation building tension and propelling the story forward. Quinn skillfully explores the impact of addiction on both individuals and their families, delving into the nuances of guilt, regret, and the quest for redemption.

While the novel excels in creating a gripping mystery, some plot elements may feel familiar to fans of the genre. However, the strength of the character development and the atmospheric setting compensates for any predictability.

"The Clinic" is a riveting exploration of addiction, family secrets, and the quest for truth. Quinn's adept storytelling earns this novel a solid four out of five stars, making it a must-read for those who enjoy psychological thrillers with a strong emotional core."

Another novel with great premise on paper and requiring such a suspension of belief with "convenient" but unrealistic ways to wrap up a mystery was not for me. I think coming from a social work background, I found the whole rehab facility to be unrealistic. The characters were hard to keep track of and I felt like the "diagnoses" that were given were improbable.

Ahhh this book was so good. You never really know where this story will go, and I felt instantly hooked from the beginning. I really enjoyed the multiple POVs and dual timelines. This was definitely a great debut from this author and excited to read more. I highly recommend if you're searching for a good thriller / mystery. Four 1/2 stars!

Quinn's "The Clinic" is an interesting psychological thriller that is told from two perspectives: from Meg, a professional poker player/loan shark arrester; and from Cara, the manager of a luxury rehab in the Pacific Northwest. Following the death of Meg's pop stary sister Haley's suspicious death at the same rehab facility, Meg (an addict herself) goes undercover as a patient to unravel the mystery behind the latter's death.

What interested me the most about this novel was how Quinn pulled from her own experiences in rehab. Her approach to mental health awareness, addiction and the psychology behind addiction made the story engaging and allows the reader some introspection about their own possible biases.

As far as the story itself is concerned, I can't say that any of the characters were likeable, especially Cara. While we're given indirect insight into her past, that information doesn't do much to help the reader connect with Cara's character. Meg, on the other hand, is a bit more relatable in regard to her complex interpersonal relationships, demons and rehabilitation journey. That being said, I was less concerned with her development as a character and more interested in what ended up being a very far-fetched conclusion to what happened to Haley.

Overall, this was a decent psychological thriller that, once you get through the first half of the book, really picks up and keeps the reader hunting for answers alongside Meg.

It took me quite a while to get through this one. I felt it was slow to start but picked up about half way through. It was a little bit predictable but also managed to surprise me in the end. I enjoyed the changing perspectives; the writer did a good job of giving each individual character a clear voice. Ultimately, this story just didn’t hold my attention very well. I felt it lacked depth, and some twists within the story fell flat or ultimately seemed to go nowhere.

this novel does not know what kind of story it wants to tell or what message it wants to send. "the clinic" begins with meg, a woman who works at a casino and fleshes out the bad guys who steal from the house and the innocent, finding out that her superstar sister, hayley, is dead. determined to find out who killed her sister, meg sneaks into treatment at a rehab facility for the rich and famous.

the start to this novel is very interesting, and some of the characters are quite compelling. however, the middle and end are a mess. from gross generalizations about people with mental health disorders, to the underdeveloped main character, to the twists and turns that make no sense — what is the point? the clinic shifts from one thing to another in a cartoonish, jarring way.

honestly, cara's point-of-view is useless and she is forgettable. i did not care about anything involving cara at all, i was only mildly interest in meg's journey to find her sister's killer.

overall, i was underwhelmed, unimpressed, and rolling my eyes in annoyance.

This book had me guessing right up to the end, trying to figure out who the killer was. The characters were interesting and has a lot of depth to them. It had a lot of twist and turns in it along the way. A very well writen book that I highly recomment reading.

The Clinic started off pretty strong with an interesting story, unreliable narrators that I kind of liked and a very atmospheric setting. But it all started to go down hill at the halfway point and by the end I was just not invested in the story anymore.

The story is told from two points of view, Meg and Cara. Meg is an addict and also a poker player. She struggles with relationships with other people, but she can spot a tell and read others body language well. This comes in handy while she investigates her sister’s death. We know from the start that there was friction between the two sisters, and as the story unfolds, some sort of childhood trauma. Because of her addiction, Meg is not a totally reliable narrator. As she detoxes she hallucinates and has trouble understanding what is going on around her. But she was relatable and somewhat likable.

Cara is the manager of the rehab clinic that is the setting for this book. She is somewhat naive about what is really happening at the clinic Her sole job as narrator is to relate much of what goes on behind closed doors with the staff and the police. We only get hints to her background and how she ends up working there and I never felt like we truly got to know her. I often wondered what her role in the story was and why she was even a narrator beyond telling what happened when Meg wasn’t around.

There is a whole cast of secondary characters, some strongly written, others not so much. It was hard to keep track of who was who and their backstories and most of them had little to do with the main story.

The story did start off pretty strong. I was invested in learning what exactly happened to Haley, what their childhood trauma was all about, and what was really going on at this clinic. But as these things were revealed the story seemed to veer off into the implausible quickly. I really thought the trauma was going to be more important to the story than it was and be more traumatic. Also, what happened to Haley was just so out there that it totally took the story off that cliff into total disbelief. The ending also felt a bit rushed, and it didn’t feel like things were really resolved.

The writing was also up and down. The start was strong and I loved the descriptions which were well done, especially the ones about the clinic. But there were a lot of inconsistencies in the story and many minor mistakes. Hopefully these were all caught in the final edit. The pacing was also all over the place. I don’t know anything about rehab clinics, especially ones for the uber rich, but some parts of their therapy seemed wrong and unrealistic.

Reading back over this review, I feel that I have been a bit too negative. I did like the story and thought there were some really good parts, but the things that I didn’t like or struggled with far outweighed the good. But don’t just take me word for this book. There are a lot of reviews that talk glowingly about it. So please check those out before you decide if you want to read this one or not.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Men's troubled sister dies in rehab, and there are many questions. It started out great. Somewhere along the way I was waiting for things to wrap up. It is bizarre, creepy, and interesting. For me just dragged in parts.

What a twisty read!

Meg, someone whose job is to put the bad guys away, hears news that her sister has taken her own life while in rehab, but doesn’t believe she’s capable of that. Herein begins our trips down the rabbit hole of rehab, inspired by author Cate Quinn’s own experiences with rehab.

This has very quick chapters, so the “just one more chapter…” can really take forever/be almost never ending. Pretty fast-paced story with some twists and turns; especially towards the end.

Love getting the story from different perspectives - it really helps to give depth to the story and the characters to make it more interesting.

I’ve always had a love of psychology, so this story made me more curious and want to research more during and after finishing the book.

Thanks so much to the author, Cate Quinn, Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the eARC of The Clinic in exchange for my honest review!

Loved this book. Lots of good elements and twists to it. I always guessed the one plot twist but I couldn't figure out the how. Either way it was still a great reveal and ending

I can't get enough of psychological thrillers. That is exactly what we have been given with this fantastic work from Cate Quinn. The big twist I did not see coming and I was always so excited to find out what happened next. Every thriller fan should pick up this book.

"From the critically acclaimed author of Black Widows comes a thriller set in a remote rehab clinic on the Pacific Northwest coast, in which the death of a woman inside prompts her sister to enter the clinic as a patient in order to find the truth. Perfect for fans of Stacy Willingham and Tarryn Fisher!

Meg works for a casino in LA, catching cheaters and popping a few too many pain pills to cope, following a far different path than her sister Haley, a famous actress. But suddenly reports surface of Haley dying at the remote rehab facility where she had been forced to go to get her addictions under control.

There are whispers of suicide, but Meg can't believe it. She decides that the best way to find out what happened to her sister is to check in herself - to investigate what really happened from the inside.

Battling her own addictions and figuring out the truth will be much more difficult than she imagined, far away from friends, family - and anyone who could help her."

A perhaps evil and remote rehab clinic wreathed in fog? Oh yes.

Cate Quinn is a talented writer and storyteller, and I enjoyed this!
The premise drew me in, with the mystery and Hollywood angle and the potential for a lot of drama, all of which it had. Initially, this was a bit slow, but once it took off, it got good and had some unexpected twists. There was one twist in particular that totally shocked me! Between the twists and some unreliable characters, this kept me guessing all the way through.

Also, this was such an atmospheric read. The remote clinic setting, with its creepy vibes, was almost a character in itself, plays into the plot, and sets the perfect stage for this twisty story. The short chapters helped add to the suspense, and the story was entertaining. Told in dual POV, the characters are vividly depicted, even if many appear unlikable initially. Backstories, childhood traumas, and more come to light, and I thought the character development was well done.

The author states she drew on her own rehab experiences for this novel, and it is evident she also did a great deal of research. Her portrayals of addiction and psychiatric issues were nuanced, thoughtful, and layered. However, some readers may want to check trigger warnings before beginning the book. Overall, it is an entertaining read and one I would recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the gifted eARC.

The death of a woman inside a remote rehab clinic in the Pacific Northwest prompts her sister to enter as a patient in order to find out what happened. Haley Banks is a famous singer/wannabe actress. She's also famous for her behavior. Meg, her younger sister, works undercover in a casino. She has issues of her own and when her sister turns up dead Meg has to face her own addictions to uncover the truth.

The story alternates between Meg's perspective and Cara, new manager of The Clinic. We start off with being introduced to Meg and her job at the casino. I found this part slow and kept wondering if it was necessary. Stick with it though because after the first ten percent the story picks up as we move to the Clinic. Meg's personality and personal issues have a lot of importance to the story so the beginning is understandable.

There is a lot of talk drug therapy, rehab info, and certain psychological conditions come into play. I'm not sure if I believe everything in relation to the characters considering how we're told about it but it is all very interesting.

The Clinic keeps you reading. There is a sense of dread to get through and a feeling of a race against time. There is a twist I halfway saw coming. At that point though things become a little top unbelievable. I like the main outcome of the story but there are a couple of things near the end I have a problem with.

The Clinic is an original take on a remote setting. A creeping sense of dread throughout propels you through to the end.

3.75 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publisher, and Cate Quinn for an ARC of the Clinic! OHHH BOYYY was I not ready for that twist! And then the next twist. The whiplash I received was top notch quality. I lost sleep trying to finish this book to see what in the heck was going on at The Clinic. Meg checks into a rehab in a very remote area to find out what happened to her sister there and how she died/who murdered her. There is no way her sister had died of a suicide and Meg is determined to find out. Once set on this remote area, Meg finds out she has to deal with her own addictions/problems before being able to figure out others.