So dark and twisty! I really enjoyed this twisted thriller/mystery that had multiple surprises in store!

What do you get when you mix addiction/rehab, investigating a death, trauma, and greed? A story that hooks you.

The character development of Meg who is entering rehab, without realizing that she actually needs it as well, but to investigate what happened to her sister? They say her sister committed suicide, but it was with a drug she had never taken before... Everyone is suspicious and going between a new Manager who wants to follow the rules and Meg, who is an addict as well. Who do you trust in this dual POV?

And then to find out at the end... "Wonder how much of The Clinic is based on fact? Cate Quinn was inspired to write this book after her own experience in rehab." "This is the first book I have ever written sober." This is very inspiring to see from the author at the end and that she is willing to share her story as well!

The cover of The Clinic sets the tone for this isolated, atmospheric read. I loved the premise--Meg has gone undercover at the rehab clinic where her sister has just died, trying to figure out what happened to Haley. To her shock, she starts finding notes written to her in Haley's handwriting, left in her pockets.

I was certainly hooked. This book is on the longer side, but the suspense keeps the reader hooked and the audiobook flew by. I couldn't wait to put together what was going on! The reveal is a little outlandish, but I encourage readers to suspend belief and enjoy the ride.

If addition is triggering to you, proceed with caution. These scenes are well-handled, though, and the representation is well-done.

I'm looking forward to reading more by this author!

Meg leaves her casino job to go to a Clinic to find out what happened to her sister, Hayley, who died there. Hayley was a famous star, and Meg didn't believe that she was an addict who committed suicide. The only addict in the family that she knows is Meg herself.

This story is told in dual timelines, moving from Meg's perspective to the clinic manager's. It starts slow and ends with an interesting conclusion.

Many thanks to Netgalley for this arc.

Meg is the daughter and sister to actresses and works at a casino and catches hustlers and other bad people. Meg finds out that her sister Haley has died at The Clinic which is a rehab place for celebrities. Meg goes in undercover to find out what happened to her sister Haley. Meg continues to take oxy and ends up having seizures due to ingesting fugu. Dr. Lutz is obsessed with Meg and Haley both because they have psychopathic tendencies just like him. Haley ends up being alive and working with Dr. Lutz, he wants to give criminals a fresh start by going into rehab and taking fugu in order to fake their deaths like they did Haley. Haley kills Dr. Lutz after he tries to kill Meg and ends up getting a new life and starting over. Haley and Meg both remember a man named Mr. Priest from their childhoods and turns out that Haley was protecting Meg from their mother's suicide attempt. Meg gets notes from Haley prior to finding out that she was alive. Meg also thinks that Mr. Priest was in the facility even though it was Jade aka Haley. This book was very interesting.

Meg works for a casino in LA, and she becomes addicted to drugs and alcohol after a traumatic run in with some gamblers. Meg’s sister is Haley Banks, a famous actress, who also has a drug problem. Haley was in rehab trying to overcome her addiction, when she was found dead of overdose. Meg does not believe that her sister’s death is an open and shut case like the police have deemed it. Meg checks herself into the same rehab and starts to investigate her sister’s death. While in rehab she receives notes telling her not to trust anyone and in her therapy sessions she begins to uncover memories from her past that have her spiraling. Everyone in rehab is a suspect, will Meg be able to solve what happened to her sister?

I really enjoyed the first half of this book, but then the book started to drag. The chapters, while short, became pointless and did not progress the story. Overall, the book was a good mystery, and I didn’t see the ending coming, but I would have liked for it to be more concise. I will definitely be reading more of Cate Quinn and look forward to her next releases.

💊 REVIEW: The Clinic 💊

If you are a big fan of (early) Riley Sager, then this book is right up your alley!

SUMMARY: Meg is a loner and opioid addict who works undercover in casino security. When her sister Haley dies under suspicious circumstances at an exclusive rehab facility, Meg decides to check to uncover the truth, but between withdrawals, personal demons, and someone possibly trying to kill her, she may run out of time.

I liked this book! Despite constantly doing things you’d scream at a horror movie heroine for, I enjoyed her general dislike of people and relentless commitment to uncovering the truth. (Basically the classic jaded cop/detective trope but a lady.)

The small cast of characters, each of whom had something to hide, meant that the identity of the true villain kept me guessing. There were twists and turns, but none were so outrageous as to fall outside the bounds of the story.

ALSO, I actively dislike thrillers where all the characters are terrible people – and that was NOT the case with this one. Everyone was flawed, but I was still rooting for them to survive.

Overall, fun thrilling read. Definitely recommend it! A good Spring Break beach read??

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Very intriguing premise and a strong start. Sort of fell apart in the middle but really ramps up in the last 20 percent!
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Quick and Dirty
-locked door mystery
-addiction and mental health rep
-fast-paced with short chapters
-sister story
-unreliable female narrator

What Worked
I’m not a huge mystery/thriller reader, but I enjoy them occasionally, as they offer me a brief respite from WWII books and heavier literary fiction. The Clinic quickly grabbed my attention and kept it throughout most of the book, exactly what I want from a thriller. Sister stories like this one are my fav, so that aspect of the story was terrific. Meg was a total trainwreck of a human, but still, I felt drawn to her and wanted to see her succeed in her mission to discover the truth about Haley. The other characters at the rehab were entertaining suspects, making the whodunnit aspect of the story compelling and entertaining.

What Didn’t Work
While I found this book entertaining, I also found it challenging to suspend disbelief. I can’t pinpoint the reasons why I struggled with the story other than to say it was all too neat and too over the top. The big reveal was a letdown, and the big twist was highly unrealistic. I disengaged with the book at a certain point toward the end (can’t say without spoilers).

Read This If
Readers who enjoy locked-room mysteries with messy dynamics might enjoy this one!

A locked room thriller that circles around a woman trying to solve the murder of her sister while undergoing rehab.

I feel conflicted about this book. On one hand, the story was engaging enough to keep me turning the pages to see what would happen. I thought the premise was fantastic. However at times it felt like the author was pushing the unreliable narrator theme too much. Other storylines felt forced and stereotypical.

All in all, an enjoyable thriller with a unique premise that kept me wanting to read more.

This was not my cup of tea.
I wanted to read because of the setting,
A bit isolated with a mystery to be solved.
It was a bit all over the place for me
I couldn’t connect to the characters, some were sketchy, some troubled but I just couldn’t lock onto anything that would keep my interest

Special thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was such an interesting mystery. The characters and the mystery were both compelling and I was very invested. I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending (which knocked off a star), but I would still recommend.

21% DNF - I think I've guessed some of the high points of this and I just don't like any of the characters or their POVs enough to keep reading. The idea is intriguing, but I just keep finding my attention wandering.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the digital copy to review!

Ok I need to go back and read Quinn’s backlist, because this book was WILD and in the very best way. The setting for this is perfect, it is eerie and is a place that boasts about its luxury while getting help for your addictions. It sounds tempting, especially if you need to figure out what really happened to your sister, as you don’t believe suicide like they claim. And, you have a wicked addiction to pain meds and prefer alcohol to food, so maybe you’ll get some help for yourself while you’re here investigating. So thinks Meg, our protagonist that has decided she needs to figure out firsthand what happened while her actress sister was inside this place.

I was engrossed in this story once it started and the audio was wonderful. There were a few twists in here that I did not see coming and a couple I did, but the ending was ca-razy and I loved this one all the way through. I thought this was very well done and very entertaining especially given how heavy the subject matter is. I definitely recommend this one, it is not to be missed!

In a nutshell: The beginning is slow and the characters unlikable. The middle ramps up and gets interesting, though it pushes the boundaries of plausibility. The ending spirals into an over-the-top, ridiculous climax.

The implausibility of this one ruined it for me. If you can suspend disbelief, you might love it.

I'm right in the middle with this one. I felt it started out strong and then the twist at the end was just ridiculous IMO. Although I can see people wanting to do this in real life, especially when they have a lot of money. I expected the "bad person" to be who it was, so that was not a surprise in the least bit, but the other things that happened were just silly. There were other outcomes I kept waiting to happen because they were plausible in my head, but I was wrong. Kind of wish she would have taken those routes though.

A positive for me was that the setting was great. A spooky high end rehab for the rich and famous...who doesn't want a glimpse into the drama and madness that would happen there?

A part of me kind of just wanted the story line of Meg working in the casino world as an undercover cop and the dangers she faces in the process. That might have been a better story overall.

After her sister dies in a remote Pacific Coast rehab clinic, Meg checks herself into the clinic to investigate. She firmly believes that there is no way her famous sister killed herself, and despite their estrangement, she is determined to find out what happened.

I don't often enjoy stories that switch point of view, but in this case it really worked to build the suspense. The focus switches back and forth from Meg to Cara, the manager of the clinic. I had a rough time reading the Cara portions of the story because she wasn't a very likable character (but then again I wasn't meant to like her).

The first half of the book builds the premise, characters, setting and starts the course to suspense. The suspenseful, faster-paced portion of the story starts in the second half. I found myself binge reading because I had to know what happened!

This is a very dark, twisted story. I didn't see the end coming. Definitely worth reading!!

This is the first book by Cate Quinn that I've read. I am definitely reading more by this author!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Sourcebooks. All opinions expressed are entirely my own**

I loved the beginning of this one and it had me hooked right away. I unfortunately guessed the ending rather quickly into the book. The plot was fun and the characters were all so unique and entertaining! I loved reading through this one and it’s a fun thriller for those getting into thrillers!

I stayed up way too late reading The Clinic because putting it down was not an option. I loved it so much! While it's definitely a thriller (with so many good twists!), it's also about so much more. Addiction, trauma, messed-up families, the positives and negatives of rehab. And it was very obvious this book was personal to Cate Quinn, which made it even better. A great story for sure!

Thank you for allowing me to read this book as an ARC.
****spoiler****
I love a good thriller. mystery, suspense. This one did not disappoint. I loved the book all the way until about 75% in when things just became a little too far fetched and fake/unreal. I know a fiction book is not going to be facts and always realistic but The Clinic was just way too much 'out there.' When Haley all of a sudden ended/showed up with a different identity, I just found it too much and thought that the author could have found a better ending!! Sadly this book didn't have a single likeable character while it obviously wants the reader to like the protagonist. The book overall was good. It just should have been a little less dragging on towards the middle with not much happening.
Overall 4 🌟

Meg is good at reading people. It's why she has a track record for catching cheaters at a casino in LA. But after a shoulder injury after a job gone wrong, she's addicted to pain pills and alcohol. When she learns that her sister Haley died in a remote rehab in the Pacific Northwest, Meg decides to investigate. The rumor is that Haley died by her own hand, but Meg knows Haley better than that.

As Meg investigates and digs deeper into her childhood trauma, she learns more about Haley's time in rehab while trying to remain undercover. But the luxury facility has its own secrets, with an eccentric owner and experimental treatments. Will Meg find out what happened to Haley?

I appreciate books that tackle difficult subjects. Cate Quinn candidly mentions in a note at the end of the book that she struggled with addiction after writing her first book, and that her time in rehab inspired The Clinic.

This book had plenty of potential, but I feel like things went downhill after Meg entered rehab. Some of the conversations between characters also felt a little awkwardly worded to me. I liked that the book was a fast read, but some moments were too repetitive for me to fully enjoy the story. Some parts of the plot also seemed far-fetched, but that's what happens with some thrillers.

I'm disappointed that I didn't love this book, but I think plenty of other readers will find it to be engaging.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.