The Therapy Room is a thriller novel by Sam Baron.
I enjoyed this novel. I found it a little slow to start but it soon picked up the pace. I kept reading until the end as I wanted to know what happened. This novel was a good page turner and I do recommend it.
❤️ Thank you to netgalley, Storm publishing and the author for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

FBI agent Susan Parker has been placed on extended leave due to an incident whilst she was in charge of the Splinter serial killer case. Amit, Susan’s husband, allegedly took his own life in the home of one of the Splinter victims, and this, along with the stress of the case, tipped the FBI agent over the edge. When the Splinter resurfaces, Susan is once again given the job of finding the person behind the killer.

This is the first in a new series with Agent Parker. By the time the second book is ready I hope that a beta reader is used. In this book there are too many inconsistencies to be acceptable, and how times can “slash” be used before someone notices? When talking about Gennifer Mason to DC Hallett of the Gloucestershire Constabulary he speaks likes someone out of the 50’s - “in her cups”, “have their tickets punched”, “mental asylum”, “our Genny”, a proper PC Plod character!

I liked most of the characters, though Susan is dull and inconsistent, she didn’t grab my attention enough to be a main character. A bit of professional background about Amit would have been useful. To be such a pivotal role, all we know is that his mother is awful and his dad is a sweetie!

The last chapter is written so that the reader wants more, a cliffhanger. This makes the book seem unfinished.

The errors spoil what is essentially a really good story, just poorly put together.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm.

The very epitome of page-turner with a chilling storyline that grips from the first and kept me guessing right up to the heart-racing denouement STUNNER ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Here’s the deal…. I read this premise, and I had to snatch it up off NetGalley. What doesn’t sound exciting about an old farmhouse being discovered with a bunch of torture chambers in the basement? The dialogue in this was just silly in some parts. I don’t think FBI agents would talk like this. 😳

Susan is an FBI agent who has been suspended for almost a year now due to an incident. One day, another officer that she does not know, randomly calls her and tells her to come to the scene of a crime. Only when she gets there, they discover that there are rooms in the basement that have been holding people prisoner. The only thing is once these people are released, no one will talk.

The theme? Someone is killing therapists and their family members. Who is targeting these people?

I thought the story was extremely suspenseful. I absolutely could not put this down and finished it in 24 hours. However, I did have a problem with some of the dialogue between the FBI agents. I felt like some of this was dialogue straight out of the SWAT movie. I could picture these people literally being in their early 20s other than the agent in charge. There were also times whenever these agents would be on to something and questioning a suspect, and then the suspect would give them an answer that they had suspected themselves only to NOT believe the very answers they were looking for. Lost yet? That confused me. Plus…. Words like ‘Buster’ and ‘Pardner’ were used and these people live in California. No one talks like that unless it’s a comedy.

Still highly suspenseful. Please read the other reviews as well.
I’d like to thank Storm Publishing, NetGalley, and Sam Baron for an ARC. All opinions are my own.
Expected publication date, February 23, 2024.
3.5 ⭐️

First the crime was horrify, I don’t think I’ll be sleeping tonight. I really enjoyed this book my first by Sam, it really kept me on my toes with the twists and turns. I actually couldn’t put it down! Susan is a FBI agent who’s heartbroken but strong. She’s getting back into her job and being a single mum to her adorable daughter Natalie. I love the little family they had. This is a gripping intense thriller which I would definitely recommend!

The Blurb

When a world-renowned psychiatrist is found dead in an abandoned ranch house in the Californian Santa Carina Valley, a post-it note with the words ‘Susan Parker’ and her cell phone number is taped to the basement door.

Still grieving her husband’s devastating suicide less than a year ago, FBI agent Susan Parker is taking a break from work and trying to rebuild her life as a single mom to her seven-year-old daughter Natalie. When she’s called to the crime scene of Doctor Magnusson, a chill runs down her spine.

For years, Susan had been trying to hunt down the doctor, convinced he was the serial killer known as ‘Splinter.’ Someone is playing a cruel game with her, and they’ve only just begun.

Desperate to speak to the twelve victims rescued from the locked therapy rooms, Susan finds herself faced with a wall of silence. Why won’t they talk?

Battling her demons while confronting the toughest case she’s ever had to solve. Susan discovers a chilling truth about the true nature of ‘Splinter’ – a killer preying on those seeking therapy.

But that’s not all she finds…

With her family’s safety hanging in the balance and her career on the line, can Susan protect her precious daughter and prevent a new killing spree before it’s too late?

I have mixed feelings about this book! The premise itself was good. It has a great storyline with lots of interesting twists and turns.

There were also some really strong, well written characters. Unfortunately, the main character, Susan, wasn't one of them. I found her character inconsistent somehow, she just didn't gel for me. I couldn't get the feel of her at all which made me feel quite disconnected from the story.

There were also several errors that grated on me, such as the amount of times a victim had been stabbed changed from 53 to 76 (or similar!) in the space of a couple of pages.

Overall, I did enjoy the story itself and was intrigued to find out the who, what and why. I just didn't feel as involved as I usually do so I wasn't' gripped!

I also found the ending very lacking and therefore frustrating!

This is my first book by Baron, but it won’t be my last. The Therapy Room is a dark, compulsive thriller., which I read in a couple of settings, FBI agent Susan Parker is welcome addition to this genre. I particularly liked the way he portrayed her daughter.. A talented writer.

Very satisfying intro to FBI Agent Susan Parker, and I am looking forward to the next book. Read this. You won’t be disappointed. I very much appreciate the ARC #netgalley .

3.5 stars

A solid start to a new series, that gives us a main character with baggage, and a mystery to solve.
That's before the case has even started.
I really enjoyed the pacing, the domestic situation, and the supporting characters.
I wish there had been more info on what happened in the therapy rooms, but maybe I just like gritty stories.
Left feeling like book 2 needs to come my way soon.

First off, this was overall a great story. There were a few inconsistencies that, while not enough to pull me out of the story, were enough to grate on my nerves. It’s nothing that can’t be fixed in a final round of edits. The first was that a “CSI”, even for the FBI, does not conduct autopsies. That would be relegated to the medical examiner. Also, DNA results wouldn’t come back in a couple of hours, even with a sample to compare it to. You basically have to take the sample, extract it, purify it, and then sequence it. The process takes weeks, and that’s assuming they aren’t dealing with a backlog. Even with an “rush job” it’s not happening in a couple of hours. Also, Susan and Naved didn’t photograph the murder weapon in the surrounding area before removing it. That’s a big no-no. Without doing that, any good lawyer can cast doubt on if it was actually found at the crime scene, whether there’s a witness or not. The last thing was that the number of times Magnusson was stabbed changes throughout the story. With that being said, one of the things I really liked about the story was the incredibly diverse cast of characters that didn’t feel like they were forced to fit a quota. I especially liked the introduction of a deaf character as my husband is partially deaf and it’s very rare to see. I knew what was going on with the story within the first few chapters (as outrageous as I thought it was), but it was still interesting to watch it all play out exactly like I thought it would. It was quite satisfying. To be honest, I would have loved to be a beta reader for this. Too late now, of course, but this is just the type of books I love to beta. The story itself kept me engaged and far outweighed the inconsistencies. I’ll be continuing the series when the next one comes out!

Huge thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

The first chapter of this book is great! The POV is interesting and ends with mystery. The main character we switch to, Susan, isn't that interesting. I don't really feel the need to keep reading, unfortunately.

The Therapy Room by Sam Baron has an interesting premise. It is a good police procedural, introducing new characters and a fresh storyline. The Therapy Room is the first book in the Susan Parker FBI series, and I look forward to more! The book is an exciting thriller with a character juggling her own personal demons and the demands of her job.

Still grieving her husband’s devastating suicide less than a year ago, FBI agent Susan Parker is taking a break from work and trying to rebuild her life as a single mom to her seven-year-old daughter Natalie. When a world-renowned psychiatrist is found dead in an abandoned ranch house, a post-it note with the words 'Susan Parker’ and her cell phone number is taped to the basement door. In the basement are twelve therapy rooms where several victims are rescued, but who won’t speak about what happened to them.

Thinking about her family’s safety and her career, Susan needs to protect her daughter and prevent a new killing spree before it’s too late.

I liked FBI agent Susan Parker’s daughter, Natalie. She seemed pretty precocious for a 7-year-old, but she had been through a lot the year prior when her father was murdered. I liked getting to know this new character and feel she will be a good addition to the police procedural and mystery genre books.

The story weaves the main plot with Susan’s “supposed” suicide of her husband. Susan definitely has her own trauma to battle through and is desperate to find out what happened to her husband, Amit, which is revealed piece by piece and keeps the tension high in the story.

The author unfolded the story in an engaging fashion and kept me on my toes about who was involved and what would happen. The main story’s ending was satisfying, but the other parts ended on a cliffhanger, which was a little disappointing.

I would recommend this book, and I look forward to reading the next installment, getting to know FBI agent Parker in more depth, and finding out what really happened to her husband and what other cases she will be confronted with in future books.

The Therapy Room is a good police procedural, introducing new characters and a fresh storyline. It has some good twists and heart-pounding suspense.

#TheTherapyRoom #NetGalley @Stormbooks_co

Ooooooh great book! I can't wait for the next one! Thank goodness there's not a cliffhanger but more of a continuation! This book had a bit of everything! It had high suspense, intrigue, action packed, murder, mystery, serial killers, terror cells, FBI, some great police work, a great who done it and some really crazy twist and turns! The storyline was so very interesting and had me glued to my Kindle! I highly recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and can't wait for more in this series! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!