This book had me gripped from the beginning. A very dark and twisty thriller about a criminal psychologist, Dr Fletcher, who returns to work after a bereavement and starts working with new patient Trent Davies. Davies, a cannibalistic serial killer, nicknamed the Vampire of Bakersfield, has been sentenced to 6 consecutive life sentences in high security psychiatric hospital deemed insane. With a copycat killer on the loose, Dr Fletcher has her work cut out, overcoming her own issues and delving into Davies’s psyche. Then a parcel addressed to Davies is delivered to the hospital and the return address is Dr Fletchers….
Every twist and turn has you rethinking everything you first thought. I flew through this book trying to understand what was going on and it didn’t disappoint. However, I did feel the ending was rushed and there was no closure to a few aspects of Davies’s story and Larua. Overall I enjoyed the dark thriller, the mental health story line tying in with the characters childhood upbringing, and the role of PTSD in the characters social history and give it 4/5 stars. Would recommend and will be purchasing a copy for my mum.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm publishing for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review
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This was my first book by this author and it definitely didn’t disappoint! It had me hooked from the first few pages and I just couldn’t put it down. It reminded me of books I’ve read by Frieda McFadden, it has the twists and turns throughout the book that kept me guessing, I did guess what happened at the end and felt it was a little rushed but I would give this authors books another chance!

Wow
Wow….
A must read in 2024! I thought I’d worked it out so many times but I hadn’t! Do not read alone but definitely do read!
So many great descriptions and something different!
Enjoy!

Dark, disturbing, and twisted - "The Therapist," by S.A. Falk is like watching a gory horror movie. Personally, I am not a fan of horror movies.

I love a good thriller, but this was too much for me. It's about a therapist who treats the criminally insane. Her newest patient, serial killer Trent Davis, is the worst of the worst. When a copycat starts committing the same kinds of crimes as Davis, the therapist becomes determined to find out who is imitating her patient, while simultaneously analyzing him.

This book is gruesome, detailing crimes of murder, sexual assault, and cannibalism. There was also a lot of talk about demons, which I found especially disturbing and creepy. And not in an "edge of my seat" kind of way but in a "I can't sleep" kind of way.

The book is fast-paced, and it does keep you guessing until the end. The twist is solid, but I did feel like it was rushed, and even a little lazy. There are still a lot of unanswered questions that I wish were explained a little better. This could have been a great book to recap all the details at the end and explain how the twist was right in front of us the whole time. It felt like a missed opportunity.

If you like over-the-top, if you like thrillers that border on horror, this book is your jam. But personally, it was too dark for me.

Oh my gosh! This book crept under my skin, made me connect with Steph, the psychiatrist and at the end I just sat there and couldn't believe what I read. The book is just so good!

Trent Davis has been accused of murdering his victims in a gruesome way but he claims insanity and instead of prison, is sent to a psychiatric unit. There he meets psychiatrist Dr Stephanie Fletcher. There's this cat and mouse interaction between the two of them where Trent constantly plays these mind games.

Detective Navarro is called in to take on the case as there seems to be another killer out there, as the bodies pile up. Who is the killer while Trent is in a psychiatric unit?

This was an excellent read, very fast paced with an amazing twist that you didn't see coming. I only wish it had been 20 pages longer and expanded on the ending more.
The book follows a psychiatric doctor who deals with the worst of the worst. Her latest charge is a man who had been killing women, eating their organs and then dumping them at the side of the road.
You very quickly come to realise that something isn't quite right, is what he is saying true or is he lying?
The plot is well thought out, the characters are very believable and it is written very well.
Overall I really enjoyed this and would recommend to thriller fans!

This book started off with so much promise but after reading half of it.... I saw the twist coming and everything fell flat from then onwards. Too predictable. Well researched though. Not more than 3 stars for me.

From the first couple of pages, I was completely pulled in.. It was definitely unputdownable! Page after page, I needed to know who, what? Why?! But then.. Wait, what the heck?! I’m still speechless..

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC of The Therapist. Wow. That was a whirlwind that I consumed in two days. This held all of the makings of a true psychological thriller with some pieces of horror and shock value interlaced throughout. The characters worked together to create an amazing storyline. The shocking twist at the end after I thought I figured it out made this a 5 star read for me.

The Therapist by S.A. Falk is the true definition of a psychological thriller. This book has every piece of a thriller that makes a thriller a best seller. Psychosis, psychiatric breaks, murder, grotesque descriptions of what psych patients did to their victims, suspense, mystery, twists and turns. I will caution, that this book is dark. Really dark. But it’s also really good, like unputdownable good.

Set in a psychiatric hospital in California for the criminally insane, the main character, Dr. Stephanie Fletcher is tasked with a new patient, Trent, that sadistically and ritually murdered six women and engaged in cannibalism with their corpses. Dealing with a patient like this shakes Stephanie to her core, but when copycat murderer appears and mimics Trent’s murders, Stephanie becomes concerned that somehow, even from the psych facility, Trent is involved. Meanwhile, she is battling her own demons and fighting to keep them at bay. Who’s the copycat murderer? Is Stephanie in too deep with this patient? Did she cross a line that a psychiatrist should never cross with her patient? The ending will shock you.

The authors writing style was great, and the storyline was great. My only complaint is the ending was abrupt, also with a shocking twist, I would have loved it played out more with a tad bit more closure, but still, a 5 star read!

Really struggled with this book. Not my usual kind and for me it was too gory. I got a bit lost at parts and found it just not for me. However I do know folk will love all that.

A fast paced thriller that kept me intrigued right up until the end when it ended with no wrap up for the two main characters. Talk about a bummer, ruined the book completely for me.

Very Hannibal Lecter - esque !

The premise is interesting and some of the prose is very atmospheric but I did find the meanderings of the main character quite tedious at times.

Whilst I did anticipate the twist as the story unfolded the various characters involved certainly hold off that suspicion until nearing the end.

**3.5 Rounded up**

I have many mixed emotions about books with an unreliable narrator, this one is no exception. From the beginning, the author has you second guessing yourself on who the copycat killer is. However, if you pay close enough attention to the information between the lines, the ending can be predicted from the beginning. I definitely finished the book with the idea that I should’ve seen it coming a mile away. This is a classic psychological thriller that would make a fantastic introduction to the genre. There just wasn’t anything about the story that made it stand out against the rest. Definitely comparable to the Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides.

TW: csa, religion, satan/devil, religious influence, sa, extreme mental health issues, violence, graphic descriptions of violent crimes, murder.

Dr Fletcher has the weighted task of working with Trent Davies, notorious killer of women, However, there appears to be a copycat killer out there, but is Trent involved from the confines of a psychiatric hospital? I really enjoyed the story throughout but found the ending a little rushed and a little bit of a let down compared to the build up.

This was my first time reading a book from this author. Such a refreshing and exciting read. I loved that it was immersive, graphic details that make it feel more real in the scariest way possible. Highly recommend this author. You will not be able to put his books down.

Dr. Stephanie Fletcher is no stranger to dangerous people. As a psychiatrist for the Department of Corrections in California, Dr. Fletcher treats some of the most dangerous patients. When Trent Davis, famous heavy metal artist and convicted serial killer, is assigned to her, she gets sucked into his case. Did a demon inside of him convince him to kill all those people or is he clinically insane? Now there is a copycat killer on the loose and Stephanie is drug into the middle of the investigation.

I loved the first 3 quarters of this book. I was interested to find out the reality of Trent's situation and if there really was a demon inside him or if it was just a manifestation of his childhood trauma. Who is the copycat killer and why are they so interested in Trent? When the twist came, I felt it was out of nowhere. I would have liked if the author would have explained how the copycat killer managed the killings. I don't want to spoil the book here, so I'll try to be vague. There was little to no explanation of why the copycat killer did what they did. I think the ending could have been fleshed out more. I do enjoy a twist or two, but when there is little to no clues building up to the reveal, it feels like more of a cop-out or a twist just for the shock value.

The Therapist
by S.A. Falk
Pub Date: April 25, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.
A shocking and unputdownable thriller with a ‘didn’t see that coming’ twist. The perfect read for fans of The Silent Patient, Mike Omer and Freida McFadden.
This is a dark, disturbing, gory thriller about a therapist who treats a serial killer. While he is locked away, a copycat killer emerges.

This is a darker thriller than most and after reading I felt like I needed to clense with a lighter read. It involves talk of the devil and demons. This might be hard for some to read.
The pros - Started out suspenseful, who doesn’t want to know what goes on in a killer’s mind?
Bit repetitive. The characters went round and round in circles. The ending, you see it a million miles away.
I wish I could say that I loved it. However, it did hold my interest.

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 Stephanie Fletcher is the lead psychiatrist on the high security ward of a maximum security prison. Even though she is dealing with loss and grieving her mentor whom she considered family, her work does not stop and a new serial killer is starting his sentence. Trent Davis is not only a famous musician, he is another kind of killer that no one, including Stephanie, is prepared for. I have worked in a psychiatric hospital and the things Trent describes are more terrifying than anything I ever heard from a patient but this book is one I absolutely did not want to put down! Stephanie use interviews with Trent, his fiance that holds onto his innocence, and takes a deep dive into his music to try and understand the mind of this horrific killer. The Therapist is wonderfully written and absolutely oozing with suspense, a book to clear your schedule to devour!

Review is on Goodreads and will be on Instagram in early April.

I have mixed reviews. There were parts of this book I really loved… the world of criminal psychology fascinates me and the basis of the storyline kept me intrigued throughout. I devoured the philosophical aspects of crime, and good vs. evil. Some parts were incredibly dark and gory. There were also parts that drove me crazy. The continuous, “I know everything and I’m right” mentality from the main character was over the top. I was starting to piece together the main twist by the end, but the relationships just didn’t make sense once the truth was revealed. Overall, it was a mind-bending read. Big thanks to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and the author for letting me read an ARC copy of the book.