Review: The Therapist by B.A. Paris (audio)

Publisher: Macmillan Audio / St. Martin’s Press

Published: July 13, 2021

Source: Audio: ALC via Macmillan Audio / ARC Paperback via St. Martin’s Press

 

Summary:

The multimillion-copy New York Times best-selling author B.A. Paris returns to her heartland of gripping psychological suspense in The Therapist – a powerful tale of a house that holds a shocking secret.

When Alice and Leo move into a newly renovated house in The Circle, a gated community of exclusive houses, it is everything they’ve dreamed of. But appearances can be deceptive….

As Alice is getting to know her neighbours, she discovers a devastating secret about her new home and begins to feel a strong connection with Nina, the therapist who lived there before.

Alice becomes obsessed with trying to piece together what happened two years before. But no one wants to talk about it. Her neighbors are keeping secrets, and things are not as perfect as they seem….

 

My thoughts:

I have long been a fan of B.A. Paris’s books so I was thrilled to be able to get my hands on this latest book. I find that she really does write such great psychological thrillers, each one so different and unique that you definitely aren’t getting the same old from her time and again.

From the way this book was set up to the perfectly executed twists and turns, this one kept me on my toes and I was completely pulled in. I found it to be more in line with the author’s earlier books, and loved that there was that sense of unease almost from the beginning. It is narrated primarily from Alice in the present with a few chapters in the past between an unnamed therapist and Nina.

This book is more of a slow-burning read that picks up pace as it races to a shocking conclusion.  I had so many theories as to what was going on and whether anyone could be trusted…which I loved! This is a layered, complex story with dark, twisted drama woven in. There are secrets hidden within what appears to be this little perfect neighborhood and even our protagonist, Alice, has her share of secrets. The gated community setting gives the story an almost locked-door type feeling, which just added to the tense atmosphere.

Even though I did suspect the murderer halfway through, I wasn’t sure how it fit, or more importantly the why. So it really didn’t detract from my enjoying this one at all. Plus there were still some twists I didn’t see coming and they were just as shocking!

I really enjoyed this latest book from B.A. Paris and definitely recommend adding it to your summer reading list. And if you are an audiobook fan, I highly recommend picking up an audio copy – I loved listening to this one!

 

Audio thoughts: 

This book worked so well on audio. I think that only added to my enjoyment of the book. There were two narrators, Olivia Dowd and Thomas Judd. Olivia Dowd narrated most of the book, while Thomas Judd had a small part towards the end. Olivia really knocked it out of the park, especially in voicing Alice’s fear and paranoia – she made it sound so real. Definitely a great book to listen to…I highly recommend!