B.A Paris is one of my favorite authors and I've reviewed so many of her books over the years. It had been a minute since I read something of hers but I decided to dive head first into The Therapist.
I read this book in March and it was my favorite book of the month. I was in desperate need in of a book that I could sink my teeth into, a book I knew was going to keep me on my toes and one that I would love. Nothing in my collection fit the bill so I looked to my handy dandy Libby app and borrowed The Therapist, which had been on my TBR list since it was released in 2022.
There is something so special about a B.A Paris book. She gets deep into the emotions and psyche of her characters and leaves you with a thousand questions at every turn. She knows how to dangle the big twist in front of you and then rip it away, removing any trust you had in where the story was going.
The Therapist kept me on the edge of my seat until the last page, and while some of the book was easy to figure out, I didn't see everything coming my way.
Publisher's Summary
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'm going to start off by saying that I did not like any of the characters in this book. I thought Leo was mean, and a little sketchy and Alice rubbed me the wrong way. She was extremely nosy, which I get is the point of the book, but there was something unbecoming about it.
It almost felt like too much of a reach -- no one is that un-self aware and dumb... and that sounds harsh but she seemed very unintelligent and a little in the clouds. I also didn't like the reason Alice became so obsessed with the therapist, Nina, who lived and died in the house before she moved in. It felt a little inauthentic and silly, though sad.
The neighbors weren't that nice either, and I didn't like how they treated Alice though she did seem like she could get annoying. Everyone had their flaws and that's probably for the best; it makes a book more realistic and interesting.
Alice, after discovering what happened to Nina becomes truly obsessed with figuring out what happened to her, and who did it. There were so many suspects, and at one point or another it seemed like anyone could be the murderer. It was a little off-putting how difficult it was to figure out who was actually the culprit, and I could feel Alice's anxiety about the situation jump through the pages.
Everyone had a motive, everyone was acting strange... but there was a certain point in the book where you knew someone wasn't telling the complete truth. Something was off and soon enough I was proven right. The reveal was so satisfying, and then it just kept going which knocked my socks off. All of your questions are answered in this book and it was incredible.
The Therapist was extremely well written, exciting, irritating, and left you feeling satisfied. I read it super fast, just a day or two and while it gave me the creeps at times, it wasn't too scary. If you need an exciting thriller to get you through a hard week, B.A Paris and The Therapist does just the trick.
xoxo
B
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