The Therapist by B.A. Paris – a Review

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Description:
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…

Review:

The Therapist by B.A. Paris is another one of her psychological thrillers.  We meet our heroine, Alice at the start, as she is planning to move with her boyfriend, Leo to an exclusive cul-de-sac neighborhood, The Circle.  Leo was thrilled to get the house at a great price, since it has been on the market for a year, which enabled him to buy it at a reduced cost.  After making renovations on the house, Leo and Alice move in, and are happy to be in a safe gated area.

Alice goes out of her way to meet her neighbors, but in a short period, she learns why Leo got the house so cheap.  The woman who lived in her house, was a therapist, who was murdered; to top it off, the woman’s name was Nina, which happens to be Alice’s deceased sisters name, who died years before. Alice is upset about not knowing about the murder, and that Leo kept it a secret, and she is very angry at him, causing him to not be home as much, at least until she gets over it; if she does.

Alice meets a private investigator, who gives her more information about the murder, and she becomes obsessed with finding out the truth.  Did Nina’s husband kill her, or was someone else the real killer. Alice spends her free time, asking questions of her neighbors to gather more information, and is convinced the husband did not kill his wife. With Leo mostly away, Alice becomes paranoid, as she suspects someone is coming into her house at night; leading her be suspicious of all of her neighbors.

Though Alice seemed like a nice person, she was way overboard, changing her mind constantly as to who she suspects.  Her behavior was off the wall, totally unreliable and frankly as time went on, I was not liking her at all. To paraphrase a friend’s slogan; I thought Alice put herself in danger so many times, that she most definitely was TSTL (too stupid to live).

Despite the heroine being a bit crazy obsessed, the story was a very good thriller mystery.  The last half of the book was a wild ride to the climax, that kept me on the edge of my seat.  Just when you thought you knew who the killer was, another surprise twist occurs.  I will say that from the start, I did suspect who it might be, and even though I was beginning to change my mind, I was right.  LOL.

The Therapist was very well written by B.A. Paris, though I would like a smarter, less stressful heroine. If you like a mystery thriller that has your attention from start to finish, I suggest you read The Therapist.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher