The Therapist by B.A. Paris (2021) Review

Why I picked up the book:

Alice and Leo move in together and into a house in an exclusive gated community, The Circle. Things are moving well – before long, they make friends with their neighbours, and Alice feels like she is living the life she has always dreamed of. Until she finds out the unsavoury reason the previous owner, Nina, doesn’t live there anymore. 

Alice is determined to figure out what happened to the therapist, Nina, two years prior for her peace of mind. But no one seems to want to talk about it. Are her neighbours keeping secrets? Can she trust anyone? Alice starts to doubt everything, including how perfect her life seems.

The book through my criteria lens:

Paris is a master of creating unreliable narrators (and characters); I spent the whole book suspecting EVERYONE, including Alice. 

The plot is TIIIIGHT! In my opinion, all the clues are there, but Paris hid some of them well. I cannot fault the narrative. I am used to a faster-paced book from her, but her choice to make this a slower burning book was the right one; I think it is what the plot needed. It allowed me to live in Alice’s head, which enhanced my reading experience!

I read The Therapist as an audiobook produced by Macmillan Audio and narrated by Olivia Dowd and Thomas Judd; their narration was unbelievable. They made it easy for me to immerse myself in the story and feel the rollercoaster of emotions. Their pace was impeccable, and they brought different characters and situations to life in a way that felt natural! I was impressed with this production. 

My personal feelings:

If I say so myself, I am pretty good at guessing twists. The only thing I like more than being right is having that thrilling feeling of being “got.” Well, I got got! There is one twist in The Therapist that hoodwinked me, and it was amazing! B.A. Paris IS one of my fave authors, and I am upset that I am almost caught up with all her books and will then join the waiting club!

I enjoyed The Therapist. It is twisty and turny and real. I love how the characters made choices that made sense. I always appreciate when characters don’t flip flop and remain consistent throughout. I won’t spoil the book, but my favourite time was how real Alice and Leo’s relationship was. B. A. Paris excels at drawing true to life characters that react to extraordinary circumstances in a very authentic way. 

The one thing I love the most about Paris’s books is the pure escapism it offers me. I feel very lucky that I don’t know bat sh#t crazy people like her characters, but oh boy, do I love them!! In The Therapist, I have to confess that they felt less crazy, more “normal” and I think it impacted the narrative. Of her books that I have read so far, this is the slowest paced one, but I enjoyed it just the same.

My total rating: 4.58

Review for this book is mentioned in this video: TBD

Until next book, be the hummingbird!