The Therapist

4/5 stars

Alice and Leo have moved into an exclusive gated neighborhood, The Circle. They bought the house for a steal and as Alice learns more about the house and her neighbors, she realizes this neighborhood may be more sinister than meets the eye. She begins to feel connected to the previous owner, Nina, and vows to uncover all of the secrets before it’s too late. 

The Therapist was a quick read for me (two sittings). BA Paris did a great job creating an atmosphere of suspense. Who feels comfortable being in a house where someone might be watching them? She wrote Alice as a good main character that could be unreliable at times. I questioned Alice a lot. Why would she stay in a home that made her feel unsafe? Why wouldn’t she process more of her past trauma? 

The plot moved a bit slowly in the beginning. A lot of character introductions and figuring out who was trustworthy and who wasn’t. Towards the end, I began to get a feel for who the culprit was but I didn’t predict their connection to the other characters. I liked that it was unpredictable and shocking, but I was a bit disappointed by the final resolutions. I didn’t think Alice got enough closure after what happened. 

Overall, another solid psychological thriller by BA Paris. I loved the theme of not knowing what goes on behind closed doors — or gated communities and thought she executed this novel nicely.