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Alice had been dating Leo for a year and half, seeing him only on weekends, when he suggested they move in together. He bought a house for them in a small gated neighborhood in London, and while Alice is nervous about moving to the big city from her small town, being in a quiet development with only 12 homes seems to be a good middle ground.
Everything is new: living in the Circle, being with Leo more often, the neighbors. Just observing them from her front windows, it seems they all get along well and are involved in each other’s lives. So as a first step, Alice decides to invite everyone in the neighborhood over for drinks at their place; then she starts to get to know the women.
It doesn’t take long until she finds out a shocking secret about their home, and some odd remarks and attitudes she’s noticed in some of her neighbors now make sense. At first, she doesn’t want to stay, but then she starts to feel a connection to the previous resident, Nina, a therapist. So rather than moving out, Alice decides to stay, at least until she can piece together some of what happened and why. Everyone seems to be keeping secrets, even Leo, and Alice is afraid and nervous even as she feels compelled to solve the mystery. But she is opening herself up to danger the longer she stays and asks questions about what happened to Nina.
The Therapist is an engrossing thriller I read in one sitting. I had read B.A. Paris’ The Breakdown and enjoyed that, so I didn’t hesitate to pick up this new book. What makes it easy for me to recommend both books is their clean content. It seems pretty rare in books of this genre nowadays. So hats off to Paris for her skill as a writer and for not feeling the need to add in lots of profanity, sexual content and gore.
Rated: Mild. There are only about 5 instances of mild and moderate profanity. There is some violence, referencing some strangling murders that have taken place, a struggle, and a killing with a knife (but with no details or gore). The only sexual content is some references to a character possibly having an affair.
* I received an advance reader’s e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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