The Therapist is the new novel from BA Paris and having loved their previous books I was eager to get my teeth into this one. Alice and Leo move into a newly renovated house in The Circle, a gated community of twelve houses. It’s everything they dreamed off but appearances can be deceptive. With Leo often staying away for work, Alice tries to settle into the house but soon discovers a terrible secret about her new home and becomes obsessed with trying to piece together what really happened. I found this book to be an excellent read. It’s a slow burner and with each chapter you can almost feel the angst that Alice is suffering. I can highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and the author for the chance to review.

Alice and Leo move in together to a beautiful renovated house in a gated community of a few houses called The Circle. She wants to fit in and invites all her new neighbours to a house warming party even though they all seem rather cliquey. A man appears whom she mistakes for one of the husbands and it's only later on in the story that we discover more about him.

The neighbours, while nice seem to be hiding something from her so when she finds out that the reason they could afford the house was because someone had died there. She's upset with Leo and wonders if she really knows him at all....

Leo spends time working away through the week and Alice is left alone. She's sure someone is in the house but feels it must be in her mind. I did find these chapters seriously tense and I did feel the fear! I was kept guessing throughout and I found the story super creepy, tense and unput-downable! Would highly recommend it.

When you pick up a book by B. A. Paris you just know. You know. It’s going to be an absolutely delicious web of secrets and lies and entanglements and you’re going to want to read it in one sitting. This is no exception. B. A. Paris only gets better and better… if that’s even possible.

The emotions, the drama, the betrayals… everything about this book will have you reeling in shock (and doubting your own circle too). You will feel the fear in this book as the emotion and mood is crafted carefully in every paragraph. From one of my favourite thriller writers, this is definitely a book to place firmly on your ‘To Be Read’ pile for 2021.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand the suspense is built up throughout the book on the other hand, some points are repeated (which I found irritating) and the narrator, Alice seems incredibly naive for a thirty something woman. The book is set in an enclosed street in London . Being gated and because of the way it is built, everyone seems to know everyone elses business and comings and goings. It comes across as claustrophobic and cliquey.
Alice moves in with her boyfriend, who is a bit of a mystery,having no contact with his family and few friends. They saw each other only at weekends before they moved into this house. Strange that he is so insistent that they buy this house . The explanation did not ring true for me.Alice finds out by accident that the previous occupant was murderedin the house and her accused husband committed suicide ,but her partner,Leo had kept this from her because she would not want to live there if she knew . She starts to realise that she does not know him at all well
Then strange things start to happen .Both Alice and Leo have the feeling that some one is in their house at night..... Leo works away and Alice is home alone. I found this part of the book a bit long winded . I also found Alice's attachment to a man who is investigating the murder a bit strange .The way she pushes herself into social contacts and is continually asking questions about the previous residents is odd too . I would give her a wide berth .
Onthe whole,not a bad book,but with a few tweaks it could be better .
Thank you to Net galley for the ARCin exchange for an honest review

The Therapist is more of a domestic drama than a psychological thriller. As much as I really wanted to enjoy this book I found the going rather tedious and I was willing something interesting to happen. When it did eventually become interesting in the last 10% of the book it was too far fetched. The character of Alice really irritated me
and Leo was a bit of a non entity who let Alice run his life.

It may become a marmite book, some people will love it. I didn't hate the book but I also didn't love it either, it was just ok.

BA Paris is one of those authors you know you can trust to deliver gripping psychological suspense. The Therapist is about a couple moving into their dream house and finding nothing but nightmares. Alice becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to the woman who lived in the house before them. Oh hello lies, deceit, and betrayal. Cracking book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars - just. This was an easy to read book, lots of threads to keep you guessing who was the murderer.

It started strong, hooked me in, but then the middle seemed a bit slow - too many characters and turns in the tale that all just needed tying together. Added to which none of the characters was particularly likeable.

The last third however picked up and I’ll be honest it kept me guessing to the end.

Leo and Alice move into a gated community after only being able to see each other on the weekends throughout their relationship. Unknown to Alice, the house they now live in has a deadly secret that everyone knows about but her. This book really drew me in and had my suspecting all the characters at one point. I didn't see the twist coming and it was a satisfying ending. Alice did annoy me a little and wasn't very likeable but that didn't stop it being a page turner.

The Circle seems like a comforting, affluent community to move into for Alice & Leo but there is something unsettling lurking in the residents past that is about to reluctantly rise to the surface. Alice is out of her depth but determined to get to the bottom of the mystery but her obsession forces the cracks in her relationship into ravines while putting herself in harms way. The truth can’t be worth that much, can it?

BA Paris clearly has the perfect mind for the thriller writer as she continues to create intricate and exciting stories that keep the reader poised with bated breath for that longed for unexpected twist that will delight and surprise. You know that when you pick up one of her books, you will be in for a riveting story that will challenge your deductive powers while drawing you into a web of mystery. This latest tale not only lives up to the expectation but exceeds it.

After Alice and her partner Leo move into a house on a gated estate she is shocked to learn that a murder was committed there. Leo has hidden this fact from her and when a man turns up and tells Alice he is investigating the death of the previous owner she becomes embroiled in the search.

The Therapist isn't really a good title for this book as the link is tenuous in my view, but it doesn't stop it from being a page-turner where Alice doesn't know who she can trust in her quest for the truth.

Many thanks to Net Galley and HQ for the opportunity to read and review The Therapist. Fans of psychological thrillers will enjoy it!

Set in a gated and exclusive housing estate called "The Circle" this is a murder mystery that has a plot eerily similar to Cluedo where everyone is a potential suspect and there are lots of false trails. It starts with Alice and Leo moving in to a house that, unknown to Alice, has a disturbing secret. As she begins to befriend her new neighbours everything becomes both clearer and more confusing at the same time. Paris knows how to keep you turning the pages and I. for one, genuinely found this book difficult to put down. The reader cannot avoid being drawn into the claustrophobic world of the 12 houses and their occupants as relationships crumble and where the residents have more to fear inside their secure estate than out. A very engaging and, at times, seriously scary novel.

The Therapist - B A Paris

Such a good book! Every chapter kept tripping me up, making me believe that it could have been someone new who was responsible. I officially did not trust anyone! It's a fast paced book with lots of different interesting characters to keep you gripped. The protection of living in The Circle should make you feel secure and safe but definitely made me feel anything but when reading this story. Great ending - I can't recommend this enough

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Publishers for allowing me the chance to read and review this book

B A Paris has once again come up with a cracking thriller that had me gripped from the very first page.Alice and Leo move into a house where a murder took place the year before,but Leo kept that fact from Alice and once she finds out Alice is far from happy and when a man turns up claiming he is investigating the murder Alice is thrown into a world where she is suspecting everyone including her neighbours who she is trying to get to know better.The book kept me guessing who just Alice could trust and who she couldn't and it rattles along at a great pace just as all B A Paris's books do.If you enjoy this genre then this is book for you,a cracking 5 star read.

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for my copy to review. I am a huge fan of hers so was excited to read this.

A insightful and compelling book
This gives the reader a glance into a gated community and what happens when things arent as perfect as they seem.

Fascinating and packed with tension as we can sense the claustrophobia that Alice is feeling in not only her new house but her new life.

Written in alternate narratives which keeps it feeling fast paced and a page turner.

Can Alice’s neighbour’s be trusted or is she right to be suspicious? Scattered with secrets and lies you wont know where the truth lies.
This is another excellent gripping psychological thriller by one of the best authors in this genre.

Many thanks to the author, publishers and Netgalley for a free ARC of this ebook.
I disliked this book intensely. It's written in the present tense leading to so much superfluous detail none of which add anything to the story. It is slow paced, with a cast of thoroughly annoying characters. It's predictable, overwrought and unrealistic.
I believe there is a half decent story in there, unfortunately it didn't get out.

When Alice and her husband Leo move into their beautiful new home in a gated residential community called ‘The Circle’, it doesn’t take her long to discover why their seemingly perfect home was so affordable, but the other residents refuse to talk about the events that previously took place in their house and its up to Alice to discover the real truth. 

Packed with twists and turns and an unguessable surprising ending, ‘The Therapist’ had me racing through the pages to find out what happened! Fantastic!

Alice has moved into The Circle, a gated community in London, with her partner Leo. She has never lived in London before but it is where Leo wants to be, so she is happy to go with him, to start their life properly together. As she is settling into their home, she makes a discovery that throws her so badly she questions her future in the Circle with Leo and the other residents.

I really liked the premise of this book but found Alice too naive for a woman in her 30s, even if she has lived all of her live in a sleepy village, However, there was enough of a story about the previous occupants of Alice & Leo’s house to keep me interested to the end. I didn’t guess the ending, which makes it worth reading. I would have liked to read more from the Therapist of the title. That said, a nice winters read, and I would look out for more books from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really wanted to like this book, having recently read The Breakdown (and previously Behind Closed Doors, although I found it a bit ridiculous)
The premise sounded interesting enough for me to request it, but I hated the main character who just seemed so naive and gullible the whole way through and why was she so desperate to be involved in something that had nothing to do with her.
Initially we're to believe she's half of a loved up young couple, but she quickly changes her mind about that, and it would appear, also about her partner for no real reason. It just read as a very juvenile reaction which quickly escalated into massive over reactions.
Why the constant need for her to have long conversations with everyone else about him, rather than actually speaking to him?
And for him to just be "oh well" about it all, why would he agree to just give her his house and not stand up for himself at all?
I felt it was quite obvious who the perpetrator was, although the eventual back story was a surprise, it was very far fetched.
I felt there were a few too many characters, most of whom didn't add anything to the story and it all went on quite a bit too long before getting to the conclusion which then seemed rushed.
My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for my eARC in return for my honest review.

Actual rating 4.5 stars

The Circle, comprising only a small number of houses is a gated residence where Alice Dawson and her partner Leo Curtis have recently become the new owners of number 6. In this rather exclusive, upmarket street, the couple have yet to make the acquaintance of their neighbours so a drinks party to introduce themselves seems like a good plan. Alice is desperate to make friends with the likes of Eve, Tamsin and Maria and their partners as she’s currently only glimpsed their daily comings and goings through the windows of her new home. Hopefully as time progresses and she becomes more familiar with her surroundings and more confident in her relationship with Leo, Alice will feel happy and settled, confident she’s made the right move.

It is at this gathering, which Alice herself organises, since Leo seems reluctant to do so, that the storyline sparks into life. As guests mingle there is one person who has gatecrashed the evening, only making a fleeting appearance yet proves to be the individual responsible for the snowballing of events, leaving the future of Alice and Leo’s relationship in jeopardy and her nerves in tatters. Subsequent events raise so many questions that are begging to be answered in a storyline that fills you with foreboding. I immediately felt unease at the way in which all the houses within The Circle are positioned, affording the occupants a clear view of their fellow neighbours movements. This lack of privacy and supposed safety behind locked gates made me feel as if Alice et al were living in a cross between a self imposed prison and a fishbowl. Added to the fact Alice is left home alone for much of the time whilst Leo is commuting between London and Birmingham and what the author has delivered is a recipe for disaster!!

The past and present are expertly woven together so that there is no escape from the secrets this house hides unless Alice makes the sensible decision to cut her losses and leave. Everything hinges on the lives of the previous occupants, Nina and Oliver Maxwell but you’ll have to read this yourself if you want to know why! “If only walls could talk” echoed though my thoughts as Alice somewhat foolishly prolongs her agony and her mistrust of almost everyone around her, including partner Leo. Why these women and their husbands are so secretive about the Maxwells is perplexing to say the least! These aren’t neighbours you’d happily swap life secrets with over a cup of tea and slice of cake but Alice is not to be deterred. These residents have formed an almost impenetrable circle, complicit in hiding the history of number 6, so that newcomers Alice and Leo are one step behind from the minute they take ownership of the property. With the added ghostly presence that lingers in the house, it is the kind of storyline that sets the reader on edge,the suspense and tension mounting with every new twist and turn. The plot line is full of unexpected discoveries and rich in red herrings and vital clues, some of which you’ll find obvious, others maybe not so much. I galloped through the pages succumbing to the feeling I’d been dumped in the middle of the most complicated of mazes, blindly searching for the way out where the answers lay. For me there is one brilliant but understated twist to accompany a host of surprises and like Alice every neighbour came under my intense scrutiny. I particularly liked how Alice’s own personal history is linked to this creepy storyline but my lips are sealed as to why this snippet of information may be relate to the other elements in this storyline.

The burning question is did I enjoy The Therapist as much as I did The Dilemma? The answer is no but it came close! The conclusion to Alice’s time in The Circle whilst dramatic teeters on the edge of plausibility which slightly marred my overall impressions but because I didn’t predict the outcome the author is forgiven! It doesn’t have the heart stopping, life changing impact of her previous novel but is still a great suspenseful read that I would not hesitate to recommend. My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.

The usual B A Paris formula does not quite work with this novel. Even though, the first chapters are are full of promise, I began to lose interest midway as the characters became less and less believable. The ending remains surprising but it feels like it could not have come too soon, unfortunately.