First, thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

First, I have to admit I am no fan of the cover, I am sorry about that! But I do usually enjoy stories by Nicole Trope, so, I decided to give it a chance anyway.

And I can really say, I am glad I did. It really was a solid read, with just the right amount of twist and turns, a good peace and Lana and Sandy both being characters that kept me interested in the story. I could not tell in the end whom I should better believe and trust. Solid 4 stars because it turned out to be slightly predictable, but still a good book.

"The Therapist” by Nicole Trope is a gripping 4-star read! Lana is a therapist who, although hesitant at first, agrees to take on Sandy as a patient. Sandy reveals she’s having trouble in her marriage to her husband, Mike. After just a few therapy sessions, things begin to spiral out of control for Lana.

The story is told through multiple points of view: Lana, the therapist; Sandy, the patient; and Mike, the husband. Each perspective brings a unique layer to the narrative that kept me fully engaged. There are trust issues between Lana and Sandy, marital secrets between Sandy and Mike, and shifting versions of the truth from each narrator. Nicole Trope keeps you guessing about who to believe. The twists are plentiful, and the conclusion was one I really enjoyed.

Thanks to Bookouture, Nicole Trope, and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC and share my honest review.

An unexpected read. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would and it was a bit predictable, but there were some twists that I didn't expect which made it a fun and quick read.

The Therapist by Nicole Trope is a highly recommended psychological thriller that is wickedly deceptive and twisty.

Lana, a busy therapist, reluctantly agrees to see Sandy, a client of her colleague Ben, when he explains that she is becoming infatuated with him. Sandy opens up to Lana and claims that her husband Mike is abusive. She even shows up with a black eye, although, after she left, Lana noticed on a tissue that it appeared to be expertly applied makeup. From this point on, pay attention to what is going on, but trust no one.

The characters are unreliable, but clever and complicated. Everyone has a secret. Narrated through the point-of-view of Lana, Sandy, and Mike, the real truth won't be revealed until the surprising, twisty end. In the meantime, the tension, suspicion, and deception abound. This is a short, fast-paced novel that delivers the promised gripping psychological thriller. All the twists and reveals at the end elevated my initial opinion of the novel.

The Therapist is a great choice for fans of twisty psychological thrillers. Thanks to Bookouture for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

This was such a rollercoaster read - at times I was totally intrigued, and other times I was totally disinterested.

Lana is a therapist who takes on a new patient. Something about this patient rubs her the wrong way, and she begins to doubt what she's being told. However, the patient's husband doesn't help himself by basically behaving the exact way the patient is claiming. Lana has to figure out who she believes and what's really going on. Pretty interesting premise in my opinion.

Some of the writing felt like it needed a good editing; there were many run-on sentences and areas that could have been built upon seemed to be simply stated and then moved on from. I wanted just a little more info at times, a little more depth and a little more backstory. At parts, it felt like I was reading a late draft instead of the final product. Nothing terrible, just needed a little tightening up and development.

However, the final third of this book took off and took me on a wild ride. I was trying to keep up and trying to figure out what was happening as they were developing at lightning speed. And when all was said and done, the ending was so completely satisfying and left me extremely content. It was nice to reach the end of a story and feel satisfied. I just wish the first section was as stellar.

Thank you to the publishers, the author, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

I liked this trope because it was a different! Haven’t read a book like this. The author kept me wanting to read to find out what happened. It had some twists at the end that I did not expect which is always fun!

This was a solid, fast and easy read. The only thing is I kind of figured out where the story was going as soon as the character was introduced. It also did not pack the punch I was expecting from this author. Still a good solid read, just not my favorite.

This wasn't what I thought it would be...it was better. A thoughtfully planned and we'll written read. Twists that I didn't see coming.

I feel like this book got off to a slow start. And I think it was a little predictable.
Nevertheless, I did enjoy the book once I kept reading.
Lana was much smarter than I first gave her credit for.
And the twists in the epilogue actually had me in shock.
I would most definitely recommend this book.

I thought I would really like this one, because I always love a therapist trope in a thriller. In the beginning, I was also really enjoying the plot. I love messy, unlikeable characters, especially when there's some kind of scheme going on with one of them. Unfortunately, I had to DNF this one. I tried to keep going but I couldn't keep going when the main therapist character was making such horrid decisions and constantly questioning herself. It was just question after question after question. I needed the plot to go somewhere, but it felt like it was going in circles. Additionally, there was too much info about stuff that didn't feel important (descriptions, information about the husband's job earlier in the day, etc.). I'm going to give it 3 stars because it might have gotten better later on, but I had to stop around 35%.

This one really kept me guessing, making me question everyone’s motives with so many lies layered throughout the story. I never quite knew who to trust or believe. While I do find Trope’s books a bit predictable at times, they’re still enjoyable, quick reads that I can easily get lost in.

Thank You NetGalley, Nicole Trope and Bookouture for this ARC!

I have to give this 5 stars!

It was so fast paced. I have read this in less then a week.
I liked very much the characters. I liked that we could see what is going on in their heads. I would have liked this in another main character too, but it was good in this way too.

What i have not liked is that with a main character the tense of the book was not made in first person, but in third person, and i like more the books, where the tense does not change, so i can know the characters better.

Overall it was very good. It had a good amount of suspence, so i was on my toes almost all the time.

Thanks again for the opportunity to read this book

This book is one that most mystery books fans will really enjoy.
The plot had so many twists and turns I couldn’t put the book down
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery or thriller.

loved this book it had a lot of page turners very suspenseful and twists engaging
This is a intense psychological thriller with liars shooting and domestic issues wife going missing
did the husband do something to her?

2.75 ⭐️ rounded up.

This was my first Nicole Trope novel, and the premise immediately hooked me—secrets, twists, and tangled lives are exactly my kind of read. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite live up to the intrigue.

The tone is undeniably bleak, and while that can work in psychological thrillers, here it felt heavy without reward. Outside of the children, the characters—including our protagonist Lana—are deeply unlikeable. Their constant wavering over decisions stretched the story out longer than necessary, often testing my patience rather than building suspense.

I saw the twist coming, which dulled its impact. And the epilogue? It almost undid everything. The main narrative tied itself up neatly, but the added ending felt unnecessary and even confusing. There was also a bit too much telling rather than showing, which flattened the emotional depth and robbed scenes of their potential tension.

I wanted to love this book—but despite the promising premise, it ultimately fell short for me.

Therapist, Lana, starts treating, Sandy, who is married to Mike. They are having marital issues. Sandy goes missing, and Lana ends up at Mike’s doorstep, stuck in the middle of their problems. The suspense, drama, and tension ensues.
I usually enjoy Nicole Trope’s books more than this—the writing seemed juvenile in comparison & the characters were quite annoying; both of which were a bummer. The story during the first part was a bit slow for me but it did pick up!
I enjoyed the multiple points of views. The unreliable narrators kept me on my toes not knowing exactly what to expect or who to believe. I was pleasantly surprised by the twists!
Thank you to NetGalley & Bookoture for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What an amazing book. Lots of twists and turns. Kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The characters are great and so is the storyline.

Title: The Therapist
Author: Nicole Trope
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Pub Date: July 31, 2025
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pages: 258


The story is told from the POV of Lana, the therapist; Sandy, the patient, and Mike, Sandy’s husband.
Lana Staton is a therapist and a busy single mother who just returned from wonderful holiday in Bali with her son Iggy. Her colleague Ben asks if she would take on one of his new patient. Lana is reluctant as she is already very busy; but does agree as that it what colleagues do – they help each other.
When she meets Sandy and her husband Mike at their first meeting, Lana is sure neither is being honestly honest with her. However, she figures she surely will get better responses when she meets with them separately.

This is my fifteenth Nicole Trope story. I love her psychological thrillers and look forward to the twists and turns and of course a ‘Big Reveal’. However, in this case my suspicion was almost right no.
I always love reading Ms. Trope’s Author’s Notes/Acknowledgements etc. In this case ~ ‘A Letter from Nicole’; she tells us how much she enjoyed getting into Sandy’s mind. She also tells us that Lana’s character developed as she continued to write.
I just love when an author tells us about how characters take on their own personality!
As a reader I enjoyed trying to figure her out!! If course, needed Ms. Trope’s help to piece it all together!
Yep another Great thriller!!

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for granted me this Great eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for July 31, 2025.

This book was not great tbh. It was not gripping, not thrilling and didn’t have me hooked at all. I was a bit bored and lowkey forced myself through it. The prologue was really good and got me excited for the book but then it just fell so flat. The chapters were too long, not enough happened and two characters made multiple stupid decisions which wound me up. I think it would have been more effective if the story was just from Lana’s POV as then you’d be more in the dark about who was telling the truth. It made the reveals easy to predict. The stakes were not high enough for Lana to go as far as she did, and the whole thing felt like a fever dream. The last 15% was better but I considered DNF’ing at 50%. Can’t give this more than two stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookoture for sending me a copy of the book to review. All opinions are my own.

Wow! What a thrilling edge of your seat read. The twist at the end was very unpredictable and loved every minute reading this book. Highly recommend.