Review of "The Therapist: A Novel of Suspense" by B.A. Paris

Thirtysomething Alice and her boyfriend Leo have recently moved in together, taking up residence in a gated London circle that contains 12 homes.

Before moving to London Alice lived in the country and Leo - who works in Birmingham - could only visit her on weekends. With a house in London, the couple can see each other more frequently.

Alice works from home, and feeling lonely, longs to make friends with the local women.

So - without informing Leo - Alice uses a group text to invite the circle residents to a drinks party. Leo is a bit put out, but helps with the preparations for the gathering.

Alice doesn't know all the people in the circle, and accidentally welcomes an outsider to the party, thinking he's a neighbor.

The man, named Thomas, turns out to be a private detective looking into a recent murder in Alice and Leo's house.  

Alice, who can't even watch scary scenes in suspense movies, is COMPLETELY freaked out to learn of a grisly murder in her own home.

Worse yet, Leo knew about the murder and bought the house anyway, without informing Alice of the tragedy.

It turns out  a woman named Nina was killed in Alice and Leo's BEDROOM, and the prime suspect was Nina's husband Oliver - who later committed suicide. Oliver's sister is sure her brother didn't kill Nina, and hired Thomas to find the real killer.

Alice feels compelled to help Thomas, and becomes convinced the actual murderer lives in the circle. So Alice tries to surreptitiously question the 'suspects' during coffee klatches and lunch dates.

However, Alice's maneuvers are blindingly obvious, and the neighbors don't appreciate the scrutiny.

As in most communities, there are undercurrents and secrets, among them the fact that the murder victim, Nina,  was seeing a therapist....and no one seems to know who it was or why she was going.

Meanwhile, Alice starts to feel a presence in her house at night, and dithers between thinking it's a ghost and thinking it's the real killer sneaking into her home. Much of this happens when Leo is away for work, so Alice has to deal with it alone.

The story really starts to stretch credulity at this point, since a scaredy-cat like Alice would surely skedaddle from the house instead of staying there night after night. Moreover Alice seems obtuse about obvious clues, and one longs to point her in the right direction. (I've found that some of Paris's other books have a similar problem, with protagonists that don't behave in a believable fashion.)

The tale moves along to a dramatic climax that has some big surprises.

This isn't a flawless book, but it's an engaging story that would probably appeal to many mystery lovers.

Thanks to Netgalley, B.A. Paris, and Harper Collins Publishers for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3 stars