Alice moves into a gated complex known as the circle, eager to commence a more committed relationship with relatively new partner Leo, integrate with the other residents, and move on from a family tragedy that had destroyed her confidence and wellbeing. From day one she recognises that encounters with new neighbours are distorted by mistrust and tension. Her sense of insecurity is compounded by similar misgivings in her personal relationship. Why is everyone so secretive and what has happened in the circle to result in the unfriendliness and lack of openness by those she had intended to become her new friendships on her optimistic life restart towards renewal. The premise of the storyline was a huge draw for reading this book by a gifted and well established author. However on several levels it became frustrating and irritating. Much of the dialogue was banal and unrealistic to the point of an inability to believe people would speak in that manner. Incidents that should or could have been terrifying simply came over as unbelievable or silly. That a police murder hunt would have been satisfied with the findings related to victim and perpetrator when an inexperienced novice is able to unearth facts and details with relative ease. A gated complex situated in such a way that everyone was able to watch each other’s daily life yet did not question or see unusual occurrences or terrifying incidents. The conclusion was one of an unbelievable situation made infinitely more unrealistic by the totally unnecessary tie up of loose ends to deliver an unfeasible and improbable ending. Many thanks to publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ for the arc of The Therapist by B A Paris.

4 star read- If you have read any other B A Paris books like behind closed doors or The dilemma or bring me back or the break down then you'll definitely love this! This follows couple Alice and Leo whom decide to take their relationship to the next stage and decide to buy a house together within The Circle which is within the gated community of Finbury Park situated in London. Alice has never actually lived in London before and a much bigger city than what she is used too as she used to live in the country. Leo had been working in Birmingham and commuting to go see Alice but they decide its time to do things together and move in together. Fast forward things to when they have moved in Alice decides to host a big dinner party, to meet their neighbours... Then after the dinner party Alice finds out some shocking news in which someone was actually murdered in the house they had literally just moved in too. She gets annoyed at Leo for not telling her this and that she starts to get very paranoid and strange things starts to happen in their home...

Highly Recommend
4 Stars⭐⭐⭐⭐

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about Alice who reluctantly moves from her little cottage in a country village to a large house in a gated community called The Circle in London with her boyfriend Leo. Alice immediately hates the house which her boyfriend Leo bought whilst Alice is on holiday. It was being sold at a knockdown price and he was scared of losing the house had he waited for Alice to see it. After Alice moves in she finds out that there was a big reason as to why the house was so affordable. Something terrible happened to the previous owners and Alice takes it upon herself to find the truth.

This was a fast paced psychological thriller with lots of suspicious characters and lots of twists and turns along the way. I had several different suspects in my mind and in the end I did work out who was behind everything but not the how and why. This was a book that I couldn’t put down but it wasn’t perfect. I would have liked to have seen a stronger more unpredictable ending.

Thank you to NetGalley, B A Paris and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This is the first book by B A Paris that I have read and I think I may have found a new favourite author. The Therapist is the perfect thriller. It is dark, scary and gripping. This is perfect for anyone who enjoys reading psychological thrillers. I can’t recommend it enough.

Alice and Leo have just moved into The Circle - a tight knit gated community of large houses in London. Alice is a country girl and is struggling to fit into her new community and settle into the house which Leo chose without her. Whilst Leo is working away in Birmingham, Alice gets a visit from Thomas, a private investigator, who reveals the previous occupant, Nina Maxwell was murdered in the house, and not by her husband as people believed. Someone else is responsible and Thomas is investigating. This sets Alice up with an almost unhealthy obsession with getting to the bottom of what really happened in her new home, and why she feels so uneasy being there.

This was a really compelling read. Full of intrigue, sinister and a climatic ending. Whilst Alice’s obsession with finding out the truth plays out, I did guess the murderer quite early on, but B.A. Paris’ clever writing of the odd behaviour of the other residents of The Circle lead me to doubt my initial suspicions, and suspect all of the other characters at some point. The only criticism I have is Leo and his past seem a little insignificant in the end and I did feel there was little point to his character. It could have easily all taken place without him. But overall this is a great read for thriller fans.

Alice moves to London to start an exciting new life with Leo in their (but actually his) new home in an exclusive gated community known as The Circle.

Desperate to make friends and fit in, Alice throws a drinks party for their neighbours, despite Leo’s protests that they only need each other. She meets most of the neighbours, including Thomas who gate crashes her party. Thomas is a private investigator who tells her that the previous homeowner Nina, a therapist was murdered in her home and that her husband Oliver had been wrongfully accused. He is there on behalf of Oliver’s sister to prove a miscarriage of justice.

Angry, confused, upset, frightened, Alice can’t understand why Leo kept something so important from her. He agrees to move out to give her space. The neighbours in The Circle all seem to behave in a secretive and furtive manner, they are obviously covering something up, Alice knows this, she just needs to find out what. She uses this time to assess each of them in turn to establish who is in fact the murderer. Added to this the mysterious circumstances where Alice feels a presence in the home at night.

I enjoyed the book from the point of view that it was a lighthearted read. However, I found it monotonous in the way that Alice droned on about solving the mystery and insisted on staying in what she considered to be a haunted house. There were anomalies that I struggled to identify with: Would Leo really move out to let Alice live in his house? I struggled to relate to Alice’s emotional investment (the same name as her dead sister?). Would a newcomer really muscle-in to an existing friendship group, especially when it was obvious one person didn’t like her - irritating. Even at the end of the book, I still couldn’t understand the odd cliquey behaviour of the neighbours, Tim constantly staring out of the window for example.

A great weekend read and I would rate this book 3 stars 🌟🌟🌟

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I've read a few books by this author now and have never been disappointed
This is another great read
Loved the plot, the way its written paints very vivid pictures and absolutely loved it from start to finish

Wow!! Get ready for a mind blowing, edge of your seat suspense which will send you on a rollercoaster of emotions!
I have just raced through this book in one sitting and my heart is thumping!
This book is just full of constant questions, twists, turns, suspense and everyone is a suspect until the very end. A fabulous 5 star book which is an absolute must read for all suspense/psychological thriller fans.

Another brilliant read, very few people do psychological thrillers like this author. It is a very complex plot that kept me guessing right to the heart-stopping conclusion. Loved it and highly recommend

Alice and Leo move into the Circle, a gated residential housing estate in London, into a beautiful house to start their life together. However the house has a past and soon a man turns up to reveal everything. Can she get past the lies she has been told and what are all the neighbours hiding?

This was a fun quick read, with lots of red herrings. If you were a fan of Safe on Netflix then this book is probably for you! It wasn’t ground breaking but I did enjoy getting lost in the drama

This wasn’t a 5 star read mainly because Alice got a bit annoying. I can fully understand the neighbours thoughts about her as she was acting increasingly irrational and the whole sister thing got a bit tiresome after a while.

Thank you to Netgalley for this book in return for an honest review.

I was thrilled when I found a new book by one of my favourite authors. As usual, having read every previous book, this book does not disappoint. It is creepy and keeps you guessing right up to the end. You are never sure who or what to believe and you end up suspecting just about everyone.
A gripping read from start to finish one of the must read books of 2021

In this pyschological thriller we follow the story of Alice and Leo, a couple who have just moved in together in a gated community. Alice finds out that the house they've bought was the home of therapist Nina, who was brutally murdered in their home. Boyfriend Leo concealed this from him, and what else is he concealing? There's immediately a sense of something wrong. Neighbours who talk in whispers, funny looks, odd happenings in the house, lies start to come out from everywhere - who can Alice trust? There are clues (and red herrings, naturally) galore.

I like the twist of Alice being invested pyschologically because her sister was called Nina. After her sister died in a car crash, Alice became obsessed with people called Nina. She knows this obsession is wrong and recognizes she's invested too much in this murder because of the name connection, but it's a very original hook to explain why she keeps investigating, digging deep and trying to find the answer to who killed Nina. Alice clearly has some mental problems of her own, but that only adds to the confusion and makes us question what's real, what's the truth and what's a lie - is Alice the problem, or the people around her?

I thought the actual plot twist, the conclusion and ending were amazing. Five stars for the ending, and the tension building throughout the book is great too. Ultimately I give the book four stars, as the pacing is a little off in the beginning, but a very enjoyable read overall.

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a good story and excellent main characters. I would definately recommend this book.

This starts with Alice and Leo moving into a beautiful house in North London known as The Circle, unknown to Alice the house has had a murder hence why it was so affordable.

Alice has become obsessed with the history behind the home and its previous occupier and starts to uncover what has happened in the past.

I felt the middle was lacking somehow and just wanted to get to the ending, this was an ok read but unfortunately it didn't wow me much as previous books.

You know before you even start a B. A. Paris book that’s it’s going to be a real page turner and this one didn’t disappoint. The Therapist is a gripping twisty thriller full of secrets and suspense and once you start, you’ll find it hard to put down.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Another outstanding book by this author!
Full of twists and turns from the start, this kept me hooked. The ending was completely unexpected. I don’t want to give any spoilers but I recommend this must be read!

The Therapist is a locked-room mystery set in a private gated community. When Alice discovers that her boyfriend Leo, failed to disclose that the previous resident was murdered in their new home, a chance meeting with a private investigator spurs her on to discover whether the police caught the real culprit. Negotiating the streets cliquey friendship groups, each of the residents seems to have something to hide and Alice can't shake the fact that all of them seem to know more about her than seems plausible. There also seems to be something very wrong going on in the house itself, and Alice can't shake the feeling that someone is watching her. It's an easily digestible creepy, fun book as long as you are prepared to suspend your disbelief and go with the flow.

My thanks go to the publishers and NetGalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

An absolutely cracking domestic noir thriller. Polished off in a couple of sittings and as the pace hotted up towards the end, I was literally breathless.

B A Paris really has this genre on the nail. The characters aren’t the kind of people I know, but I found them very relatable and each had a personality and character. In addition the plotting is superb. There are so many people with secrets and after taking the reader down one path, the rug is cleverly pulled away and you realise your assumptions and second guessing is wrong. The ending is sublime; didn’t see that one coming at all and again, I was genuinely enthralled. I really love these stories which take the ordinary into the extreme without losing credibility and Paris has a tremendous knack of storytelling. My only disappointment is that I’ve read it and can’t wait for another.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

A cracking thriller, which I devoured as quickly as I could. Alice and Leo move into a gated London community, and almost immediately find themselves in the middle of a murder mystery involving the previous owners of their house. Who are keeping secrets, and who can Alice really trust? An original and gripping story line - highly recommended.

I absolutely loved this book, could not out it down.
A psychological thriller about Alice who moved in with her boyfriend Leo to a new house in an enclosed estate. She has never got over the death of her sieter, Nina, and her parents, so becomes obsessed with the death of the previous owners, the wife also being called Nina.
There are lots of red-herrings, so I never saw the ending coming. What a great book to lose myself in.