📖 Book Review ~ The Therapist by B A Paris

 

HQ
15 April 2021

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

When Alice and Leo move into a newly renovated house in The Circle, a gated community of exclusive houses, it is everything they’ve dreamed of. But appearances can be deceptive…

As Alice is getting to know her neighbours, she discovers a devastating secret about her new home, and begins to feel a strong connection with Nina, the therapist who lived there before.

Alice becomes obsessed with trying to piece together what happened two years before. But no one wants to talk about it. Her neighbors are keeping secrets and things are not as perfect as they seem…

📖 My thoughts..

Alice and Leo seemingly have an idyllic life together as they have recently moved in their dream home in an exclusive gated community. However, whilst some of her neighbours appear friendly enough there are those who seem resentful of Alice and Leo's presence amongst them and with Leo often away on business, Alice is lonely and keen to make friends amongst those who live close to her.

I always enjoy enormously the way the author keeps the tension cranked up to high in her novels which are all just a little bit different. Throughout The Therapist, and particularly when Alice makes a devastating discovery about her beautiful new home there is a decided air of menace, especially when unexpected things start to occur and Alice finds out just what deadly secrets her beautiful home is hiding. As always with this clever author's writing there are twists and turns aplenty and with so much going on with the plot to say too much would be to spoil the overall effect of the novel. 

I've now read everything that this talented author has written and I think that her stories just get better and better. What is always guaranteed is a beautifully controlled psychological suspense/thriller, complete with a set of complex characters who you immediately either feel an affinity for, or who make your skin creep, but which have the uncanny ability to make you question everything on the page, and when all is finally revealed there's a definite sense of having read another cracking good story.

About the Author

B A Paris is the internationally bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown, Bring Me Back and The Dilemma. Having sold over a million copies in the UK alone, she is a New York Times bestseller as well as a Sunday Times bestseller. Her books have been translated into 40 languages. Having lived in France for many years, she and her husband recently moved back to the UK.

Twitter @BAParisAuthor #TheTherapist

@HQStories

Featured Book ~ The Dilemma by B A Paris

Happy New Year

At the start of this new reading year I'm delighted to bring a new monthly feature to Jaffareadstoo

And it's all about a book that's about to be published that I'm really excited about, so without further ado, here's the latest from talented author, B A Paris.

 It's published by HQ and is out on the 9th January

HQ
January 9th 2020

My thanks to the publishers for my ecopy of this book

It’s Livia’s 40th birthday and she’s having the party of a lifetime to make up for the wedding she never had. Everyone she loves will be there except her daughter Marnie, who’s studying abroad. But although Livia loves Marnie, she’s secretly glad she won’t be at the party. She needs to tell Adam something about their daughter but she’s waiting until the party is over so they can have this last happy time together.

Adam wants everything to be perfect for Livia so he’s secretly arranged for Marnie to come home and surprise her on her birthday. During the day, he hears some terrible news. He needs to tell Livia, because how can the party go on? But she’s so happy, so excited – and the guests are about to arrive.

The Dilemma – how far would you go to give someone you love a last few hours of happiness?

One day that will change a family forever.

What did I think about it..

Livia has been planning a party of a lifetime to celebrate her 40th birthday and nothing has been left to chance. Everything is organised to the nth degree and Adam, Livia's husband, is happy to go along with Livia's plans as he feels that she needs this special celebration in order to come to terms with her past disappointments. And all would be perfect if not for the fact that Marnie, the couple's daughter is currently studying overseas and won't be able to make it to her mother's special party.

What then follows is an emotional and rather deep story about the minutiae of family life and of the hurts, disappointments and secrets which threaten to engulf the most stable of relationships. Both Livia and Adam have secrets which they are struggling with and, for one of them in particular, the hurt is absolutely bone deep which, when revealed, will alter their family life forever. As always this talented author draws you into a story which is filled with an abundance of difficult scenarios, some of which make a real tug on your heart, and, as the secrets in this family start to be revealed, so the heartbreak of love and loss start to be revealed.

I devoured this book in one sitting as I really couldn't put it down, as the difficult dilemma that features so prominently throughout the story is the stuff of every person's worst nightmare. I think that the author has captured the atmosphere perfectly, true, there's some superficiality around the planning of the party, and I'm not sure that I liked Livia very much at the beginning, but when all is combined with a devastating family situation the story allows an emotional glimpse into the terror of loss and the abiding sadness of grief.

I have no hesitation of kicking of my Featured Book feature with The Dilemma.

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors, B. A. Paris, grew up in England but has spent most of her adult life in France. She has worked in finance and as a teacher.

Twitter @BAParisAuthor #TheDilemma

@HQStories

Review ~ Bring Me Back by B A Paris

HQ
8 March 2018

My thanks to the Publishers, Lovereading and Netgalley for my copy of this book

When Finn’s girlfriend, Layla, goes missing on their journey home from a skiing holiday in France, the finger of suspicion falls on him, but twelve years later and with no further clues to Layla’s disappearance, Finn has moved on, but then, strange things start to happen which upsets the balance of Finn’s ordered life.

What then follows is an exciting page-turner which has all the hallmarks of this author’s exceptional writing. Her meticulous attention to the connection between people, and her fine observation of human frailty, is captured in this emotional story, which is rich in detail and alive with malice. The multiple story strands, which move backwards and forwards in time, gradually reveal a dark story of lies and deceit and as we get further into the nitty-gritty of the story, so the chill levels start to rise.

I raced through Bring Me Back at top speed as the concise chapters lend themselves to speedy reading. And as the story evolves, so the need to know more about what’s going to happen next gets more and more gripping. Over the course of the book, I tried to second guess where the plot was taking me, only to have it veer off in a completely unexpected direction.

There is no doubt that this talented author has captured the domestic noir genre to perfection and her ability to control a complicated plot whilst holding the reader’s attention, from start to finish, is to her credit.

Bring Me Back is a taut and tight psychological thriller with more than enough suspense to keep you guessing from beginning to end.

I read Bring Me Back for the Love Reading Review Panel which you can find by clicking here

About the Author

B A Paris grew up in England but has spent most of her adult life in France. She has worked both in finance and as a teacher and has five daughters. Bring Me Back is her third novel.

Twitter @BAParisAuthor #ForgetSleep #BringMeBack

@HQstories @Lovereadinguk

AmazonUK