Avery Chambers is a successful therapist working without a licence. A married couple, Matthew and Marissa Bishop sign up for ten sessions of therapy in a bid to save their marriage after Marissa confesses to infidelity. Avery’s methods include stalking the clients and their friends and associates, and infiltrating their private lives to gain information.
“Do you know what some people used to call us? … The Golden Couple.”
This thriller kept me engaged for the most part, but through the middle, I thought it fell a little flat. Kirkus thinks that “This Washington thriller achieves suspense mostly through misdirection … There’s a thin line between gaslighting characters and gaslighting readers, and this novel crosses it.” I don’t totally agree with this assessment – the authors often make note that the characters are all hiding something. I am more in agreement with Publishers Weekly: “Though several of the twists seem forced, the authors keep the pages turning.”
Quotes:
“Grief isn’t linear. It isn’t logical. There’s no structure or civility to it; it grabs you when you least expect it and digs its nails in until you succumb.”
“Every single person here is concealing something, I realize. The velvety expensive wine, attractive decor, and friendly conversation can’t mask the truth: ugly, explosive secrets are swirling around inside this room.”
“Time is a chameleon. It’s ever changing, cannily adapting to circumstances. It stretches out some tiny moments for an eternity. Then it shifts course and swallows up whole days, years even, as if they never existed. It’s as slippery and elusive as water running through the cracks in a tightly cupped hand.”
BOOK SNAPS - for readers 