By: Luana Lewis
Narrator: Melanie Crawley
ISBN: 9781837904440
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: 10/14/2024
Format: e-book
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
I take a deep breath before I utter the words I’m terrified to say out loud. My therapist waits patiently for me to speak, but nothing could prepare her for what I tell her next. ‘I think I killed my best friend…’
Three years ago, Alice Kelly was found dead in a lake near the house where she was staying with friends for the weekend. Mia was there, and so was her now-husband Tom, yet they have never spoken about what really happened.
But now Mia’s in therapy, she’s having flashbacks. She remembers new details about Alice’s final hours – how they argued, how she threatened to expose Alice’s darkest secret, and how Alice’s lifeless body floated in the inky blue water… Was Mia the one who killed her beloved best friend? And how has she lived with this lie for so long?
The moment Mia confesses to her doctor, her perfect life starts falling apart. When those closest to her keep their distance, Mia starts asking the questions spinning through her mind. Everyone there that weekend has a different account of what happened when Alice died. It’s clear not everyone in Mia’s life has been telling the truth. Someone doesn’t want the past to resurface, and will go to dangerous lengths to keep their deadliest secret…
An absolutely gripping psychological thriller, perfect for fans of The Housemaid, The Perfect Marriage and The Silent Patient. Prepare to stay up all night to find out what really happened to Alice!
My Review
The highly anticipated return of S.L. Lewis, a clinical psychologist and bestselling author (Luana Lewis, favorite author) follows The Perfect Patient (5 Stars) with her latest gripping and emotional psychological thriller, THE GUILTY PATIENT.
With her unique insight into the human mind, Lewis weaves a story about someone desperate to bury the past and willing to resort to dangerous measures to protect their deadliest secret. The plot is a masterful blend of suspense and mystery, ensuring you're always on the edge of your seat.
We catch up with the last book, The Perfect Patient, and this is part of my review of that book:
SEQUEL: I would like to see a sequel to catch up with the characters and dive deeper into Dr. Tara Black's (I loved her character) background, the murder of her family, and the missing brother, among other things.
Thank you. Wish granted!
About...
TARA: Picking up from the last book...
Dr. Tara Black (forties) is newly grieving with her partner, Daniel, who died in a tragic car accident a year earlier. She was in the car, however, unharmed. She had spent more than twenty years as a psychologist and in private practice. Tara was dating Daniel, who was married and had a family and was getting a divorce. His insurance money had saved the clinic. People close to her had a habit of dying too young. Unexpectedly and violently. She learned she was the executor.
Daniel was a best friend of her older brother, who is still missing after her parent's murder years ago. She was away when it happened, and the cops think the murderer was Matthew. She has since changed her name due to the publicity surrounding the case. Her parents had been murdered when she was sixteen, and their case, too, remained unsolved.
Tara has worked with many memory loss and trauma patients, and Mia is her patient. She is drawn to the darker cases that resonate with her ghosts. This was the first time anyone in her office had wanted to confess to murder. Mia was full of contradiction.
MIA: Three years earlier, Alice Kelly (her best friend), age 25, was found dead in a lake near the house where she was staying with friends for the weekend. Mia and her now husband, Tom (two years), were there but never spoke about what had happened. No one was ever charged with her death.
Alice’s silk scarf was given to her by a secret boyfriend, and then they argued when she refused to tell her about this secret guy. What was she hiding? Alice was in a relationship with Tom, who later became Mia's husband.
Mia is pregnant and now in therapy with Dr. Tara Black as she is having flashbacks. She has new memories and details about Alice's final hours. She wonders if she could have killed her best friend. Why has she suppressed this?
She confesses to her therapist, and things start falling apart. Everyone that was there had a different account. Did she kill her friend? Someone doesn't want the past to resurface and will go to dangerous lengths to keep their deadliest secret. Who did Alice come in contact with after she left Mia?
We also met Carolyn, a psychotherapist whom Mia saw for almost two months and who is connected to the storyline.
All the stories intertwine as we hear from Tara and her personal story. Did Daniel have a secret life, and who has he been sending money to from a Swiss bank account? Could it be her brother, Matthew (who was Daniel's friend)? Could he be alive, and what had happened to their parents? Matthew has not been seen since. She needed the truth.
Tara may be able to face the last of her family's demons. Will she be able to get answers to bring closure? And who killed Alice? Is the scarf the key? Was Mia responsible? And what was the motive?
My thoughts...
I loved this book! It was so much more than a whodunit—it was a why, how, and who, plus more.
THE GUILTY PATIENT is psychologically rich, absorbing, intriguing, compelling, twisty, and sinister. This multi-layered mystery with dual storylines is a well-written, intense domestic suspense mystery that will keep you glued to the pages. The characters are complex and flawed, with their dark secrets and motivations, making you feel deeply connected and invested in their stories.
The narrative alternates between Mia and Tara, focusing on Tara and her past and present. I was introduced to Tara in the last book, a personal favorite, and I was eager to uncover the answers to the mysteries surrounding her parents and brother.
Equally captivating is the storyline of Mia, Tom, and Alice and the intricate web of connections that bind all the characters. How their stories intersect adds a layer of complexity to the narrative, keeping you hooked until the very end.
As mentioned in my previous review, the author is a pro with vast expertise in this field as a clinical psychologist. Lewis tackles trauma, guilt, self-doubt, deception, and memory loss with sensitivity and compassion, ensuring the psychological aspects of the book are authentic and engaging.
Brilliantly crafted with a twisty plot, clever misdirection, unreliable narrators, red herrings, and a wide cast of characters— you are not sure whom to trust, leaving you guessing until the twisty, satisfying conclusion.
I enjoyed THE GUILTY PATIENT so much that I turned on the audio on my Kindle app/iPad and iPhone to listen in the car while doing other things to avoid missing anything.
I highly recommend this author who wowed me back in 2014 when I started my blog with Don't Stand So Close, The Perfect Patient (2023), and with THE GUILTY PATIENT.
Recs...
The novel is for fans of the author and readers who enjoy smartly written psychological thrillers, as well as works by B.A. Paris, Freida McFadden, Fiona Barton, Christina McDonald, Sally Hepworth, Kimberly Belle, Michael Robotham, D.J. Palmer, and Mary Kubica.
Thanks...
Special thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing a gifted advance reading copy in exchange for an honest opinion.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Oct 14, 2024
My Rating: 5 Stars
About the Author
Luana Lewis is a chartered clinical psychologist and writer. She was clinical supervisor at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation in South Africa, and since 2004 has worked in England, both in the NHS and in private practice.
She currently teaches and practices Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy.
She has previously written two non-fiction books related to childhood trauma and and post-traumatic stress.
Don’t Stand So Close and Forget Me Not are published in the UK by Transworld, as well as in Germany (Goldmann), The Netherlands (Cargo/Bezige Bij) Italy (Longanesi), Brazil (Rocco), Turkey (Kahve Yayinlari) and Korea (Arumdri Media).
She is currently working on her third novel, a thriller, set in 1987 Apartheid South Africa, centering around the disappearance of a young actress. WEBSITE
