ꨄ﹒Book name : The therapist
ꨄ﹒Author : arrally
ꨄ﹒Review type : Writing
ꨄ﹒Reviewer : LittleCat_Kat
The cover is great! The title and authors' names are clearly visible, and the subtitle adds a nice layer of intrigue. The background graphic is striking and immediately gives off mystery-thriller vibes—definitely eye-catching. The color palette and overall design reinforce the genre perfectly.
However, I did notice that the author's name at the top isn't centered... and yeah, my OCD flinched. So, -0.5. I was going to deduct a full point, but that felt a little harsh. It's a minor detail, but in a clean, professional design, it stands out.
Cover 9.5/10
Oh gosh, we're facing the same issue as The Owl here. The title The Therapist tells us, well...that there's a therapist. That's about it. It's pretty vague. We don't know what the therapist does,what makes them special, or why they deserve title-level importance. Plus, "therapist" is a prettycommon trope in thriller and drama stories, so what sets this one apart?
That said, I'll excuse the vagueness a bit, because the cover does a good job picking up theslack. The subtitle—"𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘀... 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂..."—is more like a teasermonologue and adds that eerie tension the title alone lacks. Combined with the visuals, it works.
Title 4/5
The blurb is fantastic! I love the vague but intriguing tone—it gives just enough information tohook the reader without spoiling anything major. Starting off with "My job as a therapist..." issuch a strong move. It grounds the title and immediately gives the story purpose, making thetitle feel relevant in context.
That said, I do have one major gripe: the capitalisation. It's not grammatically incorrect, butstylistically it's disruptive. Words and phrases like "EXCEPT THAT ISN'T WHAT HAPPENS,""SOMEONE IS," and "AND IT WILL BE MY FAULT" being in all caps pulls the reader out of theatmosphere the blurb is trying to build. Instead of feeling suspenseful or intense, it starts to feel like someone's screaming on social media.
All caps can be effective when used sparingly and for impact, but here it's a bit overused. If these lines were written with regular sentence casing and the tension was built through phrasing and punctuation instead, the suspense would land harder.
Still, despite that, the blurb does its job incredibly well—it's punchy, ominous, and makes you want to read more. Definitely a strong hook overall.
Blurb 9.5/10 points
As the title suggests, the story revolves around a therapist—more specifically, a relationship therapist—whose clients begin dying under mysterious circumstances. The only link between the victims? Her. This sets the stage for a murder mystery where the therapist herself becomes the central figure of suspicion, though not officially charged.
With only 16 chapters available at the time of this review, I can't fully judge whether there are major plot holes, but I'm assessing it as it stands, and so far, it holds up well. The events make logical sense, and character decisions are believable. For instance, Avery (our main character and the therapist) refuses to reveal her clients' personal information without a warrant, which aligns with her ethical and professional obligations. Even after a warrant, she remains hesitant, showing a consistent internal conflict between her moral code and the growing danger around her. Understandable and realistic.
So far, the plot delivers on suspense, intrigue, and a solid moral dilemma, with no glaring inconsistencies. I'm definitely invested in seeing where it all leads.
Plot 15/15 points
The story opens not with the main character but with a bar scene featuring side charactersgossiping about Avery, the relationship therapist. And honestly? I loved that approach.
It's a brilliant example of showing rather than telling. Instead of directly stating that Avery iswell-known and controversial for her work, the scene lets us hear people talk about her,including why some people hate her and how that might connect to someone targeting herclients. We immediately understand that she's a public figure, that not everyone likes her, andthat her job could be a motive for someone's revenge.
This opening effectively sets the tone and stakes of the story right away, giving us tension,character insight, and foreshadowing—all without even introducing the main character directly.It's a strong, cinematic start that makes you want to read more.
Hook 5/5 points
The grammar and vocabulary in The Therapist are solid overall. There are a few dialogue tagerrors and the occasional missing punctuation mark, but nothing that pulls you out of the story.It's smooth enough that most readers won't even notice.
One thing I really appreciated is how the story switches between two narrativestyles—first-person past tense when we're following Avery (the therapist), and third-person pasttense when we're following the two detectives. Normally, that kind of shift could be jarring, buthere it works because both are in past tense and clearly marked. The shift feels purposeful andwell-structured.
BUT THEN... THE FLASHBACKS HAPPEN. (I am getting flashbacks from The Owl!)
And they are in ITALICS. The ENTIRE SEGMENT. Why? Why do we keep doing this? You can'titalicise whole chapters or huge paragraphs just because they're flashbacks! Italics are meantfor emphasis, internal thoughts, foreign words, or brief memories—not full-blown scenes orentire chapters. The book already tells us it's a flashback, so there's really no need to slap it initalics and call it a day.
Using italics like this ends up feeling more like a formatting tantrum than a stylistic choice.Please, let's save the italics for when someone's whispering something creepy or when acharacter is thinking to themselves in panic, not for every past memory in existence.
So yes, minus a few points for the crime against formatting, but overall, the prose is clean andeffective.
Grammar and Vocabulary 13.5/15 points
I like the writing style; it's immersive and does a great job letting us into the characters' heads.Especially in the first-person chapters with Avery, the writing really shines. We don't just readabout her emotions—we feel them. Her calm, professional, thoughtful personality as a therapistcomes through so naturally in her narration. It's subtle, but it works, and it really helps usconnect to her on a deeper level.
However... the third-person narration? Not so much. It feels stiffer, more mechanical, especiallywhen it comes to describing actions. I noticed this in Chapter 3, the first time we switched intothird-person. The flow slows down because the sentences feel like a checklist of movementsrather than natural descriptions of events.
Here's an example from the book:
"Spade crumbled a paper and threw it at her. It hit her back. She stoppedmomentarily, bent down, and picked it up. Lifting a hand, she hurled at him, and hecaught it."
Do you see it? Do you feel how robotic that is? Read it out loud. It reads like stage directionsinstead of narrative. It's all subject-verb-object, and while that's grammatically fine, it doesn'tflow.
Let me offer my version that keeps the same actions but adds more natural rhythm andcharacter voice:
"Spade balled up the paper and tossed it at her—it bounced off her back. Shepaused, turned, then stooped to grab it. Without missing a beat, she whipped itback at him, and he caught it midair with a smirk."
See the difference? It's more fluid, more alive. There's momentum, a bit of personality, and itdoesn't feel like I'm watching a robot pick up a cup.
So yeah, Avery's chapters are strong and well-written, but the third-person chapters could use alittle more life. Still, it's nothing a bit of editing can't fix!
Writing Style 9/10 points
I honestly can't find much to complain about when it comes to the dialogues—aside from a fewsmall SPAG (spelling, punctuation, grammar) errors, but I've already ranted about that in theother section, so I'll let it slide here.
The dialogues are probably my favourite part of this book. They feel natural. Nothing is awkwardor forced, and each character has a distinct voice that reflects their personality, even the oneswe don't get a first-person perspective from.
For example, Spade? Yeah, he sucks. And his dialogue makes that very clear, which is probablywhy his girlfriend left him. Meanwhile, Meredith? Certified girlboss. More on her later, but herconfidence and attitude absolutely shine through her lines.
What I really love is how the story delivers important information and clues through dialogue. It'snever a wall of exposition. Instead, it actually feels like people are having real conversations,which helps the pacing and keeps the reader engaged.
Honestly, gold star for dialogue. It's smart, natural, and layered with subtext when it needs to be.10/10, no notes. 🫶
Dialogues 10/10 points
I love the characters! (Except Spade. He sucks. But we'll get to that.)
One thing this story does really well, aside from the dialogue, is the character work. Avery, ourmain character, is a therapist, as I've mentioned before, and it shows. She has the calm,composed demeanour you'd expect, but she's not one-dimensional. Her job is only one part ofwho she is. For example, she occasionally loses her cool, especially around Spade, when heaccuses her of hiding information. And honestly? Rightfully so. She's just trying to do her joband follow the code of ethics. She doesn't buckle under pressure or let Spade intimidate her.Instead, she insists on a warrant. That quiet strength, her unwillingness to cave just becausesomeone is yelling at her, makes her so compelling.
Plus, her compassion for her clients is genuine. Even after their professional relationship ends,she still cares about them deeply. That makes her feel real, like a person, not just a plot device.
Now, let's talk about the other main characters: the two detectives—Spade (the dumb bitch) andMeredith (the bad bitch). Starting with Spade, since we meet him first, he's arrogant, rude, andclearly biased. He looks down on Avery's job, likely because his girlfriend left him, and heblames Avery for "ruining" relationships. Boo hoo.
But—and here's where it gets interesting—Spade actually mirrors the bar patrons from thebeginning of the story. Remember them? The ones talking trash about Avery and blaming herfor their breakups? Spade is basically a parallel to those people. This is such a clever movebecause it reflects how pervasive that mindset is, and makes Spade's role more meaningfulthan just "the rude detective." That said, he's still insufferable and currently deeply unlikeable.
Now Meredith? Iconic. My favorite character by far. She's witty, intelligent, and confident, and itall shines through in her actions, not just in the narration telling us she's smart. In Chapter 3,when Spade is whining about Avery not giving up information without a warrant and insulting herprofession, Meredith picks up on something important: Avery might not be a suspect—she mightbe the target. She doesn't just say this out of nowhere. She observes Spade's hatred of Averyand deduces something bigger. This is a great example of "show, don't tell," and it provesMeredith is a capable detective. It also makes Spade's behavior serve a purpose by helpingMeredith look more competent in contrast.
(Also, he kind of reminds me of Taigen from Blue Eye Samurai, but Taigen's at least funny.)
Then there's Garry—Avery's ex-husband. Honestly? Way more tolerable than Spade. Herecognizes his mistakes and tries to make amends. The tragedy is that he understands what hedid wrong, but Avery just can't forgive him—and that's fair. It makes him feel human, flawed, butnot evil.
Now, let's talk about the potential love interest angle with Spade. I really hope it's just a gag andnot actually being set up seriously. Because if Avery ends up with Spade in his current state?Girl, run.
One final thing—Chapter 15 gives us a short POV of the murderer. And... it was so cringe.Genuinely useless. It adds nothing to the plot. We already know he's watching Avery. Was thepoint to make him seem more dangerous? Because honestly, he just comes off like a12-year-old who flipped the Monopoly board when he lost. That entire scene could be deleted,and the story would be exactly the same
Characters & Character Development 14.5/15 points
This book was a really great read. If you like detectives, murder mysteries, and psychologicalthrillers, this is definitely for you!
The characters have depth, actual personalities, and feel real—you can genuinely connect withthem. But more importantly, the plot is super engaging. I'll definitely be continuing this even afterthe review. I need to know who this 12-year-old Monopoly-flipping killer is.
As someone who reads a lot of murder mysteries, I found the plot surprisingly unique. It alsotackles real-life issues—like how some men suck. (I'm a biological male and I agree. Some mensuck—and not in the gay way.)
This theme isn't just surface-level either—it's baked right into the story's foundation. From thevery first chapter, we see people disliking Avery simply because she helps women recognizewhen their partners are manipulative or controlling. But it's not one-sided—she also helps maleclients realize when they are in an abusive relationship. She encourages them to stand up forthemselves, especially for the sake of their children. It's nuanced, it's compassionate, and itfeels real.
In conclusion, this book blends emotional realism with gripping mystery and strong socialcommentary. It doesn't just entertain—it makes you think. I'm absolutely sticking with it, and ifyou like smart thrillers with real emotional stakes, you should too.
Personal Opinion 5/5 points
I dont think LittleCat_Kat gets enough credit for her amazing reviews! She is helping me out so much and i cannot be more thankful for that <3