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The Perfect Denial
She should have stopped listening weeks ago.
FBI Agent Chloe Ryder found the recordings in the basement of a dead therapist's house. Twenty cassettes. Fifteen years of sessions between Dr. Lauren Beckinsale and Abigail Beecher — the girl who became pen pals with a serial killer at the age of ten, before becoming one herself.
The serial killer was Donald Bellchambers. They called him The Family Man because he'd marry them, start a family, and kill them. He wrote to Abigail from death row for twenty years. She wrote back. And somewhere in those letters, she learned how to do what she does.
To understand Abigail, Chloe has to do something no sane person would do. Drive to the maximum security Polunsky Unit in south Texas and sit across from The Family Man himself.
But it's the recordings that won't let her go. Tape after tape, session after session, she's hearing how a woman was studied, learned, and slowly replaced. She's living in the dead woman's house, which means she's sleeping in the bed and wearing the clothes and sitting in the chair where it happened. And the one person who could verify what she's hearing is dead — which means nobody believes her.
The closer she gets to the truth, the less sure you'll be that she should find it.
The last recording leads her to a state-run psychiatric institution upstate. Locked wards. Night shifts. Green paint on every wall. And behind one of those locked doors, someone who has been waiting for her.
A patient. A doctor. No one is who they say they are. And a building with no escape.
"A master of psychological narrative." ★★★★★
"You've never read anything like the last 50 pages of this book. I still haven't recovered." ★★★★★
"The Perfect Denial is a must-read. If you've not already jumped aboard the Stewart Clyde hype train, this series is the perfect place to start." ★★★★★
For readers of Gillian Flynn, Freida McFadden, and Patricia Highsmith.
The Perfect Denial is Book 2 of The Perfect Therapist series. "Critical" they are read in order.
FBI Agent Chloe Ryder found the recordings in the basement of a dead therapist's house. Twenty cassettes. Fifteen years of sessions between Dr. Lauren Beckinsale and Abigail Beecher — the girl who became pen pals with a serial killer at the age of ten, before becoming one herself.
The serial killer was Donald Bellchambers. They called him The Family Man because he'd marry them, start a family, and kill them. He wrote to Abigail from death row for twenty years. She wrote back. And somewhere in those letters, she learned how to do what she does.
To understand Abigail, Chloe has to do something no sane person would do. Drive to the maximum security Polunsky Unit in south Texas and sit across from The Family Man himself.
But it's the recordings that won't let her go. Tape after tape, session after session, she's hearing how a woman was studied, learned, and slowly replaced. She's living in the dead woman's house, which means she's sleeping in the bed and wearing the clothes and sitting in the chair where it happened. And the one person who could verify what she's hearing is dead — which means nobody believes her.
The closer she gets to the truth, the less sure you'll be that she should find it.
The last recording leads her to a state-run psychiatric institution upstate. Locked wards. Night shifts. Green paint on every wall. And behind one of those locked doors, someone who has been waiting for her.
A patient. A doctor. No one is who they say they are. And a building with no escape.
"A master of psychological narrative." ★★★★★
"You've never read anything like the last 50 pages of this book. I still haven't recovered." ★★★★★
"The Perfect Denial is a must-read. If you've not already jumped aboard the Stewart Clyde hype train, this series is the perfect place to start." ★★★★★
For readers of Gillian Flynn, Freida McFadden, and Patricia Highsmith.
The Perfect Denial is Book 2 of The Perfect Therapist series. "Critical" they are read in order.
267 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 21, 2026
About the author
Stewart Clyde
17 books44 followersStewart Clyde is the Kindle #1 bestselling author of the Carver & Sandling FBI Mystery Thriller series.
Dive in to what fans are calling 'Criminal Minds' meets 'Silence of the Lambs' now.
Dive in to what fans are calling 'Criminal Minds' meets 'Silence of the Lambs' now.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
After the brilliant setup of The Perfect Therapist, I had incredibly high expectations for Book 2, and The Perfect Denial did not disappoint. Stewart Clyde has delivered another absolute masterclass in the psychological thriller genre. It is absolutely essential to have read book one before jumping into this. This is a seamless continuation of the narrative, and you will appreciate the stakes so much more with that foundation.
What I love most about Clyde’s writing in this series is his unique stylistic choices. He brilliantly utilizes long run-on sentences to inject a sense of frantic urgency directly into the prose. It perfectly mirrors the characters' states of mind and matches the breakneck speed of the plot. Like most of Clyde’s work, there is absolutely no space for filler here. Every single line serves a purpose, keeping you hooked from the first page to the last.
As a reader who values a strong conclusion, this book delivers beautifully. The ending provides a satisfying payoff while perfectly setting the stage, and leaving us with a great deal of hope, that there is indeed a Book 3 on the way.
Fast-paced, relentless, and structurally immaculate, The Perfect Denial is a must-read for thriller fans. If you've not already jumped abooard the Stewart Clyde hype train, this series is the perfect place to start.
My thanks as always to Stewart Clyde for allowing me the privilege of being one of his ARC readers. He remains an absolute priority author on my TBR!
What I love most about Clyde’s writing in this series is his unique stylistic choices. He brilliantly utilizes long run-on sentences to inject a sense of frantic urgency directly into the prose. It perfectly mirrors the characters' states of mind and matches the breakneck speed of the plot. Like most of Clyde’s work, there is absolutely no space for filler here. Every single line serves a purpose, keeping you hooked from the first page to the last.
As a reader who values a strong conclusion, this book delivers beautifully. The ending provides a satisfying payoff while perfectly setting the stage, and leaving us with a great deal of hope, that there is indeed a Book 3 on the way.
Fast-paced, relentless, and structurally immaculate, The Perfect Denial is a must-read for thriller fans. If you've not already jumped abooard the Stewart Clyde hype train, this series is the perfect place to start.
My thanks as always to Stewart Clyde for allowing me the privilege of being one of his ARC readers. He remains an absolute priority author on my TBR!
May 22, 2026
The Perfect Denial is one of those books that just hooks you immediately and keeps getting darker the deeper you get into it. Stewart Clyde does a great job building tension and creating this constant feeling that something isn't quite right the entire time. The story follows FBI Agent Chloe Ryder as she investigates recordings tied to a dead therapist and a patient, but the case quickly becomes more personal and unsettling than she expected.
This book was fast paced from beginning to end, and there were so many twists which kept my attention and made me want to not put it down.
If you like psychological thrillers with creepy tension, and twists that make you rethink everything, this is definitely worth reading. It has that addictive “just one more chapter” feeling the whole way through. Overall, The Perfect Denial was an amazing read that others will probably struggle to put down as well. This book is an amazing sequel to The Perfect Therapist.
This book was fast paced from beginning to end, and there were so many twists which kept my attention and made me want to not put it down.
If you like psychological thrillers with creepy tension, and twists that make you rethink everything, this is definitely worth reading. It has that addictive “just one more chapter” feeling the whole way through. Overall, The Perfect Denial was an amazing read that others will probably struggle to put down as well. This book is an amazing sequel to The Perfect Therapist.
June 10, 2026
Review of advanced copy
What did I just read?!?! It's challenging for me to even explain my thoughts on this book. It was so good but so twisted, not in a gross way but just being able to see into different people's psyche.. I actually finished reading this awhile ago but wasn't sure how to put into words how amazing this book is. The best thing I can say is read it! When you think you know what's about to happen just wait......
What did I just read?!?! It's challenging for me to even explain my thoughts on this book. It was so good but so twisted, not in a gross way but just being able to see into different people's psyche.. I actually finished reading this awhile ago but wasn't sure how to put into words how amazing this book is. The best thing I can say is read it! When you think you know what's about to happen just wait......
Review of advance copy received from Author
Wow! If you had any questions about The Perfect Therapist you won’t anymore. I couldn’t stop reading this one until the very end. So many twists. Stewart Clyde has quickly become a favorite author. What’s next?
May 17, 2026
This cliff hanger was CRAZY and I hope there is a book 3.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews