The Privilege: A Psychological Thriller

by A.R. Hollowell

She knows who killed him. The law says she can't tell.

A therapist holds hundreds of secrets. It's the job. People sit in her chair, confess the worst thing they've ever done, and trust her to hold it.

Then a patient confesses to a fatal hit-and-run — and walks out like nothing happened.

Three days later, the victim's mother is referred to her as a new patient. Same office. Same chair. She's searching for answers about her son's death. Answers the therapist already has.

Every the mother, searching for the truth.
Every the killer, making sure it stays buried.

The law says the confession is protected. The privilege is absolute. But when the killer starts watching the mother — and makes it clear he knows exactly who she is — the rules designed to protect become the walls that imprison.

Now the therapist faces an impossible break the law and destroy her career, or keep the secret and risk a mother's life.

The Privilege is a devastating psychological thriller about the space between duty and conscience — and what it costs to do the right thing when every option is a form of harm.

Book One in the Hollowell Moral Thriller Series.

For fans of Jodi Picoult and Lisa Scottoline.

232 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication June 1, 2026

About the author

A.R. Hollowell writes psychological thrillers about impossible choices and the people who have to make them. His debut novel, The Privilege, is the first book in the Hollowell
Moral Thriller series. He lives in Florida.

Reviews

[Kierston Ghezzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first ARC that I have received and read and I was very excited. However, I did not consider this to be a psychological thriller like stated and like I was expecting. There were many parts in the dialogue that were significantly repetitive and descriptions that were used too frequently, which made it difficult to focus on the story at hand. There were times where I felt the book could have finished but kept going.

With that being said, I did find it difficult to rate this book. I did find the story line to be interesting. The author really captured the raw range of emotions the main character felt/experienced throughout the book very well. I am grateful that I was able to receive this advanced copy but it did fall short for me. I will be interested to see how this will become part of a series.

[Donna McMullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was phenomenal! This is a totally new premise for me. From the very beginning the story creates a feeling of uneasiness and tension that grows as the book progresses. When I say my anxiety was over the top, I am not exaggerating!
This thriller poses the question, if you are a therapist and learn one of your patients committed a crime that ends in death but are bound by patient privilege, do you stand by that? Or do you risk losing your license and your career and do what you know is right? It is masterfully put together in such a way that I felt the therapist change from controlled and asking all the right questions, to such unease that her whole world is spinning. I was glued to this book until the end and would highly recommend!

[Kathryn Masters · Rating 4 out of 5]

The topic of therapist-patient confidentiality was very interesting in A.R. Hollowell’s book The Privilege. Elena is a successful therapist with a reputation for really listening to her clients. One of her patients discloses a tragic accident in which a young man died. That confession is a heavy burden that Elena must carry since she cannot report the crime under the rule of privilege. A new client is referred to Elena with ties to that crime. She should not accept the referral, but she does and her burden soon becomes so heavy that she is not sure if she can bear it.

The story drew me in from the beginning and I was happy to go along for the ride. My only criticism about the story is that there were moments that seemed repetitive. It was only a few, so it was not distracting. Also, the denouement seemed to arrive early and the ending dragged a bit after that.

Overall, the story was very exciting and I read it very quickly because I wanted to see what was going to happen next. Looking forward to the next book in this series.

[Jine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting read I haven’t read a book like this before

This is the story of a therapist who is trapped between a patient who had confessed to a crime and the mother of the boy of the crime

She has to sit and listen to this man describe the accident and what’s been happening while talking to the mom who is describing in detail her son and what’s happened since he died

She’s trapped between her job and ethics of patient confidentiality and her feelings for the mom

What tips her over the edge I feel like is when the man knew she was seeing the mom too he began to say small threats which caused her to act and break her privilege

She faced consequences for her actions but in the long run while waiting to see if she was going to get let licence back she lived fuller she was a councillor and she was taking all the necessary steps in getting her life back on track

[Kim Ayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book, and couldn’t put it down.

The Privilege is a sharp, thought-provoking psychological drama built around an impossible ethical dilemma. Dr. Elena Vargas, a therapist, treats two patients—one who confesses to a fatal hit-and-run, and another who is the victim’s grieving mother. Bound by confidentiality, she cannot reveal the truth.

The story’s strength lies in this tension: knowing what’s right morally but being unable to act on it professionally. Dr. Vargas feels real and conflicted, not heroic—just human.

It’s a quieter, introspective read, but it sticks with you. The book doesn’t offer easy answers, instead forcing you to sit with the question: when the rules are clear, but justice isn’t, what do you do?

[Fiza Pathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I closed ‘The Privilege’ on a Mumbai afternoon in early May, sat with it for a long time in the silence of my Bandra West flat bedroom, and then turned back to the first page. I had not believed, in the days before I opened it, that a debut novel by an unknown writer publishing under the small Armitage Press imprint would ‘press’ itself against my chest and refuse to leave. I expected, with the familiar resignation of a reader who has worked her way through too many competent legal thrillers, an evening of serviceable plotting and a manageable suspense. What I found instead was a book of moral gravity so disciplined and so honestly built that, by the third chapter, I had set my smart pen down and stopped taking notes. Some books do not want to be analyzed before they are received. Five stars, without hesitation. ‘The Privilege’ is the most ethically serious thriller I have read in a long while.

The premise is, on its surface, the kind of high-concept hook that fills the catalogues of every commercial publisher each spring. Elena Vargas is a Chicago therapist with fourteen years of clinical practice behind her, and a small office above a yoga studio on Armitage Avenue. On a Thursday in November, her third-session patient - Thomas Crane, a wealthy real-estate developer - confesses with rehearsed calm that, on a rain-slick October night the previous month, he struck and killed a twenty-four-year-old graduate student named Ryan Hollowell on a stretch of Sheridan Road near the university, sat in his car for ‘two, maybe three’ seconds while the calculation ran, and drove away. The privilege belongs to him; Illinois law is unambiguous; Elena cannot tell. Three days later, by a referral she has neither the moral clarity to refuse nor the professional ground to accept, Ryan’s mother -Diane Hollowell, retired Evanston teacher, knocking on doors with flyers in a winter coat - becomes Elena’s new patient.

What lifts this novel from competent thriller to something genuinely lasting is Hollowell’s refusal - and one feels it as a moral choice, not merely a craft choice - to soften any edge of the dilemma he has set. The book’s ethical question is not solved. It is suffered. For four months of narrative time, Elena sits with Diane every Tuesday at two o’clock and with Thomas every Thursday at four, knowing what she knows, and the novel inhabits her body as the secret begins to consume it - twelve pounds lost, hair coming out in the shower, headaches behind the eyes, hands she has to hide under her notepad. ‘The Privilege’ understands, with a clinician’s seriousness, that the body is the first place where conscience registers - that the failure to speak is not a passive condition but an active wound. I cannot recall another thriller that has so faithfully recorded what silence costs the silent.

The prose itself is the second of the novel’s quiet astonishments. Hollowell writes in short, controlled sentences, with a Hemingway-esque economy that is nonetheless capable of sudden lyricism - check this out - a maple tree losing its leaves ‘with a kind of exhausted dignity, one at a time’; the click of an office door in an empty stairwell sounding ‘like a period at the end of a sentence.’ The minimalism never preens. It is the prose, one feels, of a writer who has imposed on himself the same discipline he has asked of his protagonist - say only what is true; say nothing more. There is, throughout the book, an authorial restraint that signals a writer who trusts his reader and trusts his subject - an increasingly rare combination in contemporary commercial fiction. Bravo A.R. Hollowell!

The novel’s structural architecture is similarly disciplined. Four parts - The Weight, The Trap, and the two after, which I shall not name for fear of spoiling - carry the reader through confession, surveillance, breaking, and the long, unsentimental work of repair. Hollowell is unafraid of patience. He gives Detective Luis Reina an entire mid-novel arc to build the case from toll records, body-shop receipts, and the stubborn forensic instinct of a man with a yellow legal pad and twenty years of cases behind him. He gives Diane the dignity of her own investigative grief - the flyers, the cameras, the doorbell rounds of a mother who refuses to be a passive recipient of bureaucratic indifference. He gives even Freud the cat - Elena’s small orange domestic conscience, perched on the kitchen counter through every crisis - a presence as exactly observed as any human character.

The ensemble is what one notices, finally - a moral landscape populated by people, not figures.
But the chapter that decided me on this book, is the one in which Elena enters a small Catholic parish on Fullerton Avenue and meets Father Tom Brennan. There is, in contemporary American fiction, a chronic discomfort with the figure of the priest (ROFL) - a literary embarrassment that produces either caricature or nostalgia. Hollowell writes Father Brennan as neither (Thanks be to God, Alleluia). He is middle-aged, balding, replacing burned-down candles on a Wednesday afternoon (They should do this in Mumbai, India too – why do I have to do it all the time!!??), and he asks Elena no questions she has not first asked herself. He tells her, instead, the parable of a parishioner who came to confession every Saturday for three years for the same sin, and who one day went home and told his wife. The marriage broke, and was rebuilt over years of pain, and ‘the truth didn’t fix anything’ Father Brennan says - it merely cleared the ground for building on something that wasn’t rotten. Then he uses the one word that pierces Elena’s professional armor - enabling. She has used the word with her own patients for fourteen years. She has never applied it to herself. The blow is moral, and it is exact, and any reader who has ever sat with the slow accumulation of small compromises will recognize in this scene the kind of clarity that good Catholic moral theology has always understood - that grace, when it arrives, often arrives as the lifting of a single self-deception.

I do not know whether A. R. Hollowell is Catholic; I do know that the novel’s moral architecture is profoundly indebted to the confessional tradition, with its insistence that absolution is a door one must still walk through. This is not a Catholic novel in the narrow sense, but it is a novel that takes seriously what the Catholic moral imagination has always taken seriously - that conscience is real, that it has a body, that silence has a cost, and that the cost cannot be deferred forever without consequences that are spiritual before they are professional. As a Catholic reader - as a Benedictine consecrated virgin in formation, as one who carries her own discipline of Catholic theological reading into every novel she opens - (as a Catholic Biblical Theologian myself) I felt the weight of these intuitions on every page. I felt, too, the dignity of a secular novel that allowed religious seriousness into its frame without apology and without sentimentality, and which respected the priest as an interlocutor rather than reducing him to scenery.

I should note, in fairness to readers whose tastes differ from mine, the perspectives a less enthusiastic critic might raise. The pacing is unhurried; readers who come to legal thrillers expecting the brisk procedural rhythm of a John Grisham or a Scott Turow (my IBDP English Literature tuition students are obsessed with this guy! Why??! I am doing something wrong big time!) will find Hollowell’s patience trying. The ethical conclusion is genuinely contested within the therapeutic and legal-ethics professions - a great many practicing clinicians will read Elena’s eventual decision as a violation rather than a vindication, and the novel honors them by refusing to argue otherwise. The prose, for all its precision, occasionally trades vividness for restraint, and a reader who prizes lush sentences may feel the writing too austere. The novel’s secondary cast - Margaret Chen the supervisor, Gloria the clinic director, Detective Reina, Father Brennan, the late-arriving Dr. Reeves - is unambiguously sympathetic, and a critic of harder taste may complain that Thomas Crane is the only true villain in a moral landscape this complex. Each of these is a fair observation. None of them, to my reading, diminishes the achievement of the whole.

What ‘The Privilege’ offers, beyond its considerable virtues as a thriller, is the rare gift of a novel that respects its own subject. Hollowell publishes under a surname - Hollowell - that is also the name of his murdered character, and the dedication reads - For the therapists who carry what they cannot say. And for the families still waiting for answers. It is a small detail, easy to miss, but it tells the reader something important about the seriousness of the project. Whoever A. R. Hollowell is - the use of initials, the surname shared with the victim, and the modest single-book imprint suggest a writer who has chosen this material with deliberate care, and who may well be writing under a pseudonym - he has written this book under the sign of the wound it explores. The author’s own brief note at the end concedes that the dilemma has no clean answer; that, he writes, is the point. It is a rare contemporary thriller that ends with such intellectual honesty. Author A.R. Hollowell – you intrigue me!

That is what I shall remember of ‘The Privilege’, long after the plot details have softened into the general inventory of books I have read.

I do not often read thrillers these days. I do not often finish them. Too deeply drowning in my studies in Catholic Theology and Data Science and Data Analytics and MBA Human Resource Management and Paralegal Law Diploma Courses. I have rarely closed one and felt, as I felt closing this one, that I had been in the presence of a serious moral artist working at the height of his attention. Five stars undoubtedly, and the warmest possible recommendation to readers who are willing to be patient with a novel that is patient with itself. ‘The Privilege’ will repay the patience many times over – grab your copy of the book when it is released soon. I shall watch for Book Two with the kind of anticipation I usually reserve for Catholic theological monographs and rare second-printings of Marian devotional texts. That is, I think, the highest compliment I know how to give.

And I took three hours to type this book review – and now it is time for me to go for Mass. I shall mull over the mystery of the author while walking towards the Church of my choice this early morning.

Interesting novel. Intriguing novelist.

A must read for all readers who like ‘thinking thrillers’.

[Molly McMullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

🧠⚖️ The Privilege

A.R. Hollowell
Genres: Psychological Thriller · Moral Dilemma · Domestic Suspense
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4/5)

Mini‑Review:
This is a slow‑burn psychological thriller built around one of the most claustrophobic ethical traps imaginable. A therapist receives a confession from a killer — a confession protected by confidentiality — while the victim’s grieving mother sits in her office week after week, begging for answers the therapist already knows. The entire novel turns that impossible tension into a pressure cooker.

Hollowell leans into moral dread rather than action. The suspense comes from the therapist’s internal unraveling: the guilt, the fear, the legal constraints, and the growing sense that the killer is watching her reactions a little too closely. The alternating sessions create a rhythm that feels like a metronome ticking down to disaster.

What makes the story compelling is its focus on ethical suffocation. There’s no convenient loophole, no easy escape hatch. Every choice harms someone, and the narrative forces the reader to sit in that discomfort. It’s a thriller that asks, What does doing the right thing even mean when the rules make it impossible?

The only minor limitation is that the book stays tightly centered on the central dilemma rather than expanding into deeper psychological backstory. But the tension is sharp, the stakes feel personal, and the final act lands with a quiet, devastating punch.

Shelves: Psychological Tension · Moral Dilemmas · Domestic Suspense · Completed

This is an ARC review. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Felicia Delebreau · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Honest review of an ARC**

This is my very first ARC review, and I am so glad I got the chance to give this book a try before it’s published!

This is definitely a solid 4⭐️ read. Not the typical psychological thriller, and didn’t have any twists that generally come with the thriller genre. What this book is crammed full of? Moral dilemma. To tell or not to tell? How far can therapist-patient privilege be stretched? How thin is the line between right and wrong?

This book detailed some major moral dilemmas for Dr. Vargas. It is an interesting look into the therapist/client relationship. Makes you put yourself into her shoes and question, “What would I do in this situation?” As the story developed I found myself asking that question repeatedly. Tough situations definitely show a side of yourself that you aren’t familiar with. And to be truthful, I don’t know if I could have carried everything that Dr. Vargas carried, especially not for as long as she did.

The book itself is well written, with great detail given to scenes and characters. Sometimes the amount of detail felt a little dense, like there was too much. But I also feel like it helped set the scene and helped showcase the characters through the eyes of Dr. Vargas.

If you are interested in crime, psychology, or books displaying moral dilemma, I’d definitely give this one a read! It really puts things into a perspective I haven’t seen or thought of before. I am really looking forward to the second book in the series to see how it all plays out ⚖️🤔

[Cassie Hasdell · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC


Ok….WOW. This book was honestly a little outside the realm of what I’d normally read and not what I would normally sway towards for fear of boredom. ( I love any great action-packed, graphic crime thriller)

This was ANYTHING but boring and stirred a great moral dilemma within me. As someone who has worked in healthcare and is held by similar laws and legislations ( Aussie gal here so things differ slightly). I found myself imagining what I would do if I were thrust into a situation like this……and honestly? I have arguments that support both sides of this story.

I was instantly drawn to Elena and the impossible position that she was straddling: The battle between Therapist-patient privilege and the ethical framework, laws and legislations that invisibly bind the hands of all of those who choose to uphold its oath.

Despite the lack of ‘gore’ and action-packed murder mysteries that I’m used to, I never got bored throughout this book (and I’m a very impatient person when it comes to reading books that can’t reel me in within the fist couple of chapters).
If this is only book 1 of a 3 book series than sign me up now for the next 2 because I can’t recall the last time I read a book that made me second guess every belief that I once held surrounding patient confidentiality and the multifaceted battle that those bound by these laws face throughout their careers.

Easiest 5 ⭐️ I’ve given this year 😊

[Marta Ramos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book and am leaving this review voluntarily because I genuinely cannot stop thinking about it. It's been three days and I keep catching myself thinking about Elena at random moments. Driving to work. Making breakfast. Standing in line at the grocery store. This story just moved in and isn't leaving.
I've been on a thriller kick for months now and nothing has come close to this. Most thrillers hook you with plot. This one hooks you with a person. Elena is someone you believe in from the jump. She's the therapist you'd want to have, the friend you'd want in your life, and Hollowell puts her through something that no amount of training or good intentions can prepare her for. I caught myself holding my breath during multiple chapters and not realizing it until my lungs reminded me.
The whole concept felt like nothing I'd encountered before in the genre. I actually stopped midway through and looked up whether the legal framework was real because it seemed too perfectly cruel to be true. It is real. That made everything hit ten times harder.
Already pre-ordered copies for my mom and my best friend. Told them both absolutely nothing about the plot. Just said read it. A.R. Hollowell wrote something genuinely special here and I feel lucky I found it early.

[Eileen Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book and this review is entirely voluntary because honestly I'd feel guilty keeping quiet about something this good.
I wasn't planning on reading the whole thing in one go. I had laundry to fold and emails to answer and a whole responsible evening mapped out. None of that happened. I opened chapter one and the next time I looked up it was midnight and the laundry was still in the dryer and I did not care even a little bit.
Elena is the reason. She's not your typical thriller protagonist. She's quiet, careful, deeply principled, the kind of person who eats the same salad every day and notices everything about the people around her. Watching someone that steady get put in a position where every right answer is also a wrong answer was agonizing in the most addictive way possible.
The premise is completely unlike anything on my shelf. I thought I'd seen every variation of the psychological thriller and then Hollowell shows up with something that made me rethink the entire genre. The tension doesn't come from danger in the traditional sense. It comes from knowledge. From what one person knows and cannot say. That quiet suffocation carried me through every single page.
I've already pre-ordered a copy for my sister and told her nothing except clear your schedule. A.R. Hollowell has my full attention going forward.

[Bookish DogMama Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever read a book that grabs you, pulling you in on the first page? And within the first 2 chapters you are wondering who will play the characters in the movie or Netflix show? I did on Sunday. That book is The Privilege by Author A.R. Hollowell.

The Privilege is a highly effective psychological thriller dealing with one of the most serious ethical issues those entrusted to care for people are faced with. What do I do if a patient reveals they have committed a crime, may be capable of more…and the law of client privilege bars me from revealing this? How do I protect future victims while maintaining patient confidentiality?

Therapist Elena finds herself trapped in this situation…and her journey carrying this knowledge is drop-the-mic tension!

While reading I found my own heart racing, my own hand holding my chair tighter…and my lungs gently reminding me that needing to breathe is important.

The characters are so believable. The descriptions of the atmosphere and emotions are palpable. The dialogue between them reads like a movie in my mind and I want to keep turning pages to see what happens next.

This story presents ethics, life changing decisions, therapy, grief and relationships spot on.

I would highly recommend this book! It will be a fast read, as you won’t want to put it down.

[Gemma Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ended up really enjoying this book and got through it pretty quickly, which for me is always a good sign, it definitely held my attention. The moral and legal dilemma running through the story was what really hooked me. It constantly made me question what I would do in the same situation, and honestly, I’m not sure I’d have the strength to make the choices the main character did. That internal conflict felt very real and stayed with me even after I put the book down.

My only slight irritation and this is very much a personal thing, was some of the repetition. Certain words and descriptions came up quite a lot, especially “performance” being used across multiple characters, and repeated mentions of the cold finding gaps in her coat. I can see that this was probably intentional, maybe to reinforce themes or atmosphere, but it did start to stand out to me a bit too much.

I did like the ending though, it clearly sets things up for a sequel, which I’m definitely interested in reading. That said, for me a psychological thriller really needs at least one proper unexpected twist, and that was the only thing missing that would have pushed this to a full 5 stars.

Overall, it was a compelling, thought-provoking read that kept me engaged the whole way through, and I’d happily recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories that make you stop and really think about right and wrong.

[Yosleyvis Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book floored me.
What makes it special is that it's not really a thriller about catching someone or solving something. It's a thriller about what happens inside a person who knows something they can't say. The plot moves forward, things escalate, consequences arrive. But the real engine is Elena's interior life, and Hollowell writes that interior life with a precision that borders on cruel. You feel everything she feels. You understand every decision she makes. And you cannot look away.
Elena is one of the most fully drawn characters I've encountered in the genre. High moral standards, deep empathy, and a compulsion to help that becomes its own kind of trap. There's a line her supervisor delivers about the difference between protecting someone and protecting your own need to be the one who holds everything. That line changed how I read the entire rest of the book.
The ending is quiet. No fireworks. No last minute twist. Just the consequences of choices made by people who were doing the best they could with impossible options. It felt honest in a way that very few thrillers earn. I closed the book and sat with it for a long time.
If you're tired of thrillers that wrap everything up neatly, this is the opposite of that. And it's better for it.

[Yvonne Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book completely pulled me in from the very first page and never let go. It’s one of those books that doesn’t just entertain you, it challenges you. I kept asking myself, “what would I do in that situation?” It really digs into that uncomfortable space where your personal morals and professional ethics don’t quite align, especially when your intentions are genuine.

Elena is such a compelling character. I felt so much empathy for her throughout the entire book. You can see how everything starts from a place of compassion. Watching her get pulled deeper, was both gripping and unsettling.

There were moments that genuinely surprised me, and I appreciated that the story didn’t rely on over-the-top twists, but instead stayed true to its characters and the reality of the situation. All of it felt grounded and believable. That made it even more impactful. (I’ve read some books with some unrealistic twists, so it was nice to have something more believable).

Overall, this book was thought-provoking, emotionally engaging read that will stay with me for a long time. If you enjoy books that make you question your own values while keeping you completely hooked, this one is absolutely worth.

I’m excited to read book 2 and see what else is in store for Elena!

[Jenna White · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was deeply tense, though at times repetitive. There are a few instances where the same sentence appears back-to-back, which seems like an editing error. However, much of the repetition feels intentional, reinforcing the pacing and creating an unsettled, anxious atmosphere that mirrors the emotional weight carried by the main character.

The story follows Dr. Elena Vargas, who is burdened by a patient’s confession while simultaneously treating a victim connected to that very event, giving her and the reader a full, 360-degree view of the incident and its aftermath. The moral conflict of balancing patient confidentiality with the potential to bring justice sits heavily on her mind and drives much of the tension in the story.

The writing style effectively sustains that tension, contributing to a slow-burn narrative that resists rushing toward resolution. That said, once everything comes together, the story continues for a few chapters longer than necessary. They could have been condensed into a shorter conclusion or epilogue.

Overall, I was satisfied with the ending and the fate of the characters. I would read more of this series.

[Wendy Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book messed with me in the best way. I thought I had it figured out by chapter ten and I was wrong. Not even close.
The thing about The Privilege is that it doesn't rely on some big shocking twist to carry it. The tension comes from the characters themselves — from watching smart people make choices that feel justified in the moment and catastrophic in hindsight. Hollowell writes people who feel like they walked out of your actual life, which makes the whole thing ten times more uncomfortable than a standard thriller.
There's a moment in the second half where everything clicks into place and I literally put the book down and stared at the wall for a minute. Went back and reread a few earlier scenes and it was all right there. That's good writing.
My only small gripe is I wanted a little more time with one of the secondary characters who felt like they had more story to give. But honestly that might just mean I didn't want it to end.
If you're tired of thrillers where you can see the ending coming from fifty pages out, pick this up.

[Sara Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A.R. Hollowell’s The Privilege is a sharp, unsettling exploration of power, entitlement, and the quiet mechanisms that sustain inequality. Rather than presenting privilege as an abstract concept, Hollowell grounds it in the lived experiences of characters who benefit from — and are constrained by — the systems around them. Hollowell’s strength lies in showing how privilege rarely announces itself; instead, it seeps into everyday interactions, decisions, and assumptions. The prose is controlled and deliberate, often understated, which makes the more jarring moments land with greater force. The Privilege is less about plot and more about recognition — asking readers to examine the structures that shape opportunity and fairness. It is a thoughtful, at times uncomfortable read that lingers after the final page. This is a novel best suited for readers interested in social dynamics and moral complexity, rather than fast-moving storytelling. Hollowell succeeds in making privilege visible — and difficult to ignore.

[Lori Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received as an review copy from Booksirens, this is an honest review.

An emotionally profound novel that will break your heart along with feeling breathtaking angry at the same.

From the moment a patient seeing Dr. Elena Vargas, tells her he caused the death of a cyclist one rainy evening- Elena struggles with wanting to inform the police of what happened to Ryan Hollowell... and yet she cannot, the law has toed her hands unless a particular threshold is met. So Elena listens to a man that took a life all the while she tries help Diane move forward from the tragic loss of her son. Elena could tell Doane what she knows... but doing so would mean losing the ability to help a woman Elena sees the loss of a wonderful man that could have done so much good. It's when Ryan's killer says the thing Elena cannot ignore... getting justice for a traumatized mother means sacrificing everything and calling out the stupidity of tbe laws that therapists are bound to.


Highly recommended.

[Taylor Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC copy of this book, and it’s easily the best ARC I’ve been chosen to read before release! This book had a hold on me right from page one. This author took actual fact about the law and practices in the state the book took place, didn’t twist and make up his own laws to add to the narrative. As someone who works in a field with laws as such, I really appreciated the real and rawness that some therapists are faced with. As a debut book this was written with such precision and knowledge of how the law protects clients and sometimes deceives therapists leaving them questioning their own choices. It is set to release on June 1st !!!! Get your copy as soon as you can because this book was epic from start to finish! Absolutely looking forward to more from this author :)

[Lazaro Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book and oh my god. I started it after dinner thinking I'd read a chapter or two and ended up finishing the whole thing at 1 AM on a work night. Zero regrets.
The premise alone hooked me. A therapist whose patient confesses something horrific, and then the victim's family member walks into her office days later? I've never read anything like that setup. But it's Elena that kept me turning pages. She's so easy to root for, so genuinely good at her job, and watching her get torn apart from the inside was almost unbearable in the best way. I was gripping my phone reading this thing.
I texted my friend halfway through and said "drop whatever you're reading and get this book immediately." She's already started it. Hollowell just earned a reader for life. Cannot wait to see what comes next in this series. Absolutely phenomenal debut.

[Bekah Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received as an advanced reader copy from the author

I really enjoyed this book! This was my first ARC and I'm so glad I got the opportunity to check it out! I was literally pulled in from the beginning and wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next. This was definitely not a typical thriller book filled with different twists, but instead moral dilemma.

As someone in healthcare, who is held to certain laws/legislation, it had me thinking what would I do if I was in that situation or if I could see myself making those same choices. I got really pulled into the main character Elena, from the choices she made and the secrets she had to hold. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in this series to see how things play out!

If you are into crime, psychology, and anything involving moral dilemma, I would definitely check it out!

[Eileen Murphy-Schmehl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elena is a prominent therapist in Chicago. She is invested in the proper care of her patients.

Thomas is successful businessman who comes in to Elena’s office . A secret is weighing on his mind, and his life is in shambles. Can he be helped?

Elena also sees Diane, a grieving mother who wants help dealing with the pain of her son’s death. Thomas and Diane are connected, and Elena must do the ethical thing and avoid breaking the law. A novel about doing the right thing and still losing everything-

The story lagged a bit, and it felt like there were several points at which the story could have ended, but somehow kept going. There was a lot of filler at the end, but a good read nonetheless.

I received an advance copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Cassie P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the premise of the book was excellent, and I really enjoyed the storyline and felt the characters were well written. However, I felt there was a significant amount of repetitiveness in the book related to phrases and descriptions. There were also some discrepancies that were hard to ignore, and the writing style was not something I typically prefer. If this had been a short story without all the repetition, this would definitely have been 4 stars for me… maybe even 4.5 if only that were an option. The premise made it worth reading, but sometimes less is more. Overall, I’m really glad I took the time to read it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Stephanie Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got an early copy of this and I'm still thinking about it days later. I genuinely cannot remember the last time a book grabbed me this fast. I was hooked within the first few pages and I did not come up for air until it was done.
The concept is unlike anything I've come across before. The idea that a therapist is legally bound to keep a secret that is destroying the person sitting right in front of her? Brilliant. And Elena is the kind of character you just want to protect. You feel every ounce of what she's going through. I was stressed FOR her the entire time.
I told my book club this is our next pick, no discussion needed. A.R. Hollowell knocked it out of the park. Already counting down to the next one.

[Yanet Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC reader here and I am OBSESSED with this book. I picked it up on a Saturday morning and canceled all my plans because there was no way I was stopping. My coffee went cold twice and I didn't care.I've read hundreds of thrillers and I have never encountered a premise like this one. The situation Elena finds herself in is so unique and so gut-wrenching that I kept pausing just to think about what I would do in her shoes. Spoiler: I have no idea. She's such a warm, principled person and watching her world close in around her had my heart racing the entire time.Messaged my sister before I even finished the last chapter telling her she needs to read this yesterday. A.R. Hollowell came out swinging with this debut and I am HERE for whatever comes next.

[Ciro Parla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay so I was NOT prepared for this book. Picked it up on a whim and next thing I know my dinner is burning because I forgot I was cooking. That's the kind of hold this story had on me.The moral quandary at the heart of it is something completely fresh. I kept putting myself in Elena's position and every single path leads somewhere painful. She's such a deeply human character. Warm, principled, stubborn in the way people are when they care too much. My chest was tight for half this book and I mean that as the highest compliment.Ran straight to social media after finishing to see if anyone else was talking about this yet. A.R. Hollowell just jumped to the top of my watch list. Bring on book two.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, the turmoil between doing what you believe is right and what the laws of your job says you can do. I could feel the therapist anguish and sorrow as she struggled with the correct direction follow.

The author has a unique way of telling a story and presenting new material, versus rehashing old stories.

This book is for people who question reality, who don't believe in cookie cutter solutions, and don't want to be told how they're supposed to feel. He let's you think for yourself and come up with your own conclusion. Right or wrong, yes or no, left or right. What will you believe?

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Cortina Velazquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given an early copy of this book and chose to share my thoughts honestly.

I really appreciated the concept behind this story. It explores what it would be like to be a therapist bound by strict confidentiality, similar to a priest, where what’s said in sessions must remain private except in rare situations. One patient admits to committing a crime and shows no guilt whatsoever. Shortly after, the victim’s mother unknowingly becomes a client of the same therapist. That setup creates intense moral tension and raises powerful questions: When is it right to break silence? When does staying quiet become wrong? Which choice carries the greater consequence? An incredibly thought-provoking read—definitely 5 stars.

[Charles Shore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m sharing this after receiving an advance reader copy, with no obligation to give anything but my honest opinion.

What stuck with me most wasn’t just the plot, but the ethical dilemma at the heart of the story. A therapist hears a chilling confession from a client who feels no regret about a serious crime. Soon after, fate complicates everything when the victim’s mother begins therapy with the same professional—completely unaware of the connection. From there, the story leans heavily into questions about duty, silence, and responsibility. Is protecting confidentiality always the right choice? Or can it become harmful in certain situations? The tension and moral complexity made this a gripping and memorable read. Easily a 5-star book for me.