What do you think?
Rate this book
The Grief Counselor: A Slow-Burn Psychological Thriller of Grief, Obsession, and Dangerous Trust
273 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 8, 2026
About the author
M. Boudreaux
8 books1 followerM. Boudreaux is a Louisiana-based author of psychological horror, suspense, and dark thrillers exploring grief, trauma, memory, fear, and the unsettling things people carry long after the danger has passed.
She found her way into horror almost by accident. While writing through years of personal trauma, every attempt at something lighter seemed to turn sad, unsettling, or quietly disturbing. Eventually, she stopped fighting where the stories wanted to go and began writing horror on purpose.
Her published novels include The Listener, a psychological horror story about childhood secrets, grief, and a presence that knows exactly which voice someone would follow into the dark, and The Grief Counselor, a psychological horror novel about a trusted counselor whose understanding of grief may be far more dangerous than anyone realizes.
Boudreaux is especially interested in horror rooted in emotional vulnerability: loss, helplessness, guilt, memory, fractured trust, and the things people desperately want to believe. Her stories may be fictional, but the fears underneath them usually begin somewhere real.
She is also the creator of Letters Never Sent, a writing platform centered on the thoughts, grief, love, anger, and unfinished words people often carry without saying aloud, as well as The Unsettled Shelf, a space dedicated to dark fiction, horror, thrillers, and the readers who love them.
Living with ADHD means there is rarely only one manuscript open at a time. Boudreaux is usually moving between several works in progress, following whichever story is loudest that day.
Find M. Boudreaux online:
https://theunsettledshelf.com/
https://www.amazon.com/author/mkboudr...
She found her way into horror almost by accident. While writing through years of personal trauma, every attempt at something lighter seemed to turn sad, unsettling, or quietly disturbing. Eventually, she stopped fighting where the stories wanted to go and began writing horror on purpose.
Her published novels include The Listener, a psychological horror story about childhood secrets, grief, and a presence that knows exactly which voice someone would follow into the dark, and The Grief Counselor, a psychological horror novel about a trusted counselor whose understanding of grief may be far more dangerous than anyone realizes.
Boudreaux is especially interested in horror rooted in emotional vulnerability: loss, helplessness, guilt, memory, fractured trust, and the things people desperately want to believe. Her stories may be fictional, but the fears underneath them usually begin somewhere real.
She is also the creator of Letters Never Sent, a writing platform centered on the thoughts, grief, love, anger, and unfinished words people often carry without saying aloud, as well as The Unsettled Shelf, a space dedicated to dark fiction, horror, thrillers, and the readers who love them.
Living with ADHD means there is rarely only one manuscript open at a time. Boudreaux is usually moving between several works in progress, following whichever story is loudest that day.
Find M. Boudreaux online:
https://theunsettledshelf.com/
https://www.amazon.com/author/mkboudr...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 12, 2026
Slow Burn Psychological Thriller
“You want to help her, and it’s not complicated. You have made it complicated because the simple version frightens you.”
“The Grief Counselor” bounces back and forth between the perspectives of Rachel and Dr. Elias Shepherd. When Rachel’s brother unexpectedly passes away in a drowning, she becomes obsessed with digging into his grief counseling files and even begins to attend Dr. Shepherd’s group sessions.
I finally understood the pattern of the dual timeline but it was confusing at first to know who was the narrator in each chapter because they weren’t labeled accordingly. Something about Rachel’s brother dying never sat right with her. Dr. Shepherd has always created a very meticulous paper trail of his whereabouts for years that no one has ever suspected anything suspicious about him, until now.
This is a slow burn type psychological thriller so the pacing is going to be a little more steady right up until the end!
“You want to help her, and it’s not complicated. You have made it complicated because the simple version frightens you.”
“The Grief Counselor” bounces back and forth between the perspectives of Rachel and Dr. Elias Shepherd. When Rachel’s brother unexpectedly passes away in a drowning, she becomes obsessed with digging into his grief counseling files and even begins to attend Dr. Shepherd’s group sessions.
I finally understood the pattern of the dual timeline but it was confusing at first to know who was the narrator in each chapter because they weren’t labeled accordingly. Something about Rachel’s brother dying never sat right with her. Dr. Shepherd has always created a very meticulous paper trail of his whereabouts for years that no one has ever suspected anything suspicious about him, until now.
This is a slow burn type psychological thriller so the pacing is going to be a little more steady right up until the end!
Displaying 1 of 1 review