Gemma goes to Dr. Ann Wilcox for therapy. What she uncovers will lead her on a journey through her long-forgotten nightmares.
A dedicated and caring therapist, Ann wants to see her patients achieve the lives they deserve, but with Gemma, it might not be possible.
As Ann begins the delicate task of helping her patient unravel the twisted threads in her subconscious mind, she begins to fear for her own sanity, and her life.
The two women begin a psychological dance, trying to peer behind one another’s masks, while the men in their lives can only watch from the sidelines, knowing the women are dancing near the edge of a precipice and that someone is destined to die.
Cathryn is the author of over forty novels. She writes psychological thrillers, psychological suspense, and the ALEXANDRA MALLORY series which features a sociopath you can’t help but love. Readers say they're “absolutely addicted” to the series.
The things that cause torment in real life—obsession and revenge, guilt and envy and longing—are endlessly fascinating in fiction and she never grows tired of writing stories about characters struggling to overcome the worst.
Cathryn also writes ghost stories because who knows what lies beyond our senses—The Haunted Ship Trilogy and the Madison Keith series of novellas.
When she’s not writing, she’s usually reading, walking on the beach, or playing golf, going way out of her way to avoid hitting her ball in the sand or the water. She lives on the Central California Coast with her husband and her cat, Cleopatra.
You can get in touch with her by email, find her social media links, or sign up for her monthly newsletter at cathryngrant.com/contact. As a thank you for signing up, you’ll receive a free short story about Alexandra Mallory.
Therapist and patient: a very delicate relationship. A patient, who may or may not have serious mental deficits, shares their inner most thoughts, feelings, memories. A doctor, who is trained and schooled on how the human psyche operates, collects said information to help their patient navigate them to a healthy conclusion. But what if the patient does has mental deficits and they with hold vital information? What if the doctor has deficits and dogs too deep with assumptions? What's worse--the patient obsessed with the doc, or the doctor obsessed with patient?
This story is told from four different perspectives: The therapist, Dr. Ann Wilcox; Ann's private notes from each session with Gemma; Gemma, the patient who's mentally and emotionally messed up after a break up; and David, the man Gemma still loves but is no longer with. The tension between these characters, these perspectives becomes absolutely palpable. My heart was racing, my blood pressure soaring.
I had guessed what was really going on quite early on but I had no idea what was to come after that twist was revealed. The very definition of psychological thriller indeed.
I never leave bad reviews, but I'm frustrated that the four reviews written here praised this awful book. I actually had to skip to the end about halfway through. It was torturous. Repetitive beyond belief and none of the characters were remotely likeable. The "twist" came half way through, but you knew what it was gonna be almost from the beginning. Like I said, a big disappoinment. I wish the reviews were more honest.
I didn't like the fact that someone got away with the murder of, not one, but two people. Well, physical murder of one. Soul murder of the other. Also, the perfect relationship which two people shared, seemed "far fetched" to me. No relationship is perfect. The ending was disappointing - too perfect! I suppose though if you enjoy books which have to do with psychoanalysis, you might enjoy this.
Another great story by Cathryn Grant. This one so dark and disturbing as it moves along. I can't stop reading books by this author. Can you trust you shrink?
Started out ok then kept getting worse. The story was all over the place. It’ seems that she threw in changes and weird surprises for no reason. Would not recommend
I had to create yet another sub-rating shelf for 'very, very good' in the my '4' range with this book & will have to rethink that line of my almost never used 'amazing/outstanding' because this was right up there in its originality. This had a great premise & therapy is a rich, rich area for mining horror! Therapist are helpful for a lot of people, but mileage varies greatly. It is considered a 'soft' science, but therapists need to be as responsible as surgeons because clients are putting their health & life into their hands as much as with medical doctors. Both types of professionals have to held to a high level of integrity & accountability. Mental & emotional health are not separable from the body. And, both of these professions are prone to very human flaws. The character development was excellent. It was hard to know which main character needed to be choked most, especially as there was only a brief reference to the 3rd point of the triangle who was responsible for the main conflict. But, the author didn't let the story go without revealing several areas of wild dysfunction & bold surprises. I was left with the perfect feeling of resolution/non-resolution. It was a good story, well told.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This is first book by this author that I didn't finish and don't intend to. I figured out early on by therapist's thought process that she is whacko. It soon became apparent that the client is going to turn out to be weird too. Since I used to be a therapist myself, I had a hard time swallowing the notion that some of the scenarios were plausible. I understand the concept of poetic license, but I am still a bit insulted by the depiction of the profession.
I'm really surprised that I have no interest in finishing the book. Grant is one of my favorite authors, and usually her writing talent keeps me engaged to the end. I'm not sure exactly what is different for me in this book.
this book is a true psychological web of thrills! The suspense will hold you on every page. You will not be disappointed. Jemma is struggling with letting go of the past love. She is also trying to deal with her relationship with her brother Jeff, her overly protective mother, and working with a new psychiatrist. The world between her and these other relationships, will soon spin wildly out of control. The question is, who truly is doing the weaving of this psychological web! The twists and turns a long way will shock you!
I read some reviews before I started the book. As a mental health clinician I was looking forward to reading because there are so many amazing stories and experiences coming out of therapy. Always thought my weekly group would make a good reality TV show! But this was not realistic at all. The therapist was bizarre. The ‘patient’ was fine. The therapist stepped over ethical lines early on that made me want to stop but I keep at it. Finally gave up because it was just not a good portrayal of anything that could have been...
I really enjoyed this novel! I woke up in the middle of the night to read more since I was dreaming about it anyway. Figured out the David connection, but whoa!!! Plenty more I did not have a clue about! Recommend this book highly
This book was good and sucked me in, but it wasn’t as good as some of her others that I’ve read. I was surprised at the main twist, but everything else just seemed blah in the face of it.
This was a good story, but the telling of it was long and just too much in places. I wanted to quit for quite a while in the beginning, but I've read other books by this author and I was hopeful. I powered on, and thought it had a good twist.