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The Session
National bestselling author Judith Kelman, who has thrilled readers with all the suspense, wit, romance, and surprises that they love, returns with "The Session," as a female therapist finds herself in an elaborate cat-and-mouse game with a clever, cold-blooded killer.
- GenresMystery
359 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 23, 2017
Julia "P.J." Lafferty is a prison psychologist/psychiatrist/therapist/counselor (the title changes every time her job is mentioned) at Rikers who gets fired after one of her patients is murdered during a fake fire drill.
Why? Who knows? It's not like she's ever treated as a suspect.
After learning from a psych patient that she saw the victim's vicious ex-husband at the prison shortly before the murder, P.J. decides to get involved - especially when she learns said ex-husband (Charlie Booth) still regularly abuses his five-year-old son. She wants to make sure Charlie is arrested for the crime, put in prison, and kept away from his son.
However, to do that, P.J. would need to be intelligent, and that is one attribute she is clearly lacking in.
In all honesty, this book drove me up the wall! There was no plot. Everybody was so antagonistic! I mean, like, ALL the time! Conversations just go round and round because the participants are always too busy being spiteful to take time out to get their bloody point across! P.J. is the most guilty of this, followed by her deaf sister, a police officer, a private client and just about anybody she comes across in her efforts to prove Charlie's guilt.
She hates her own ex-husband because he wouldn't use his position to bend the rule to help her psychologically troubled brother. She hates her deaf sister because she is a rich, famous author who only thinks of herself and took up all their parents' attention when they were younger. She hates both ex-husband and sister because she thinks they work together to control her life. Why anybody would bother is beyond me, because P.J. is such an insufferable bitch!
A large chunk of the plot is taken up by P.J. getting psychological profiling tips from a true crime author. Huh? Why? Shouldn't P.J. already have at least some profiling skills of her own as part of her profession? Although the title of her job constantly changes, it's mentioned several times she is certified to practice in her profession and that she is highly regarded by colleagues.
Charlie Booth fails as the primary antagonist. He's never "on page". His vicious acts are only recounted second-hand, robbing them of any vitality. It's mentioned he's literally gotten away with murder over the years because police will look the other way. However, at the end, another character says the big city police won't look out for him the way the police in his backwoods home town did! Well - which is it? How exactly has Charlie gotten away with murder for over a decade?!?!? How did he get his wife locked up in the first place? Why did he get his wife locked up if he was just going to murder her anyway???
P.J.'s childhood trauma takes up a lot of time, but contributes little other than to pad out the word count with her new-age psych sessions with Dr. Yolanda Groome. It doesn't contribute to the growth of her character - because her character never grows! She remains a pissy TSTL pain-in-the-butt until the very end!
I'm going to stop now! Everything about this stupid book annoyed the pants off me. I hated it! And I'd hate to get arrested for having no pants over something I hated!
Why? Who knows? It's not like she's ever treated as a suspect.
After learning from a psych patient that she saw the victim's vicious ex-husband at the prison shortly before the murder, P.J. decides to get involved - especially when she learns said ex-husband (Charlie Booth) still regularly abuses his five-year-old son. She wants to make sure Charlie is arrested for the crime, put in prison, and kept away from his son.
However, to do that, P.J. would need to be intelligent, and that is one attribute she is clearly lacking in.
In all honesty, this book drove me up the wall! There was no plot. Everybody was so antagonistic! I mean, like, ALL the time! Conversations just go round and round because the participants are always too busy being spiteful to take time out to get their bloody point across! P.J. is the most guilty of this, followed by her deaf sister, a police officer, a private client and just about anybody she comes across in her efforts to prove Charlie's guilt.
She hates her own ex-husband because he wouldn't use his position to bend the rule to help her psychologically troubled brother. She hates her deaf sister because she is a rich, famous author who only thinks of herself and took up all their parents' attention when they were younger. She hates both ex-husband and sister because she thinks they work together to control her life. Why anybody would bother is beyond me, because P.J. is such an insufferable bitch!
A large chunk of the plot is taken up by P.J. getting psychological profiling tips from a true crime author. Huh? Why? Shouldn't P.J. already have at least some profiling skills of her own as part of her profession? Although the title of her job constantly changes, it's mentioned several times she is certified to practice in her profession and that she is highly regarded by colleagues.
Charlie Booth fails as the primary antagonist. He's never "on page". His vicious acts are only recounted second-hand, robbing them of any vitality. It's mentioned he's literally gotten away with murder over the years because police will look the other way. However, at the end, another character says the big city police won't look out for him the way the police in his backwoods home town did! Well - which is it? How exactly has Charlie gotten away with murder for over a decade?!?!? How did he get his wife locked up in the first place? Why did he get his wife locked up if he was just going to murder her anyway???
P.J.'s childhood trauma takes up a lot of time, but contributes little other than to pad out the word count with her new-age psych sessions with Dr. Yolanda Groome. It doesn't contribute to the growth of her character - because her character never grows! She remains a pissy TSTL pain-in-the-butt until the very end!
I'm going to stop now! Everything about this stupid book annoyed the pants off me. I hated it! And I'd hate to get arrested for having no pants over something I hated!
June 8, 2018
This book grabbed me from the beginning. A psychiatrist who had issues & needed therapy, a murder in the prison system, a small child who’s lost a parent & in danger of being hurt, a very successful twin sister, & an ex husband & a crazy inmate. It all came together in a very gripping book. I had not heard of this author before, but I would certainly read another of her books.
May 3, 2019
The protag Lafferty, a criminal psychologist, seems just a bit too naive and way too trusting to believe. There's a distance too between crime and narrative that doesn't establish a needed tension in the narrative arc. The most interesting parts are the description of facilities and patient treatment of public prisons.
May 23, 2020
Great writing. The twist was unneeded but overall, enjoyed it
August 29, 2025
Not sure what I think of this book.., it definitely had me guessing from the start, but eventually I just wanted it all to come together and I think it was a little drawn out for that.
February 19, 2013
To be fair, I read this book in the past. I can't remember when, but it's why it seemed so familiar to me, and dull. The identity of the killer is obvious. You know right away. The rest of novel centers around the main character trying to force the rest of the world to recognize that. The main character, PJ, is no fun to read about. She's pathetic and unloveable. She has had bad things happen to her, but she doesn't want to break the cycle. Until the last page she embraces her pathetic existance. She sabatages her relationships and believes the worst of those who love and try to protect her. Got annoyed reading her thoughts.
June 25, 2012
Sort of a typical story though i love some twist that is executed in the story. First was the outshining of PJ's deaf sister in writing fiction stories,the real mastermind's agenda for doing those serial killing that I find so lame!But then all in all, I still enjoyed reading it!
August 24, 2009
P J Lafferty therapists Rikers Women -- ex-Rafe -- Dennis John
September 9, 2010
This is an excellent book! Defiently a page turner with twists & turns!
February 7, 2011
Couldnt get past the first 50 pages...
May 12, 2011
Really enjoyed this one; great voice. Interesting set up - main character is a pyschiatrist for the women's prison at Riker's Island. I look forward to reading more works by this author.
January 22, 2016
Very good.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews