Item: The Patient
Rating: 5.00
Author: bookanonjeff

by Steena Holmes

A therapist must face her own worst fear—one of her patients is a serial killer.

Danielle Rycroft suspects someone close to her has a dark secret. In the confidential setting of therapy, her patients share their anxieties and fears. Now, with a string of murders in town putting her on edge, Danielle’s own worries come close to eclipsing her patients’. In each case, the pattern is the same: parents killed while their children sleep blissfully unaware in their beds. Her best friend, Detective Tami Sloan, is the only person she has confided in.

Danielle believes that there’s still a secret one patient has yet to share. But which one? Behind a familiar face is a stranger who’ll do anything to hide their worst compulsions. The anxiety brings Danielle to her own therapist’s office, seeking counsel and comfort. But what is she willing to risk, and how much closer must she get, to stop them?

Beat Down Of The Ages - With Avatar Ending. There is another Lake Union author whose books I *love* and who is known for writing about a particular idea and spinning amazing stories about it. Here, Holmes walks onto that author's turf and absolutely *destroys* her. That is how much *better* than those other ones this book is - and remember, I *loved* those other books (indeed, I've rated all of them 5*). It *does* have an Avatar-style ending though, and it worked it well to allow for either a true standalone book or even the possibility of coming back to this world. Simply an excellent book, and if this represents a new direction for Holmes, I can't wait to see what else she puts out!

The Patient

by Steena Holmes

Reviewed by Jeff Sexton on Oct 18, 2019

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