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vespurr's review
2.0
First off, thanks to Harlequin Books for the ARC of this book! I took way too long to get around to reading and reviewing this, but here it is.
Honestly, I just couldn't get into this. I stuck with it to the end, but found the character of Sam frustrating and unlikable. In many cases an unlikable character can improve the story, but Sam was...unpleasant on so many levels. She's an alcoholic with a personality disorder, an abusive boyfriend, and a Superman complex. She thinks it's her job to be the golden girl at her job, and she has this idea that it's up to her to fix everyone, but she makes so many mistakes because of her alcohol addiction and personal issues that people constantly get hurt. Yet instead of realizing that she is endangering lives in her line of work and sorting herself out, she just continues down the same path.
The way she is written is also extremely annoying because she asks the same questions over and over and I found it difficult to care if she ever got her answers. At one point when she is trying to figure out why Richard is even there, she asks "What is his diagnosis" so many times, right on top of each other. Good god, woman, give the other characters some time to answer you.
Sam was both overbearing and obnoxious while also being a beaten-down victim of abuse at the same time. I found her to be over-dramatic and unprofessional and the way she reacted to learning that she too had a personality disorder was way too theatrical. I just couldn't ACTUALLY believe that this person would even be able to keep a job in a facility like that, let alone be considered one of the most highly respected professionals there.
Additionally, the ending was interesting, but I saw it coming, so I wasn't very impressed. Richard said his alias was "Henry James". Sam's last name is James? He said his girlfriend's name was (oh what a coincidence!) Samantha also. Sam said her name was Samantha because that was her mother's name. Sam has never met her father...It seemed pretty obvious.
Again, thanks to Harlequin for the ARC. I was not really a fan of this book, but I definitely appreciate the opportunity to give it a read!
Honestly, I just couldn't get into this. I stuck with it to the end, but found the character of Sam frustrating and unlikable. In many cases an unlikable character can improve the story, but Sam was...unpleasant on so many levels. She's an alcoholic with a personality disorder, an abusive boyfriend, and a Superman complex. She thinks it's her job to be the golden girl at her job, and she has this idea that it's up to her to fix everyone, but she makes so many mistakes because of her alcohol addiction and personal issues that people constantly get hurt. Yet instead of realizing that she is endangering lives in her line of work and sorting herself out, she just continues down the same path.
The way she is written is also extremely annoying because she asks the same questions over and over and I found it difficult to care if she ever got her answers. At one point when she is trying to figure out why Richard is even there, she asks "What is his diagnosis" so many times, right on top of each other. Good god, woman, give the other characters some time to answer you.
Sam was both overbearing and obnoxious while also being a beaten-down victim of abuse at the same time. I found her to be over-dramatic and unprofessional and the way she reacted to learning that she too had a personality disorder was way too theatrical. I just couldn't ACTUALLY believe that this person would even be able to keep a job in a facility like that, let alone be considered one of the most highly respected professionals there.
Additionally, the ending was interesting, but I saw it coming, so I wasn't very impressed. Richard said his alias was "Henry James". Sam's last name is James? He said his girlfriend's name was (oh what a coincidence!) Samantha also. Sam said her name was Samantha because that was her mother's name. Sam has never met her father...It seemed pretty obvious.
Again, thanks to Harlequin for the ARC. I was not really a fan of this book, but I definitely appreciate the opportunity to give it a read!
blearywitch's review against another edition
3.0
I can't quite place what I thought of this book. At times I found it amateur, but could it be because the character Sam Jones is so immature, a complete mess, has disgusting habits, and I despise all these things about a person? More than halfway in there was just more of these and I considered abandoning it. The patient Richard McHugh, who sounded intriguing on the back cover and in synopsis did not do anything outstanding until very much closer to the end of the book, and even then it's just a few pages where he tells his tale. I would say there was not much excitement in the plot, so it was somewhat a wasteful read in the end, but at the same time I kept going because I wanted to know where Sam's maddening behaviour would take her. I was a tad disappointed because the author is well-qualified in psychology and I find her writing not up to par with author(s) who researched the topic to create their story, for example, Galt Niederhoffer. I can't tell if the author is also trying to tell us the reality of mental institutions - how disgusting their amenities are, how underfunded, how unprofessional some psychologists could be. I feel like patting Brady on the shoulder and saying "Good try, dear, but maybe not another one."
3 stars because I didn't abandon it, the disgusting habits of Sam Jones kept me hooked, and the revelation was subtle enough.
> 3rd book from the list my sister shared with me.
3 stars because I didn't abandon it, the disgusting habits of Sam Jones kept me hooked, and the revelation was subtle enough.
> 3rd book from the list my sister shared with me.
jrhart's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
tlvz721's review
4.0
Holy unreliable narrator, Batman! A clinical psychologist at a New York mental institution battles her own demons as she treats her patients, one of whom is accompanied by a next-to-nothing paper trail and a penchant for being tight lipped about why he is there. Her personal life is a nightmare and she is losing her own grip on reality in a place where reality certainly does not abound. 4.5 stars for this debut novel which kept me guessing until the last five pages.
zosiablue's review
3.0
Well, this was a 400-page mess that I couldn’t put down. Paced like a cheesy thriller but wasn’t really a cheesy thriller. I can’t say it was good BUT it was more artful than it appears, especially showing the trajectory of the main character’s alcoholism. Which was very much like mine! High functioning at work, total chaos at her favorite bar at nights. There’s a scene where she’s drunk and starving at the bar but doesn’t want to leave so asks the bartender for cocktail olives. I’ve eaten a lot of 9pm cocktail olives. Anyway, the main mystery was ludicrous and weak but the rest kept me hooked.
laneylegz's review
1.0
Another crap book from Brady. Sam is an alcoholic psychologist at a metal institution who drinks with her patients in her office, lets her boyfriend beat her up, & cheats to find validation with men she sleeps with, and then throws fits when her co worker doesn't give her enough attention. This book was written in 3-5 page chapters with dates and times. It drug on forever and really didn't get better. IS the institution staff just stupid to let an employee break rules with no repercussions and not really good for the patients you are treating. IF this was supposed to be about mental health it was severely lacking
niinjah's review
4.0
What a crazy ride this was! First of all, I was a bit put off by how the psychologist acted. I worried people might think all psychologist have big issues. But, I discovered that the author is a clinical psychologist, and this is fiction after all. Now, over to what I liked; Samantha was a brilliant characters. Her mood swings, anger and snide comments made the book interesting and fresh. I also loved the conversations between her and the patients, and her messy love life! Overall, I was satisfied with the book and the ending.
aca6710's review
1.0
How this book was tagged a psychological thriller I'll never know. It was repetitive and not thrilling at all. It was a good idea for a book in the beginning but fell fast
puteriffah's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
4.5
Riveting, clever, well-plotted, and more (even powerful)
Never thought that I would enjoy such an interesting book! having a single point of view, the story is told in the current timeline like a diary. This is by far the most accurate psychological thriller I've ever read. Of course, the book being written by a psychotherapist, the mental health issues and traits used in her book were of her own experience.
This book is slow-paced and is marketed as a literary thriller, so the story started slow in the first part. I usually don't match well with slow-paced books, but thank god I powered through this one, because the story got better every page! It's an interesting story about a successful psychologist but has to endure her own mental turmoil. This book reminded me of different books and shows that I've watched and read. Richard reminded me of Alicia from The Silent Patient (both characters kept their mouths shut after an incident), Lucas reminded me of lots of domestic thrillers, and almost all of the characters in this book reminded me of some episodes from Criminal Minds. It is truly an enjoyable read for me, since I love all of those things. I was not shocked by the final reveal, as I expected it to bend that way and it did. However it did not suck the joy out- I still enjoyed reading this book until the final page.
I personally thought that the writing was good. It matched well with how the story was told. The story is heavily character-driven, and I must say, all the characters were interesting! The Blind explores the themes of stigma and stereotypes. Every character mentioned is created with, if not disturbing, a unique personality and background. The author also picked up some intricate topics, most of them were of the psych help community- on how they don't get enough funds/audience to cover their expanses and give help to their patients. There was also a topic on how workers in this area are struggling too; they have risks in getting their mental health affected because they work so close to people that have it. The risk of working with different types of mental illness and how they struggle to keep themselves not personally affected by their job is increasing every day.
This book would be a good pick for a book club, because I think that there're a lot of different things to discuss- The characters, the mysteries, the social commentaries, and more. The plots can motivate different opinions from different people.
Riveting, clever, well-plotted, and more (even powerful)
Never thought that I would enjoy such an interesting book! having a single point of view, the story is told in the current timeline like a diary. This is by far the most accurate psychological thriller I've ever read. Of course, the book being written by a psychotherapist, the mental health issues and traits used in her book were of her own experience.
This book is slow-paced and is marketed as a literary thriller, so the story started slow in the first part. I usually don't match well with slow-paced books, but thank god I powered through this one, because the story got better every page! It's an interesting story about a successful psychologist but has to endure her own mental turmoil. This book reminded me of different books and shows that I've watched and read. Richard reminded me of Alicia from The Silent Patient (both characters kept their mouths shut after an incident), Lucas reminded me of lots of domestic thrillers, and almost all of the characters in this book reminded me of some episodes from Criminal Minds. It is truly an enjoyable read for me, since I love all of those things. I was not shocked by the final reveal, as I expected it to bend that way and it did. However it did not suck the joy out- I still enjoyed reading this book until the final page.
I personally thought that the writing was good. It matched well with how the story was told. The story is heavily character-driven, and I must say, all the characters were interesting! The Blind explores the themes of stigma and stereotypes. Every character mentioned is created with, if not disturbing, a unique personality and background. The author also picked up some intricate topics, most of them were of the psych help community- on how they don't get enough funds/audience to cover their expanses and give help to their patients. There was also a topic on how workers in this area are struggling too; they have risks in getting their mental health affected because they work so close to people that have it. The risk of working with different types of mental illness and how they struggle to keep themselves not personally affected by their job is increasing every day.
This book would be a good pick for a book club, because I think that there're a lot of different things to discuss- The characters, the mysteries, the social commentaries, and more. The plots can motivate different opinions from different people.