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Junaid Ahmad

Reviewed on Apr 9, 2023

Must read 🏆

The true meaning of a slow burn, this book is very intriguing. I'll admit that at first, I was a little perplexed.

Synopsis

Pathological liar? Sociopathic killer? Or just a troubled kid seeking attention? These are the questions that haunt therapist Selena Harris as she undertakes the most challenging case of her career.

Sitting on a couch two feet across from her is an ordinary-looking teenager who confessed in a text, inadvertently broadcast to his entire school, to murdering an autistic child left in his care. With no evidence to support Leal Porter’s testimony, authorities have referred him to Selena for counseling.

Challenging her professional distance is the emotional bond she develops with this lonely, isolated boy, whom classmates describe as “that scrawny kid who talks to himself at his locker.” Although Selena believes the alleged victim is the product of her client’s fevered imagination, she harbors one major doubt:

What if she’s wrong?

Stepping outside the confines of her office in a quest for clues, Selena is determined to separate fact from fiction. But nothing in her experience prepares her for the harrowing revelation of the inner demon that lurks beneath the surface of Leal’s confession.

The true meaning of a slow burn, this book is very intriguing. I'll admit that at first, I was a little perplexed. But, once I understood the author's method for writing the book, the rest was simple. What is truly going on with Leal is the subject of this excellently crafted psychological mystery. I couldn't help but ponder and wonder about all that was going on. Throughout the entire novel, there is a pervasive unease, although it is unclear to the reader who is to blame for it. A psychology class would benefit greatly from reading and discussing this book. The only aspect of the conversation that troubled me, in my opinion, was when Dr. Harris spoke to Henri about Leal.This novel is an engaging psychological thriller with excellent writing. Following his accusation that he drowned his younger autistic companion, Leal Porter, a teenager from what appears to be a problematic past, is taken to psychologist Selina Harris for counselling sessions. His mother objects to him going to counselling because she says it would cost money and use up her health insurance, but the school has made it a requirement of his continuing enrollment.



Selina is dealing with her own issues: she is pregnant and unsure whether the father is her soon-to-be ex-husband or an ex-lover she had a one-night stand with; she is divorcing her husband; her ex-lover has announced his engagement to be married to another woman; and her ex-husband has announced his engagement to her.


What if she is mistaken?


Selena can identify with Leal's sense of loneliness, especially because she recently divorced and moved back to her small hometown to care for her father who had a stroke. Leal, on the other hand, is an outcast at school since he has a tendency to make up stories to get himself out of trouble.


Selena is determined to distinguish fact from fiction, leaving the constraints of her office in search of information. Nevertheless, nothing she has encountered has prepared her for the terrifying discovery of the inner demon Leal's confession conceals.





Reviewed by
Junaid Ahmad

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