Whoa!  Intense is too shallow a word to use for this.  It was like being held underwater, clawing to rise, to breathe.  Gripping.  Emotional.  I couldn't always like the narrator, but I was always rooting for her.  With twists I didn't see coming, this pulled me in so many emotional directions I felt almost empty and alone when it was over.  A heavy read, but a worthwhile one.

I was given an advanced copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

This book was not bad, it had a good story that kept me captivated (to a point, I had already figured out a lot of the A-HA type moments...) and interested enough to keep reading.  I think in the end this novel just was not for me because I work in the mental health field and had already figured out a lot of the storyline.  With that, again, it was not a bad book.  

I had a REALLY hard time liking the main character, Sam, throughout the ENTIRE novel. She just was constantly frustrating me and making me think that she is the kind of woman who makes women look bad, that's just my opinion. I think because I had a hard time really ever liking her it was much harder to enjoy that novel. This novel began and felt like it was going to be more of a psychological thriller and instead it turned out to just be a psychological novel.

I do LOVE how it is written though with the date and time as to what is taking place, I think that was a really cool way to break up the chapters and so forth. 

I didn't mind the novel, I would pick up another of A.F. Brady's novels as long as it didn't center around a behavioral health kind of storyline and that is ENTIRELY because I work in this field and it was not entertainment for me, it was like reading about a client.

** The author does a good job of delving into Sam's psyche...almost too good.  it get drawn out and boring more often than not.  I didn't find the story any type of gripping and I really wanted to.  Sometimes, maybe a good blurb sets us up for a bit of disappointment when the story isn't as gripping as the blurb is.

Though I liked the book, I made the decision at the time I finished not to review it on my site. Maybe in the future I will include it in a book list post or another article.

Sam Jones is clearly a messed up person but that in itself isn't super interesting because everyone is messed up to a degree. This wasn't for me but maybe is for you. I found it slow and it took forever for things to pick up.

I received this book free for a review from goodreads giveaways and from NetGalley. 

Dr. Sam James is a psychologist in Manhattan NY at the Typhlos Psychiatric Center.  For years she works hard to be the ‘Golden Girl’, the best, the one no one could do without.  All while hiding from the demons of the past and the abusive boyfriend she is determine to “fix”. Until she takes on a patient no one else wants one that requested her. Will this patient finally push her to break or will this patient be the only thing that can bring her back? 

This book was a little slow to start, part of me almost gave up but once I got into it I really enjoyed it. There were so many twists to this story. The Blind shows a story different from the norm.  The mental health professional, the one there to save you,  struggling to hold on.

I grabbed this one because it had two of my favourite themes - mental illnesses and a mystery. However, it's been a while since I was this disappointed in a book. 

For the biggest part, <i>The Blind</i> irked me so much. I just found the main character so annoying. Every situation, including the mysterious patient, seemed to be there as an excuse for her to whine more and descend even further to a rotten place. I couldn't take much more of her wanting to stab people in the eye or feeling jealous that no one was petting her hair and then going back to her abusive boyfriend. At times I was so close to quitting. I had to pick up another book, which is really uncommon for me.

I appreciated the whole looking perfect to everyone else but suffering so much inside but there really wasn't much to hold on to, just little clues every once in a while that Samantha never bother to even comment on, let alone try to investigate. I mean, if I found a note with my address and directions for how to get there, I would be seriously worried. All Sam does is comment that the handwriting is not her own.

Towards the end, the chapters got really intriguing, and the pace definitely picked up. I wanted to know more. But ultimately the ending was predictable and it did not make up for the disappointment of the rest of the book.

<i>Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.</i>

I was sucked in to this book from the description and the first page!! I absolutely love how this book didn’t come together until the very last line! Brilliant! Loved the character study of Sam. I will definitely be recommending this book to my reader friends!!!

A great psychological drama. Very interesting characters. Kept me intrigued throughout. I didn't figure out the ending until the last few pages when something triggered that satisfying "aha" moment!

The Blind by A.F. Brady is a highly recommended debut novel of addictions, codependency, psychological self-examination and redemption.

Samantha "Sam" James, 37, always acts positive and keeps her inner demons at bay while maintaining her position as the best psychologist at Manhattan’s Typhlos Psychiatric Center, where she is admired by her boss and peers. Her professional life stands in sharp contrast to her personal life. After work Sam is drinking heavily and being physically abused by her boyfriend. Sam thinks she's keeping her two lives separate, but when she needs to throw up almost every morning from her alcohol intake the previous night and has to use special makeup to cover up any bruises her boyfriend left, well, she knows her life is spiraling out of control.

When a new patient, Richard McHugh, comes to Typhlos, none of the other staff want to take him on as a patient. Richard is an enigma. His file is virtually empty, with no diagnosis or patient history. He doesn't talk. Richard spent twenty years in prison and is believed to be violent.  No one knows why he is at Typhlos. After a month with his first assigned psychologist, Richard is assigned to Sam because she has a good reputation counseling difficult patients. He comes into Sam's office with his stack of newspapers and doesn't say a word.

As Sam's risk taking increases in her personal life, mistakes begin to happen in her professional life. Richard witnesses one of these which eventually become the impetus for him to open up and share his secrets if Sam reciprocates. This leads to a personal analysis of both of their lives, just between the two.

The Blind is an intense character study of a woman who must put herself back together before her life spirals completely out of control. While described as a thriller, it really doesn't fit that description. There isn't any nail-biting suspense. There is addiction, pain, mental anxiety, abuse, and other difficult topics covered. Sam narrates the novel and tells the story in her voice. This is a wise choice by Brady, who is a Mental Health Counselor/Psychotherapist, since it allows us insight into Sam's thoughts and actions.

I found The Blind to be extremely well written and engaging. The big reveal/twist likely will be guessed by most readers early on, but in this novel it is the journey to get there that makes the novel worth reading. It does drag a wee bit in the middle and Sam's self-destructive behavior does become painful to witness. The ending is worth the time spent reading the difficult parts as this is a novel where the reading journey needs to be to the ending destination.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Park Row Books. 
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2017/10/the-blind.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2150229109
https://www.librarything.com/work/19778969/reviews/146968654
AMZ & B&N

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Park Row Books and AF Brady for the opportunity to read and review her debut novel.

This is the story of Dr Sam James, a psychologist at Typhlos, a psychiatric institute in NYC. At work, she has the reputation of being the best doctor and the one able to reach those patients no one else can. However, the private side of Sam is very different. She is a barely-functioning alcoholic in a very abusive relationship. She feels like she can't save herself so her mission is to save others.

Richard comes to Typhlos an enigma. He won't talk, won't complete his paperwork, seems to function at a high level. No one can understand why he's there and they've only heard rumors about why he was in prison for so long before coming to Typhlos. Sam takes Richard on, only to be confronted with her own demons while she's trying to figure out his.

A great debut novel - kept me reading til the ending, which I loved.

I was very happy to discover that this book was much more than just another variation on the troubled girl thriller genre.  Unexpectedly moving!

Sam is one interesting gal. She is a psychiatrist at a mental hospital and half of the book is a puzzle on just how far her capabilities in that role extend. And how much she may need some counseling, as well.

I really enjoyed this portion. It takes a while to unravel all that Sam is, all that she is hiding, and why. Although a tad on the slow side, I was intrigued with the build of her character and the story. I also enjoyed the puzzle that is Richard. Not only is Sam an interesting case, but this man waltzes into the clinic and acts like he belongs there, although Sam's not so sure he really does.

On top of figuring out Richard, Sam has to continue acting like she has everything under control. It's easily apparent that she is far from being under control, but this is the fun of the book. There is also a lot more going on in the clinic than anyone realizes. So many different plot points to put together and figure out before Sam can even begin trying to figure herself out. I was wondering if that was even possible for her. She's a messed up gal!

There are many other characters that are introduced while following Sam, which makes sense in her life, but as a reader, it is a bit difficult to keep up with all the characters. Many of them are side characters that do not have a whole lot to do with her, but they have to do with her work and her habits in those boundaries. So, their appearances do make sense.

When I got to the end of this, the last sentence had me thinking for ages. I had to go back and rediscover connections that I did not realize were there in the first place. It's a nice twist. Although, even with the connections, I wish more was said. I want to know more about the character that the twist is surrounding.

I loved the ending, and although slow, this book is one that I know will stick with me. I enjoyed the writing, the characters, and the descriptions. It was emo at its best, but it was also sort of fun. In an odd way!

This book was written in diary form so the story did not flow, it  was hard to read.  I could not connect to the characters and I had trouble believing that the prison could not see what was going on.

Thank you to Netgalley and Park Row Books for a copy of the eARC in exchange for a fair review.

Sam is a psychologist at inpatient psychiatric hospital. They are receiving a new patient that everyone is more than a little nervous about working with. He doesn't speak, and he was in prison for a number of years.

Richard is challenging one Sam is determined to unlock, and then as she learns more about him, she begins to look deeper at her own life. Because what most people don't know is that Sam is a mess, she is drunk more often than not, and her boyfriend is more than a little abusive.

 As her life begins to spiral out of control she wonders if Richard is really in need of help, or if everything will fall apart before she can save herself.

 

For a long time I wondered what the point of this story was, and to be honest it isn't what I normally like for a thriller. However, for what it is I loved it when I finally got the story. It is a story of redemption, of facing one's life and picking yourself up and moving on. 

 Sam isn't always very likable, but as you get to know her and understand her, you begin to cheer her on and hope that there is a happy ending. I am not going to say much as to why I don't think this a thriller because I don't do spoilers. I can say that you will probably get to understand what the book is really about if you don't go in expecting some on the edge of your seat whodunit.

Book Rating: 4.5 stars

The Blind by A.F. Brady is an absolutely riveting, impossible to put down character driven novel that keeps readers on the edge of their seats in breathless anticipation awaiting answers to two very compelling questions.  Why is Richard McHugh, a seemingly normal ex-con, a patient at Typhlos Psychiatric Center? And most important, will Dr. Sam James’ carefully hidden secrets be revealed by a routine staff evaluation?

In her late thirties, Dr. Sam James is a functioning alcoholic who seeks out unhealthy relationships with men she can “fix”. Her latest boyfriend, Lucas, has multiple addictions and takes his frustrations out on Sam on an increasingly regular basis. Juggling a heavy caseload, Sam is already in a serious downward spiral when she inherits enigmatic new patient Richard McHugh’s from another therapist. With scant information about the newcomer, Sam is frustrated by her inability to get Richard to open up to her. It is not until her career and personal life are about to implode that Richard makes her a deal that she cannot refuse. But will this uneasy shift in their dynamic help either of them deal with their respective problems?

Sam is absolutely devoted to the patients in her care but when it comes to herself, she is incredibly self-destructive.  Hard drinking gives way to painful hangovers but she has successfully kept her personal life from affecting her career. She is highly regarded by her peers and in fact, Sam has a high rate of success with the toughest patients that end up at Typhlos.  Her professional achievements are a sharp contrast to her chaotic personal life and while she has managed to keep them separate to this point, the line begins to blur as her relationship with Lucas hits a new low. Making even more reckless decisions that exacerbate the volatile situation with Lucas, Sam’s drinking escalates and she begins making mistakes at work that sometimes culminate with devastating results. Fast approaching rock bottom, Sam stumbles on the perfect solution to salvage her career after a routine staff evaluation when she is forced to strike a deal with Richard.

With nothing but rumor filled speculation and the knowledge that he did time for murder, Richard is a blank slate to the therapists at Typhlos. He refuses to answer any questions about his past and his records are no help since there are scant details about his crime or his life after he is paroled from prison. When Richard uncovers Sam’s drinking problem, he offers a quid pro quo deal where he will tell her his secrets in exchange for hers. Desperate to save her career, Sam agrees but will she be able to hold up her end of their bargain?

The Blind is a novel that provides readers with a raw and unvarnished glimpse into mental illness and the nearly daunting efforts to treat the patients who suffer from these disorders.  Equally compelling is the fascinating dichotomy between Sam’s out of control personal life and her highly successful career.  She is on a collision course with disaster for much of the story and it appears that she will never pull herself free from her self-destructive tendencies. Can Sam pull herself back from the abyss? Will Richard ever reveal the reason he is a patient at Typhlos Psychiatric Center? Although astute readers will most likely guess the final plot twist, A.F. Brady brings the novel to a satisfactory conclusion.

I picked this ARC for my recent vacation to continue my tradition of reading spooky psychological thrillers starring strong yet brittle female leads Seemed to fit the bill: a self-destructive psychologist at a gritty Manhattan mental institution takes on a mysterious new patient without a past, but with plenty of rumors of violence and murder. 

Well...not quite on the thriller part. And that's ok. It turned out to be more a portrait of mental illness with a light strain of mystery running through. The lead, Dr. Sam James, is a mess: barely holding it together at work, hard-drinking, caught in an abusive relationship she thinks she deserves. Midway through, she discovers she is struggling with a mental disorder and hits rock bottom, taking deeply unethical steps to preserve her position. Meanwhile, she's dealing with that new patient, Richard, with his blank intake forms and his maddening refusal to speak.

The mystery is intriguing if slight. Sam's downslide makes up the bulk of the story, and while it's often tough to read, it strikes me as well-done. 

The big twist came off as very obvious to me. Whether it truly was obvious, or I'm just a brilliant detective, I leave up to you to decide.

Three stars for the slight false advertising re: thriller and the predictable twist. One added for the sympathetic and nuanced portrayal of mental illness.

Generic language and descriptions made this a tedious read. It was an interesting concept but execution was flawed.

The use of a mental health facility and the relationship between patients and counselors intrigued me. The Blind was deep and insightful, but a little too dark and depressing for my tastes.

The Blind is the debut novel of A. F. Brady. I received a copy to review or I would have never finished reading this story. The Blind is about a woman psychologist who works in a mental institution. Rather than work there this woman belongs there as a resident. The surprise at the end raised my review from 2 stars to 3.