What an ... uncomfortable book. Lelic seems to specialize in the psychology of bullying. In this novel, a therapist meets an intense young man who ends up confronting her with her hidden past - her son committed a terrible and notorious crime, but she has since had a child, changed her name, and started a new life in which she feels she is somehow repaying a debt. Her client drives her toward the truth with the knife he brought with him, and by telling the therapist he's kidnapped her daughter. It's a bit of a plot puzzler - Lelic has to go through some contortions to explain what prevents the woman from doing more to defend herself, and the story that eventually comes out is an enormous downer, but it's a compelling read, and certainly succeeds at creating psychological suspense.

Susanna Fenton started over, created a new life and a new identity as a therapist over a decade ago to protect her daughter. For fourteen years her secret has been safe, but now she has a new patient who seems to know more about Susanna then he should. Is Adam really a man in need of emotional help, or is he someone who could destroy Susanna and her daughter? Taking on a new identity to escape an ugly past is an old plot twist, but Lelic breathes new life into the story with a strong female protagonist and a twist or two I didn’t see coming