Hang onto your hat for this one! I thoroughly enjoyed all the twists, turns and excitement that this book provides. Meg, a skilled poker player with a cop for a boyfriend, works in a casino catching the bad guys while she battles her own demons with an alcohol and oxy abuse problem. Meg's famous sister, Haley, is in a high-end rehab clinic and dies. The death was ruled a suicide but Meg does not believe it so she goes into rehab under cover to try and solve the mystery. This book kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC of this very exciting unputdownable book that I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.

3.5 stars. The premise is an interesting one: Meg’s famous sister, Haley, dies at a rehab clinic. Because Meg has a feeling that she was murdered, she — herself addicted to pills and alcohol — gets herself anonymously admitted to the clinic to try to figure out what really happened to Haley.

Most of the characters were well developed and very interesting, particularly Cara, the manager of the clinic. While this was a very suspenseful read and a definite page turner, with good twists and turns, parts of it seemed too drawn out . . . and the ending was sort of off the charts. I did very much enjoy it, though, and I look forward to reading others by Cate Quinn.

The Clinic
By Cate Quinn
Publication date: January 23, 2024
4/5⭐️

✨dual POV
✨unreliable narrator
✨morally grey characters
✨rehab setting, substance addiction
✨twists and turns
✨short chapters
✨”who did it??”

SYNOPSIS
“Meg works for a casino in LA, catching cheaters and popping a few too many pain pills to cope, following a far different path than her sister Haley, a famous actress. But suddenly reports surface of Haley dying at the remote rehab facility where she had been forced to go to get her addictions under control.
There are whispers of suicide, but Meg can't believe it. She decides that the best way to find out what happened to her sister is to check in herself – to investigate what really happened from the inside.
Battling her own addictions and figuring out the truth will be much more difficult than she imagined, far away from friends, family – and anyone who could help her.”

MY TAKE:
I loved this one! A thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat! I loved all the twists and turns. The chapters were short which is just perfection to me.

The characters are all morally grey and you can’t help but feel bad for some of them. This story mentions a lot of drug and alcohol abuse, so if that is triggering for you, please be cautious of that before picking this one up.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a thriller set in a rehab hospital but I really enjoyed this one. It was creepy and I didn’t want to stop reading! This is my first book by Cate Quinn but I want to go read her other books now!

If you are a thriller lover, add this one to your TBR for 2024!

I liked the idea of a thriller set in a celebrity rehab clinic. The plot sounded like a whodunit mixed with a (obviously fake) reality show kind of feel to it. Maybe I went into it with the wrong expectations. This book was a miss for me.

There were some surprises and thrilling moments. But the story felt very broken up and thrown together. The flow wasn't there. There were tons of questions popping up throughout the story, and right when you felt like you were about to get an answer, the story did an about-face. The ending really sealed this book as not for me. I found it anticlimactic and like it came out of left field.

The details about addiction and recovery were enlightening. It's easy to lose sight of the person behind the addiction. I found myself starting to research the link between childhood trauma and addiction thanks to the tidbits about that in this story. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this ARC!

I couldn't put this down! Megan's famous sister, Haley, commits suicide in rehab. But did she? Megan decides to check in to The Clinic to find out. Fast moving plot, interesting characters, and so many twists that I didn't see coming! The Clinic is phenomenal!

4 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.


Twists? Turns? Unexpected events? This novel has it all.

The Clinic is a rehab center off the beaten path in the Pacific Northwest. Nearly impossible to get to - especially in inclement weather - means there is nowhere for the patients to go. Formerly a prison facility, a Swiss doctor has renovated it to be one of the elite rehab facilities in the world, and has the clientele to go with it.

Cara is the manager. She came from the hotel industry and was handpicked for her work withs a rundown hotel that catered to junkies. She is very precise and methodical. Exactly what this place needs. Also, no aversion to living onsite, as there is no off-site place to live nearby.

Meg works in casino security. When she gets news that her sister has died at The Clinic, she convinces her boss to send her for rehab. Only one person, her partner Harry, knows her real reason for going - to solve her sister’s reason for dying. Because while ruled a suicide, Meg believes Hayley was murdered.

Everyone is a suspect. When the police mention some offhand things to Cara, she starts to doubt how the patients are handled at The Clinic, and begins to do her own research into its owner Dr. Lutz. Meanwhile, Meg is navigating reatment and her investigation.

I flew through this novel. With really great characters, a little bit of luxury rehab, and plenty of questions, this book is a page turner. Meg and Cara are the two main narrators, and we get to see both sides of the rehab life through them. This is a rehab facility that sounds more like a super high end med spa. But as the novel goes on, it just gets crazier and crazier. Really great read.

Rehab, Murder and Addictions

After reading many books regarding alcoholism and drug addiction, I had difficulty finding this novel particularly new or inventive.

We are first introduced to Meg, a professional “gotcha” employee at a gambling casino in Los Angeles. She is a pro and is an asset for the bosses. She spends much of her day imbibing booze and pills. She is an addict who thinks she is under control. Sometimes Meg loses days and on one of those days, her famous sister, Haley leaves Meg desperate phone messages.

Meg was too “busy” to pick up her messages and during that time Haley died in a remote rehab facility for the rich and famous. Out of guilt and the need to discover answers about her sister’s death, she checked herself into the same clinic. I’m not sure how she was able to be accepted so quickly, but she managed to drink on the plane and hide meds and booze from the clinic’s professional staff.

Quinn describes the clinic’s layout and services in detail, but I had too many questions about the staff. Haley was quickly cremated and her sister seemed to replace her presence in terms of addiction. The outcome was somewhat twisty but not worth the read for me. I felt I was inundated with the descriptions of the booze and drugs and sloshed from one scene to another.

My gratitude to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark. All opinions experessed are my own.

The Clinic is well plotted and atmospheric, it definitely has a creepy vibe. The characters, there a lot of them are pretty nicely drawn and have believable back stories but they should have been developed a bit more.. The thing I did not like was the choppiness of the chapters. You would think the short chapters would make it easier to get through but it had the opposite effect for me. It seemed like the author did not trust her readers enough to hang in there for more than a page or two and I found that annoying. Also, the story could have been told with more points of view-there should have been chapters from different perspectives and could have been edited differently. The resolution of the story feels a little contrived but not sure if it would really fly in the real world but that is why we read fiction right? All in all, a pretty good read.

This was such a unique plot for a book! I was thrilled to receive an ARC, I just had to dive right in. It kept my attention and had me captivated in the main characters story. Highly recommend

I really liked the writing!!! I was hooked and wanted to know what was going on from the start.

The double POV, as they are my favorite novels. This is one of the books that you always are like yep thats whats going on then there is a twist that comes and you are like nope guess not. Guessing at every turn.

Great book and will read more from this author.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

In Cate Quinn's "The Clinic," the dark and mysterious world of addiction takes center stage as protagonist Meg dives into a remote rehab facility to uncover the truth behind her sister Haley's alleged suicide. Quinn weaves a suspenseful narrative, blending the complexities of family dynamics with the harrowing realities of addiction.

The story's strength lies in its multifaceted characters, particularly Meg, whose struggle with addiction and determination to unearth the truth creates a compelling and relatable narrative. The remote setting of the clinic adds an eerie atmosphere, intensifying the mystery surrounding Haley's death. Quinn's portrayal of addiction is raw and unflinching, providing a realistic backdrop for the unfolding drama.

The narrative is expertly paced, with each revelation building tension and propelling the story forward. Quinn skillfully explores the impact of addiction on both individuals and their families, delving into the nuances of guilt, regret, and the quest for redemption.

While the novel excels in creating a gripping mystery, some plot elements may feel familiar to fans of the genre. However, the strength of the character development and the atmospheric setting compensates for any predictability.

"The Clinic" is a riveting exploration of addiction, family secrets, and the quest for truth. Quinn's adept storytelling earns this novel a solid four out of five stars, making it a must-read for those who enjoy psychological thrillers with a strong emotional core."

Another novel with great premise on paper and requiring such a suspension of belief with "convenient" but unrealistic ways to wrap up a mystery was not for me. I think coming from a social work background, I found the whole rehab facility to be unrealistic. The characters were hard to keep track of and I felt like the "diagnoses" that were given were improbable.

Ahhh this book was so good. You never really know where this story will go, and I felt instantly hooked from the beginning. I really enjoyed the multiple POVs and dual timelines. This was definitely a great debut from this author and excited to read more. I highly recommend if you're searching for a good thriller / mystery. Four 1/2 stars!

Quinn's "The Clinic" is an interesting psychological thriller that is told from two perspectives: from Meg, a professional poker player/loan shark arrester; and from Cara, the manager of a luxury rehab in the Pacific Northwest. Following the death of Meg's pop stary sister Haley's suspicious death at the same rehab facility, Meg (an addict herself) goes undercover as a patient to unravel the mystery behind the latter's death.

What interested me the most about this novel was how Quinn pulled from her own experiences in rehab. Her approach to mental health awareness, addiction and the psychology behind addiction made the story engaging and allows the reader some introspection about their own possible biases.

As far as the story itself is concerned, I can't say that any of the characters were likeable, especially Cara. While we're given indirect insight into her past, that information doesn't do much to help the reader connect with Cara's character. Meg, on the other hand, is a bit more relatable in regard to her complex interpersonal relationships, demons and rehabilitation journey. That being said, I was less concerned with her development as a character and more interested in what ended up being a very far-fetched conclusion to what happened to Haley.

Overall, this was a decent psychological thriller that, once you get through the first half of the book, really picks up and keeps the reader hunting for answers alongside Meg.

It took me quite a while to get through this one. I felt it was slow to start but picked up about half way through. It was a little bit predictable but also managed to surprise me in the end. I enjoyed the changing perspectives; the writer did a good job of giving each individual character a clear voice. Ultimately, this story just didn’t hold my attention very well. I felt it lacked depth, and some twists within the story fell flat or ultimately seemed to go nowhere.

this novel does not know what kind of story it wants to tell or what message it wants to send. "the clinic" begins with meg, a woman who works at a casino and fleshes out the bad guys who steal from the house and the innocent, finding out that her superstar sister, hayley, is dead. determined to find out who killed her sister, meg sneaks into treatment at a rehab facility for the rich and famous.

the start to this novel is very interesting, and some of the characters are quite compelling. however, the middle and end are a mess. from gross generalizations about people with mental health disorders, to the underdeveloped main character, to the twists and turns that make no sense — what is the point? the clinic shifts from one thing to another in a cartoonish, jarring way.

honestly, cara's point-of-view is useless and she is forgettable. i did not care about anything involving cara at all, i was only mildly interest in meg's journey to find her sister's killer.

overall, i was underwhelmed, unimpressed, and rolling my eyes in annoyance.

This book had me guessing right up to the end, trying to figure out who the killer was. The characters were interesting and has a lot of depth to them. It had a lot of twist and turns in it along the way. A very well writen book that I highly recomment reading.

The Clinic started off pretty strong with an interesting story, unreliable narrators that I kind of liked and a very atmospheric setting. But it all started to go down hill at the halfway point and by the end I was just not invested in the story anymore.

The story is told from two points of view, Meg and Cara. Meg is an addict and also a poker player. She struggles with relationships with other people, but she can spot a tell and read others body language well. This comes in handy while she investigates her sister’s death. We know from the start that there was friction between the two sisters, and as the story unfolds, some sort of childhood trauma. Because of her addiction, Meg is not a totally reliable narrator. As she detoxes she hallucinates and has trouble understanding what is going on around her. But she was relatable and somewhat likable.

Cara is the manager of the rehab clinic that is the setting for this book. She is somewhat naive about what is really happening at the clinic Her sole job as narrator is to relate much of what goes on behind closed doors with the staff and the police. We only get hints to her background and how she ends up working there and I never felt like we truly got to know her. I often wondered what her role in the story was and why she was even a narrator beyond telling what happened when Meg wasn’t around.

There is a whole cast of secondary characters, some strongly written, others not so much. It was hard to keep track of who was who and their backstories and most of them had little to do with the main story.

The story did start off pretty strong. I was invested in learning what exactly happened to Haley, what their childhood trauma was all about, and what was really going on at this clinic. But as these things were revealed the story seemed to veer off into the implausible quickly. I really thought the trauma was going to be more important to the story than it was and be more traumatic. Also, what happened to Haley was just so out there that it totally took the story off that cliff into total disbelief. The ending also felt a bit rushed, and it didn’t feel like things were really resolved.

The writing was also up and down. The start was strong and I loved the descriptions which were well done, especially the ones about the clinic. But there were a lot of inconsistencies in the story and many minor mistakes. Hopefully these were all caught in the final edit. The pacing was also all over the place. I don’t know anything about rehab clinics, especially ones for the uber rich, but some parts of their therapy seemed wrong and unrealistic.

Reading back over this review, I feel that I have been a bit too negative. I did like the story and thought there were some really good parts, but the things that I didn’t like or struggled with far outweighed the good. But don’t just take me word for this book. There are a lot of reviews that talk glowingly about it. So please check those out before you decide if you want to read this one or not.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Men's troubled sister dies in rehab, and there are many questions. It started out great. Somewhere along the way I was waiting for things to wrap up. It is bizarre, creepy, and interesting. For me just dragged in parts.

What a twisty read!

Meg, someone whose job is to put the bad guys away, hears news that her sister has taken her own life while in rehab, but doesn’t believe she’s capable of that. Herein begins our trips down the rabbit hole of rehab, inspired by author Cate Quinn’s own experiences with rehab.

This has very quick chapters, so the “just one more chapter…” can really take forever/be almost never ending. Pretty fast-paced story with some twists and turns; especially towards the end.

Love getting the story from different perspectives - it really helps to give depth to the story and the characters to make it more interesting.

I’ve always had a love of psychology, so this story made me more curious and want to research more during and after finishing the book.

Thanks so much to the author, Cate Quinn, Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the eARC of The Clinic in exchange for my honest review!