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This book centers around Meg who has checked into a rehab facility while trying to solve her sister’s suspicious death at said clinic. There are two POVs which make it easy to follow, the clinic feels like it’s own ominous character and add in sketchy characters being treated for various addictions but are the treatments safe?!

That plot twist blew my mind! I had an inkling but it definitely didn’t go the way I thought it would…

I have already added Cate Quinn’s first book Black Widows to my TBR because I loved this one for sure!

Thank you to @netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and @catequinnauthor for this ARC coming out January 23, 2024 in exchange for my honest feedback.

SWIPE for synopsis from Goodreads. 💛 #ppacreviews #pagesplantsandcoffee

A suspenseful psychological thriller dealing with the road to recovery of addicts who are the rich and famous. A death of one of the clients, murder or suicide? A cast of characters who you feel you will know. Therapists with unconventional treatments which can be life threatening or is it a cure for addiction. Surprising twists surround this institution. Recommend. Received an ARC and this is my voluntary honest review.

I loved this book and the story line!!

This story follows Meg, an alcoholic and substance abuse addict, who also reads humans for her job at a casino. Meg’s sister has just died but she knows it was murder. So we follow Meg on thrilling journey to solve her sisters death which occurred in a celebrity rehab spa. The bread crumbs and clues along the way gave me chills. I loved all the twists and turns.

We also follow Cara, the rehab manager. She had just started the position when the death occurred. But starts piecing the puzzle together when detectives start asking more questions. Was Haley really murdered? What does will she uncover?

I loved the character growth with Meg the most. Meg was struggling at the beginning. She was disconnected and spiraling with her addictions. She wasn’t on the best terms with her sister. But we see Meg grow, accept help, learn to love herself, and forgive.

I give this a solid 4/5!

Would you do anything to save your sister?

Reading the clinic was a wild ride. As someone who’s been in similar* situations of unethical therapy/“help” it was a little jarring to see personal experience being portrayed in a thriller book. But also therapeutic and validating knowing some of these ethics and practices are messed up.

I like this book because it gives you a sense of how real it is to be in this situation. The dialogue was a little hit or miss but I liked the character depth. I did feel it was a little hard to keep up with so many characters that seemed to be so similar. But over all the book was very good. Definitely another book to add to the psychward/ retreat vibe trope. The book is advertised as a thriller, but I will say it felt more like your undercover cop, or FBI book type book which don’t have the same vibe as “pedestrian “ books but it was good nonetheless!! And I know people LOVE the cop/FBI/undercover agents vibe so if that’s you try this one!

While this story picked up a great deal in the second half, and finally scratched that thriller itch, I struggled to like and connect with these characters.

ARC provided by NetGalley and the author in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This was spectacular!

This story follows Meg, whose just found out her sister died in rehab and Cara who is the admin manager at the rehab. They alternate POVs throughout the book.

Meg heads to the rehab and checks in as a patient herself, mostly to find out what happened to her sister but also in need of a little rehabilitation herself. She meets celebrity addicts who all seem to have SOME sort of motive to kill Haley. But which one really did it?

Cara is a prim and proper manager at the rehab, but starts to suspect something might be amiss when she gets repeated visits from the local police who believe Haley’s death was more than just a suicide.

Amongst the thriller “who dunnit” vibe of the book, there is a lot of time spent on talking about addictions and mental health, and how they manifest themselves in different situations.

Highly recommend this Cate Quinn novel!

Oh no, WHATS IN THE ROOM?!

Reallllly digging the atmospere of this book. This was a whole lot of fun. It took a few extra days to read due to being on ANOTHER cross country move. I did thoroughly enjoy this book. However, the main character does slightly suffer from not like other girls syndrome. Not enough to be annoying in any way, just something i picked up on. I did prefer megs point of view over caras and found myself sometimes juat wishing to skip cara and go right back to meg. I juat loved the other patients in the rehab facility.

I found out what was in the room lol not all that exciting. BUT the book and all the other twiats were so, so solid.
3.75/5

"The Clinic" by Cate Quinn is a gripping thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. While some parts of the story were predictable, others took unexpected twists, adding to the suspense. What truly stood out for me was the emotional journey the characters embarked on. Meg's determination to uncover the truth about her sister's death, despite battling her own addictions, made for a compelling narrative. I found myself immersed in the remote rehab facility, isolated from the outside world, alongside Meg, as she unraveled the mystery. Overall, a solid 4-star read that combines suspense and emotion in a captivating way.

This was such a gripping read and I couldn’t put it down. I was excited about it because of the fact it was set in the PNW but it ended up being so much more than just a setting I connected to. The character development was so intentional and well-done, and completely believable. I don’t often read fiction and feel that it is so real. Quinn’s depiction of the environment in a private rehabilitation facility is so comprehensive — from the emotional aspect all the way to the physical environment. I have been recommending this one to everyone I know who enjoys this genre. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read it!

This book was not on my radar, I passed over it a few times, but then was looking for something different so I gave it a try. I finished in less than 24 hours!
The story really kept me guessing, and the premise was unique. Not going to give too much away, but I hope to see Meg in a spin-off story of her own!

I was fascinated by this book the whole way through. By the end, I felt completely conflicted.

The book was so well written. I was captivated by the descriptive detail - it was the perfect amount to help paint the mental image but not so much that it felt unnecessary. The story unfolded in a way that had me completely hooked all the way through. Different chapters were told from different characters' perspectives, which can get confusing. But not here. The characters were so vivid and had such well-developed voices that it was easy to track whose perspective you were reading.

The storyline itself was fascinating. There was SO MUCH happening. And this was where I started to feel conflicted. It almost felt like too much - there were enough different things happening for two books. I want to be fully engrossed in a story to the point that even the least realistic details feel like they COULD be realistic. And there were times in this book when I got to that place. But every so often, yet another plot line/event would crash in and pull me out of that rhythm. I feel like the story could have been refined a bit more and it would have felt less gimmicky/soap opera-ish in places.

Finally, I know this is an advanced copy, but the teacher in me just has to point out that the book still needs a thorough editing/proofing before publication.

Final verdict? There is definitely room for refinement and improvement, but it was still a fun read.

The Clinic was a book that started off strong for me, but unfortunately I found it to be a little slow once I got more into the book. I kept trying to stick with it, but ended up having to take a break at about 40% when the main character was in the art room and began to explain each character’s artwork in the art room of the clinic. Out of all the characters I would say Cara was the most interesting. Overall this was just an okay book, but the ending was extremely unrealistic. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.

This book started off okay, but got harder and harder to suspend my disbelief as I got further into the story. The characters were pretty much cardboard cut-outs, and most of the ones supposedly trying to figure things out were just dumb, and did dumb things (one of my biggest pet peeves). The chapters jump around weirdly and the big plot twist was fairly predictable. The only person I really cared about in the story was Harry, who was on all of about 10 pages. I can't recommend this one.

I immediately wanted to read this book based on the description and other reviews I had seen. I was not disappointed and loved the wild ride of emotions and suspense this book took me on. I will say it did take a bit to get to the meat of the book but once it was there it made me sit and finish it just to find out all the mysteries and who done it. I will say the twist I did not see coming and that is rare for me. I highly recommend The Clinic to anyone who loves suspense, twists and just plane great thrillers.

The Clinic is a fun, twisty, and sometimes heartwarming thriller that takes way too long to build and boasts two confusing first-person narrators, earning a solid three stars from me.

The story is about Meg, a poker player who works for casinos to sniff out dirty players. When her sister dies at an upscale rehab facility, she checks herself in to find out what happened under the guise of working on her own addictions. The story is also told by Cara, who manages the facility.

The characters are interesting in their own right, but they both narrate in first person and sound exactly the same. It initially makes the narrative very confusing. The build-up and their backstory are drawn out and I felt the book was too long overall.

The other major issue I had was the editing. The author occasionally uses the wrong words (“wilding” instead of “wildly,” “momentary distracted” instead of “momentarily distracted”) and puts quotes in the wrong spot on multiple occasions. Since it’s all in first person, I was pulled out of the story as I figured out if the character was actually speaking or just thinking. Every author makes mistakes, but that’s what editors are for.

That said, the plot was great and the characters were fun with good backstories. I loved the twists, which built as the story progressed. The story was thrilling without being over the top and there were no raunchy sex scenes or gratuitous violence. The author briefly mentions her own rehab experience at the end and I admire anyone who successfully recovers from addiction. I’m glad I read it, but maybe on the next book I’ll ask her if I can edit it.

The premise of this book got me hooked right away. I loved the first half- the character Meg and her no f’s given attitude. I also liked reading about the dynamic of the clinic and the director had me guessing. This started to get slow and mundane through the middle and it didn’t hold my attention unfortunately.

I was quickly drawn in to this book! I wanted to find out who-dunnit and why. I read the first 3/4 in one sitting and had to go to sleep or I would've pushed through to finish. While I did enjoy most of the characters, there were a few I didn't care for. I liked the plot until the last 10%, where it seemed to change. The ending felt rushed to me and like it didn't really fit with the rest of the story. 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Meg is really good at her job. She’s a poker player employed by a casino to catch players who are cheating or otherwise scamming the casino. After a particularly bad experience, Meg finds that she is addicted to Oxycodone. She also learns that her estranged sister has died while at a drug rehabilitation center. Meg decides that she is going to figure out exactly what happened to her sister and enters rehab herself. She finds that very little is as it seems on the surface, and that the people she is trusting may not be so trustworthy. Interesting mystery.

Wow. For me, the book lived up to the creepy cover! Nefarious characters, intense situations, surprises, and raw emotion kept me reading quickly. I was satisfied with the ending wrap-up and it kept me thinking after I finished. Highly recommended and I'd easily read more from this author!
Thanks NetGalley for this advance copy, this was my honest review.

When Meg learns that her sister,Hayley, has reportedly died of a drug overdose at a high-end clinic,she decides to go undercover to try and find out what really happened. While her efforts are hampered by her own withdrawal from alcohol and oxy, she discovers that everyone is a suspect.
As she chases down clues and finds herself increasingly more in danger,she finds friends and herself. She faces the demons from her past.
Lots of twists and turns.