Nial Giacomelli's The Therapist, part of the Fairlight moderns novella series, is a searing meditation on loss expertly juxtaposed with a world ravaged by a devastating disease.

The story focuses on a couple who have lost their son recently to an accident, and is told from the husband's point of view as he attempts to deal with the conflicting emotions associated with the accident as well as attending therapy sessions with his detached wife. As they navigate their new normal, a new disease crops up on the west coast that causes mysterious symptoms and eventually forces its victims to disappear completely. The narrative flows back and forth between scenes of terror from the spreading disease and the husband ruminating on crucial times in his marriage and with their son.

The end result is a combination of bleak dystopia and an Edgar Allan Poe style unreliable narrator who is consistently trying to find meaning and place in a world quickly losing stability. It's not light reading despite being short in length, but it's one of the more poignant portrayals of loss I've read this year.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Fairlight Books..**

A beautifully crafted novella which focuses on a couple after the devastating loss of their young son. Told from the husband's point of view, The Therapist charts the couple's life and their struggle to fight for their marriage in the wake of their son's accident, going so far as to seek help. If this wasn't enough, a bizarre pandemic, causing panic and terror, begins to mercilessly sweep across the country leaving nothing in its wake.

This was an excellent read and difficult to confine to one genre. Giacomelli captured the couple's turmoil throughout the grieving process honestly and brilliantly. His descriptions of the unidentified plague rampaging across the land were atmospheric, almost straight out of the best gothic horror novels.

Highly recommended.

With thanks to Netgalley and Fairlight for the arc in exchange for an honest review.