Shrink Solves Murder
Her three o'clock just became a murder case . . .
-
- Pre-Order
-
- Expected Jul 28, 2026
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
A small-town psychotherapist draws on all her knowledge of the human psyche to solve the murder of a patient in this warm and witty mystery novel—by a real psychotherapist turned #1 internationally bestselling author.
Living in picturesque coastal Sussex, Patricia Philipps enjoys her quiet life—walking the cliffs, shouting at poorly disciplined dog owners, telling tourists to keep their distance from the crumbling cliff edges, and cold-water swimming.
Then a body washes up near Beachy Head, upending her carefully curated life as she discovers the deceased is one of her clients—her “Three O’Clock,” in fact.
The police chalk it up to suicide, but Pat sees things differently. She reads people. She understands them—their lusts, their loves, their quirks, their ticks, their tells, their deepest desires. She looks, she listens, she watches. And she never jumps to conclusions. After all, she spends her days listening to secrets, resentments, fantasies, and motives. She’s certain someone wanted Henry Clayton dead.
With her chaotic best friend Pritchard (part-time poet, full-time meddler) in tow, Pat swaps the therapist’s couch for the crime scene. It’s time to unpick the lies, untangle the egos, and catch a killer hiding in plain sight.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Artist and psychotherapist Perry (The Book You Want Everyone You Love to Read) makes her fiction debut with a wonderfully witty cozy starring 62-year-old shrink Patricia "Pat" Phillips. Pat moved from London to the sleepy English village of Westlinke 10 years ago, and conducts her practice mostly via Zoom from a garden shed behind her cottage. When a body washes up near noted suicide spot Beachy Head and is identified as Henry Clayton, one of Pat's clients, local police are quick to assume he took his own life. Pat, however, knows that Henry was not suicidal, and believes he may have been murdered. She decides to investigate, roping her exuberant friend and amateur distiller Prichard Knowles into her inquiry. The duo's inquiry ruffles the feathers of plenty of people in the South Downs, including Pat's wealthy neighbors, who indulge in noisy hot-tub parties and have grandiose plans to build a spa and golf club on the nearby Nature Reserve. Pat and Prichard are charming, often hilarious company, and Perry takes time to develop their relationship rather than rushing from clue to clue. Readers will be eager for a sequel.