Thank you, I really enjoyed the book. It was slow to start and action didn’t kick in for a while. That said, Pat is a thoroughly likeable character, she’s witty and smart - I almost wished she was real. This is a really good book of cosy crime. #Netgalley #ShrinkSolvesAMurder

I love a whodunnit, murder mystery, cosy mystery - whatever genre you want to label small town crime fiction. Patricia is a former lawyer and current psychotherapist. No longer having to deal with the fast pace of London, she's enjoying the country pace of life. She's made some friends and her therapy business is going well. Well it was until her latest client ends up dead! Worse, the local police are writing it off a su*cide! Henry was in no way presenting as wanting to hurt himself and Pat thinks that nothing is adding up. So with her trusty bestie, Pritchard, she sets out to solve this crime herself. With a cast of quirky characters including some friendly swingers, Pat has a plethora of suspects and possible reasons for Henry's death. Pat, I'm sorry to say was not the easiest mc for me to like. She came over as so privileged and even her being LGBTQIA didn't quite make her endearing. She did grow on me but she isn't my favourite amateur sleuth. Pritchard was a hoot with all his home brew experiments. Lovable PC Footer reminded me so much of Kelbie from Beyond Paradise! I did enjoy watching all the clues come together as the story unfurled. There were plenty of twists and turns and a suitably fiendish big reveal. More 3.5 stars to be completely honest just because I didn't gel with Pat as much as I usually do with MC's My Review was created from the e-arc I received from NetGalley

Pat is devasted when she finds out that one of her clients has been found dead at the bottom of the cliffs near her home on the South Coast. She is a psychotherapist and is convinced that it wasn't suicide. However the local police seem more concerned with their figures than actually doing detective work so she decides to investigate it herself alongside long time friend and neighbour Pritchard. Her suspects include Derek, the abusive boyfriend, Dorna, a new local who plans to build a golf course on the south downs and seems to be bulldozing her way through permissions. Henry was part of the group against it and was due to file papers the day after he died to put a halt to things. As time goes on, the Police are still uninterested with whatever Pat brings them. it's only when she has visitors for the weekend that things change and become clearer, but that leads to Pat being in danger from the actual murderer. A nicely paced cozy crime. I hope there are more in this series.

I love Philippa Perry's non-fiction work as it has proven so informative professionally and personally. Her foray into fiction was no less impressive and I should not have been surprised given her ability to communicate effectively and with humour. This is a cozy piece of crime fiction with a character that is relatable and humorous. The wit and insight that is across Perry's other writing is evident here, but so too is an ability to create fictional characters you care about and want to stick with. I hope she writes more fiction (and non-fiction) going forward. I received an advance free copy from Net Galley in exchange for a fair and honest review.