First published 1988
Dr. Carla Keller's world collapses when her psychiatrist husband takes his own life. She discovers his existence was built on deception. The psychiatrists at the Cartwell Psychiatric Institute, men who were her husband's closest friends and are now her professional colleagues, close ranks around her. They become her captors rather than her supporters. Carla finds herself isolated and confined by the very people who should understand her grief. The institute that once represented her career now feels like a prison. Her colleagues watch her every move and control her actions. She must navigate their manipulation while uncovering the truth about her husband's hidden life. The psychiatric community that claims to heal minds becomes the source of her torment. Carla struggles to break free from their psychological grip while processing her own trauma and betrayal.
Genres: suspense, mystery, contemporary, psychological-thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: captive-protagonist, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Cartwell Psychiatric Institute
Period: Contemporary
Paperback · HarperCollins Publishers
Content warnings: mental-illness, suicide