The Model Patient - by Lucy Ashe (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A psychological tour-de-force about obsession, control, and the dangerous relationship between a therapist and patient in 1960s London.

Evelyn Westbrook has given up her career as a model and wants to find fulfilment in married life. But when her husband suggests they start trying for a baby, everything begins to unravel. Struggling to cope with crippling nightmares, Evelyn takes the advice of a friend and goes to see a psychotherapist. She is apprehensive about exposing her intimate issues: what she absolutely does not want to do is unearth the secrets of her past. The enigmatic Dr. Daley, however, is determined to take her back there, and she soon finds herself drawn to him. Evelyn's interest in her therapist turns to obsession, and she becomes locked in a powerful relationship where the question of whether he is caring for her or manipulating her becomes impossible to untangle.

Review Quotes

"A gripping exploration of power and obsession, this is a chillingly masterful historical psychological thriller that whisks you back to 1963 London, leaving you deeply unsettled long after the final page."--Daily Mirror

"A gripping exploration of problematic power dynamics, the turmoil of the 1960s, and the power of art, Lucy Ashe's The Model Patient is a true original. Delving deeply into the psyche of a 1960s model turned housewife, Ashe expertly builds to a thrilling and compelling climax. A twist I didn't see coming. This book celebrates the power of knowing yourself, and the price that knowledge can extract."--Cailean Stead, author of Home

"A truly captivating novel. Brimming with tension, betrayal and devastating insights into the human mind, The Model Patient powerfully explores what happens when the relationship between a patient and therapist turns into dangerous obsession."--Matthew Blake, global bestselling author of Anna O

"An unsettling, addictive read of obsession, anger, and the serpent that coils inside us all."--Sarah Clegg, author of The Dead of Winter

"Poignant and riveting in equal measure, Ashe delves into the complicated, and often, volatile relationship between a therapist and patient with her trademark style and poise, delivering a literary thriller that cements her status as one of the most important writers alive today, very much in vein with Margaret Atwood and Gillian Flynn. An unmissable tour de force."--Awais Khan, author of No Honour and In the Company of Strangers

"Riveting, disturbing, compulsive - Ashe has crafted her finest novel yet. A careful and yet thrilling interrogation of ethics and the balance of power."--Bonnie Burke-Patel, author of Dead as Gold and I Died at Fallow Hall

"Ashe draws readers in with this seductive story...Evocative, empathetic, and ultimately empowering, this coiled psychological thriller will be catnip for fans of Alex Michaelides."--Publishers Weekly, STARRED

"The story's intimate scope allows Ashe to focus on the intense relationships... [readers] will be quickly immersed in this intense read."--Library Journal

"[A] gripping historical psychological thriller. . . . What starts as a story about a woman trapped by societal expectations evolves into a dark exploration of manipulation and desire, building to a conclusion that will keep readers on edge until the end. . . . Ashe excels at immersive world-building. . . . But beneath the atmospheric setting lies a provocative examination of transference and obsession."--Amita Parikh, international bestselling author of The Circus Train

"A chilling exploration of physical and psychological boundaries that exposes how the therapeutic relationship can blur the lines of sanity and of who is responsible when everything unravels."--Nicole Nehrig, clinical and research psychologist and author of With Her Own Hands: Women Weaving their Stories

"Packed with colorful details of the swinging sixties, this twisty psychological exploration of marriage, deception, and desire will keep readers off-balance until the last page. An original and perceptive thriller, The Model Patient is full of deep, dark surprises."--Lynda Cohen Loigman, USA Today Bestselling author of The Matchmaker's Gift and The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern

"The Model Patient begins as an elegant domestic drama and builds, quietly and inexorably, into a darkly devastating psychological thriller. Lucy Ashe writes with passion, precision, and a rare understanding of how love and fear can blur into each other."--Brian Platzer, author of The Body Politic

"Crackling with tension and rife with ingenious plot twists, Ashe's latest is an exploration of friendship, marriage, and female objectification, set against the backdrop of 1960s London. Nothing is as it seems in this absorbing psychological thriller--and you won't be able to put it down."--Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Queen

About the Author

Lucy Ashe is an English teacher. After training at the Royal Ballet School, she decided to change career plans and go to university. She studied English literature at St. Hugh's College, Oxford, before receiving her teaching qualification. Ashe's poetry and short stories have been published in a number of literary journals, and she was shortlisted for the 2020 Impress Prize for New Writers.