The patient's secret : a novel / Loreth Anne White.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Secrets worth dying--and killing--for, in a novel of suspense inspired by a horrific true crime by Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author Loreth Anne White.

When the battered body of a female jogger is found beneath the cliffs of an idyllic coastal community, these perfect neighbors suddenly don't seem so perfect...

Lily Bradley is a respected psychotherapist married to a distinguished professor. They live in a dream house with their two children in close-knit Story Cove. Lily lives a well-ordered life. Or so it seems. As a therapist, she knows everyone keeps things hidden. Even her.

Then sensual and free-spirited Arwen Harper rolls into town in her hand-painted VW van, her sixteen-year-old son riding shotgun. Overnight, Story Cove's secrets are no longer safe. Because Arwen might know her new neighbors better than they know themselves.

Now someone is dead, and it looks like murder. Brutal and personal. The death invites the shrewd eye of Detective Rue Duval. Rue's job is to expose secrets. But she's also an expert at keeping them.

As the lives of three women become inexorably entwined, one thing is clear: when it comes to survival, ordinary people can do the most terrible things.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Inspired by real events, this exceptional psychological thriller from White (Beneath Devil's Bridge) centers on therapist Lily Bradley and her psychology professor husband, Tom, who live with their two children in Story Cove, British Columbia. When Tom finds the body of a female jogger on the beach, a broken string of beads in her hand, Sgt. Rue Duval, the lead police investigator on the Jogger Killer case, believes the woman could be the serial killer's latest victim. Rue identifies the deceased as a single mother whose 16-year-old son, Joe, recently started a relationship with the Bradleys' 12-year-old daughter, Phoebe. Tom and Lily suspect each other of hiding secrets related to the murder and mutually agree to protect their secrets, determined to preserve their family. Meanwhile, the number of suspects grows as the police search for a match to the broken strand of beads. White does a superb job keeping the reader guessing as she peels back the layers of a seemingly perfect family to reveal the shocking truth. Suspense fans will want to see more from this talented author. Agent: Amy Tannenbaum, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Mar.)