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Summary
Summary
A razor-sharp debut about a woman who goes so far off the deep end, she might never make it back up...
Sam James has spent years carefully crafting her reputation as the best psychologist at Typhlos, Manhattan's most challenging psychiatric institution. She believes if she can't save herself, she'll save someone else. It's this savior complex that serves her well in helping patients battle their inner demons, though it leads Sam down some dark paths and opens her eyes to her own mental turmoil.
When Richard, a mysterious patient no other therapist wants to treat, is admitted to Typhlos, Sam is determined to unlock his secrets and his psyche. But she can't figure out why Richard appears to be so normal in a hospital filled with madness. As Sam gets pulled into Richard's twisted past, she can't help but analyze her own life, and what she discovers terrifies her. And so the mind games begin. But who is the savior and who is the saved?
In this unexpected and addictive psychological debut, A.F. Brady takes readers into the psyche of a deeply disturbed woman desperately trying to keep her head above water, showing that sometimes what's most terrifying is what exists in your mind.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Psychologist Samantha "Sam" James, the heroine of Brady's complex, intricately plotted debut, is the golden girl at Manhattan's Typhlos Psychiatric Center, respected and admired by her boss and peers. In her personal life, however, she's miserable, and drinking heavily. When a new patient, Richard McHugh, shows up at the center, he first sits in silence with one of the other therapists, then asks to see Sam. All Sam knows is that Richard once murdered someone and spent more than half his life in prison. In subsequent sessions with Richard, Sam struggles to figure out this enigmatic man-whose reason for coming to the facility remains unclear. One side benefit of trying to treat Richard is that Sam begins to see her own life more clearly. On the other hand, she starts behaving inappropriately with other patients and making mistakes at work, some leading to disastrous results. This psychological thriller grabs the reader and doesn't let go until the truth about Richard's past is finally revealed. Agent: Marian Young, Marian Young Agency. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A woman in pieces must put herself back together before she loses everything she's worked for and everyone she cares about.Samantha James, 37, is one of the best psychologists on staff at Typhlos Psychiatric Center in Manhattan, and she's determined to keep it that way. She genuinely cares about her patients and revels in the recognition she gets from her boss, Rachel. Her co-worker and best friend, David, provides an emotional oasis for her at work, one that is sorely lacking outside of it. Underneath her can-do demeanor is another Sam entirely, one spiraling in a haze of alcohol, casual sex, and physical abuse at the hands of her awful boyfriend, Lucas. If only she could "fix" him they'd be the perfect couple. When new patient Richard McHugh (who spent 20 years in prison) comes to Typhlos, no one wants to take him on, but after one psychologist's man-to-man approach failsRichard refuses to answer any questionshe becomes Sam's problem, and she's determined to make it work. Richard is an enigma, not answering her questions, coming to her office carrying a pile of old newspapers. When Sam makes an egregious mistake that only Richard witnesses, he makes her an offer she can't refuse: he'll tell her his secrets if she'll share hers, and he'll seal it with vodkabut if she refuses, he'll expose her drinking problem. And boy does Sam have some secrets to tell. Brady's entertaining debut is told in the wry voice of Sam, who uses black humor to hide an undercurrent of pain. There is a twist, of course, and readers will most likely have it figured out well before the end, but the journey (and the eye-opening, compassionate look at institutional life) is just as important as the destination, and for all her foibles, Sam is an irresistible diversion even if she can't seem to get out of her own way and be herself. A satisfying, darkly funny tale of redemption. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Dark, moody, and fascinatingly flawed describe Brady's debut novel but also its protagonist, Sam James. Sam's work as a psychologist at a New York mental-health institution maintains her own sanity as much as that of her patients. A secret alcoholic in an abusive relationship, she continues functioning, believing that if she can't save herself, maybe she can save someone else. Her house of cards begins to fall with the arrival of Richard, a new patient who refuses to see anyone but Sam yet won't talk or reveal what brought him to the institution. Sam sets out to break through Richard's wall, but she finds that it's her own wall that's crumbling. A practicing psychotherapist, Brady paints an all-too-realistic picture of an unsupported mental-health system that can fail those needing it most. The Blind is less of a psychological thriller and more a suspenseful look at our weaknesses and ability to forgive. While Sam is a somewhat unsympathetic and unlikable character, readers will be anxious to know if she'll be able to get her act together.--Babiasz, Tracy Copyright 2017 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
As a real-life Manhattan psychotherapist, Brady would seem the ideal writer to tell the story of a highflying doctor at a New York City mental hospital who's secretly battling her own personal demons. Alas, her main character, Dr. Samantha James, is so unlikable, so relentlessly awful, that it's impossible to care about her. A raging alcoholic, Sam spends the first two-thirds of the book vomiting into her wastebasket, getting beaten up by her abusive prig of a boyfriend and seeking comfort via cheap sex with a narcissistic barfly. Her struggle to keep her star-doctor facade intact, presumably meant to arouse our concern and sympathy, yields anything but. The novel is presented as a psychological chess match pitting Sam against a patient named Richard McHugh, a cipher with a secret agenda. Yet it's merely a long, dreary slog with a paint-by-numbers supporting cast (the do-goody cheerleader colleague, the clueless boss, the chip-on-his-shoulder guy, the prince of a friend) and spectacularly bad metaphors ("His voice sounds a little bit like what I would imagine a diesel engine covered in melted butter would sound like"). Richard, who has stolen minibottles of booze out of Sam's filing cabinet, begins blackmailing her, in the process rooting out the real cause of her misery as he gradually reveals his own left-field identity. Never has there been a more appropriate title: "The Blind" has no idea where it's going.
Library Journal Review
DEBUT Sam James, a psychologist working at a Manhattan psychiatric institution, has been assigned a difficult patient named Richard. Apparently, -Richard has spent considerable time in prison, and he suffers from some kind of mental illness, but he doesn't answer questions so no one can figure him out. Unfortunately, Richard is just one of the hurdles in Sam's life that daily excursions to the local bar seem to relieve. Plus she's got a gorgeous boyfriend who wants to move in together. What could be more perfect? But as she continues to hide the truth with careful makeup and a few nips here and there, things begin to unravel at an alarming rate. Desperate to hold on to her relationship and also prove her brilliance at work by cracking the guarded Richard, Sam starts taking risks that could backfire in the worst way. -VERDICT Brady's fast-paced, riveting psychological chiller will wow suspense and thriller lovers alike. Brilliant character study and superior writing make this an outstanding debut. [See Prepub Alert, 3/13/17.]-Cynthia Price, -Francis Marion Univ. Lib., Florence, SC © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.