I’ve had a knack for psychological thrillers lately — especially the ones that don’t have conventional plots.
There are too many thriller novels centered around stereotypical characters who lack depth, but I finally found one that strays from overused archetypes and cheap thrills.
“The Clinic” by Cate Quinn follows Meg, a professional poker player and undercover police officer in a Los Angeles casino. Her work days consist of dressing up as different characters to catch betting sharks, cheaters and criminals, all while popping Oxycodone to help with a shoulder injury she sustained during a traumatic incident at work.
Haley, Meg’s older sister, left home to pursue her music and acting career where she adopted a sweet, ditzy, southern girl persona. The fame eventually became too much for Haley and she was forced to check in to The Clinic to get her addiction under control.
When news reports of Haley’s death surface, Meg puts herself on a mission to somehow get into The Clinic and find out exactly what happened to her sister. Rumors develop that Haley’s death was a suicide — but Meg knows her sister would never do that to herself, much less by injecting herself with a lethal dose of heroin. Meg thinks Haley’s death was no accident — someone at The Clinic had to have murdered her.
Although there are quite a few murders in this novel, this isn’t your average thriller — it exposes the ills of luxury rehab clinics and shady medical practices that involve using each patient as guinea pigs to test substances that could potentially cure addictions. Substances like Nugu, a black market poison used to paralyze the body and bring back traumatic memories during treatment sessions. If more than the correct amount is used, it can be deadly.
When Meg arrives at the remote clinic on the Pacific Northwest coast, she realizes rehab is going to be a lot harder than she imagined. With Oxycodone sewn into the lining of her bra, Meg is determined to stay intoxicated in order to stay sharp and focused, but she soon realizes that she must go through the detox process to find out what really happened to her sister.
The story is told from two perspectives — one from Meg’s perspective and the other from Cara, The Clinic’s manager. Being able to see this story develop from two points of view adds to the suspense because both characters are dealing with personal conflicts while trying to uncover the truth. The contrast in voices is what kept me hooked throughout all 448 pages.
Cara has an all work, no play personality trying to escape a scandal at her former job as a hotel manager. She’s stuck up, always dressed in designer clothes, and doesn’t have much patience for people who don’t abide by the rules. Meg, on the other hand, goes against everything Cara believes in. She doesn’t play by the rules, and she will do almost anything to reach her goals, even if it means almost getting killed.
This novel was nothing short of flawless — it was everything I could have asked for in a thriller. Every chapter was a nail-biting adventure alongside Meg and her mission to expose the dark side of The Clinic. Quinn leads you down a rabbit hole of clues and you think you know who the killer is until shocking twists are revealed in the final chapters that leave you completely turned around.
I enjoyed how there were just the right amount of characters, not too many to keep track of, and each one had their own unique addiction which helped keep them from blurring together. I was able to compare characters to celebrities in real life who suffered from similar addictions like Gene Simmons from KISS with his compulsive sexual behavior and 2007 Lindsay Lohan with her substance abuse.
Obviously, this book was a 10 out of 10 for me. It was the perfect amount of suspense and even had a touch of romance which didn’t take away from the storyline whatsoever.
Now that I’ve read this gem cover to cover, It’s time to begin the hunt for a new unconventional thriller that reeled me in just as this one did.
