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"The Last Session" | Reviewed by Andi Kloppe
- cstucky2
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Mystery, murder, reincarnation, cult-like behavior. “The Last Session,” by Julia Bartz, has it all. This psychological, mystery thriller will have you turning the pages wondering what will happen next.
Thea is a young social worker who has dealt with a variety of patients throughout her budding career. During a routine therapy session, she is asked to see a new patient, a Jane Doe. This is nothing out of the ordinary, until she meets the patient. Thea cannot place her, but she knows this currently catatonic woman from somewhere.
What she didn't expect was to have all of her adolescent trauma resurface after remembering the identity of this mystery woman, Catherine. This realization will test the limits of Thea’s professionalism, where the line between personal life and professional restrictions is strained.
When Catherine is suddenly released from the center, Thea cannot stop thinking about her. It isn't long before she learns of a message Catherine left for her. Thea works her way through a series of clues that lead her to where she believes Catherine has gone, and before she knows it, she is enrolled at a relational therapy weekend retreat in New Mexico.
While her first impression of the massive, mosaic castle is that of a luxury resort, it doesn't take Thea long to realize things are not as peaceful as they seem. The leaders of this retreat, Moon and Sol, appear on their podcast to be credible therapists, but events at the retreat have Thea questioning the safety of their practices.
Though the methods used by Sol and Moon on the small group of participants are unorthodox, Thea cannot help but admit they do have striking results, and she can't explain the feelings they bring up in her. Feelings of traumatic past experiences, familiar individuals, and visions too vivid to be coincidence. How does Moon know so much personal information about her, and more importantly, how does Catherine tie into all of this?
When secrets of other group members start to emerge, this book starts to take several plot twists that will have you turning page after page, needing to know what happens to the characters next! “The Last Session” does contain adult themes and some content that could be triggering or uncomfortable to read for certain audiences.
