Book Review: The Unraveling | Vi Keeland

This is quite a book! I wasn’t expecting to sucked in so quickly, but I can’t resist a slightly unhinged narrator and Meredith is teetering on the edge of unhinged and wading into the wrong side of good judgment. This is a book that is hard to talk about because there are lots of little (and big) twists along the way. I’ll cover those more in a spoiler review so we can really unpack that ending.

The story centers around psychiatrist Meredith McCall who lives and practices in New York City. It was only two years ago that Meredith was happily married to an NHL hockey player named Connor and the two were planning to start a family. But an injury led Connor to require pain medications that eventually led to struggles with withdrawal when he’s trying to ween off. Then, a tragic accident leads everything to fall apart.

In the present, Meredith is picking up the pieces of her life. She’s begun mandatory therapy as part of the conditions to start her psychiatric practice back up. Her marriage is over and she’s slowly thinking about dating. And she’s lightly stalking Gabriel Wright. It frustrated Meredith that Gabriel seems to be doing so well after the tragedy that changed both of their lives when she is not. She starts following him—only sometimes—and observing his life. He meets with women, he teaches at a university, and he stops by a storage facility regularly.

But when Gabriel Wright unexpectedly walks into her psychiatry practice, Meredith is stunned. He seems to have no clue who she is, and genuinely is seeking therapy. Meredith knows it’s unethical to treat him—especially without disclosing their connection—but she can’t seem to turn him away. As she continues to see him, her life unravels. Could things get any worse? In this case, they can and they do…

The tragedy two years earlier is vague at first. The reader learns right away that Gabriel lost his wife and daughter as a result, and that Meredith blames herself. But from the beginning we know that Meredith’s guilt seems tied to Connor’s involvement in the tragedy, rather than her own. I was so curious to know what happened. It seemed to me like Meredith was taking on more than her share of fault in this situation. Or is there more that hasn’t been revealed yet? (obviously there is…)

I thought it was interesting that Meredith was honest with her therapist about her obsession, especially since he is part of her board remediation to retain her license and her practice. She didn’t seem that worried about telling him, and to his credit, he held rational conversations with her about it. Things reach a new level when Gabriel directly enters Meredith’s sphere as a patient. Is it a coincidence? It appears to be.

The entire book is addictive! Meredith may have been obsessed with Gabriel, but I was obsessed with this book. Lots of twists and turns and a great zinger added right at the end. Don’t look ahead! Let it unfold.

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About the Author

Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times,#1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have appeared in over one hundred Bestseller lists and are currently translated in twenty-six languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.

About the Book

This chilling, sizzling, and addictive thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Vi Keeland follows a New York psychiatrist’s dark descent into dangerous obsession.

This isn’t a love story.
It’s a story about obsession.

After experiencing a terrible loss, New York City psychiatrist Meredith McCall feels painfully adrift. When she crosses paths with a man with whom she has a tragic connection, she follows him, sparking an unhealthy obsession with Gabriel Wright. How is he doing so well while her life is in shambles?

But when Gabriel walks into her office as a patient, seemingly unaware of who she is, she knows it crosses all ethical and moral bounds to treat him. Yet, Meredith can’t bring herself to turn him away and becomes further entangled. With her life and career continuing to unravel, it appears that things could not get any worse…until they do.

Thank you to Atria Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.