The Clinic

December 4, 2023
The thorny relationship between two estranged sisters powers this atmospheric thriller from Quinn (Blood Sisters). Meg catches cheaters for an L.A. casino and spends the money she makes on her drug and alcohol habit. Meanwhile, her older sister, Haley—with whom Meg has long been out of touch—has become a famous actress, whose own substance problems have made her a tabloid fixture. Meg has just nabbed her latest mark when she learns that Hayley has committed suicide at “The Clinic,” a luxury recovery center on the grounds of a former mansion on the Oregon coast. Refusing to believe her sister could kill herself, Meg checks herself into the Clinic in search of answers. As she learns of the patients’ heavily restricted movements and devotion to the menacing Dr. Lutz, she uncovers a sinister conspiracy that reframes her understanding of her late sister. Quinn smartly rotates between Meg’s viewpoint and that of Cara, a former L.A. hotel manager who was invited to manage the Clinic by an unknown recruiter ; though Cara is ancillary to the main plot, her insights into the Clinic’s operations provide tension and dramatic irony. Quinn’s fans will be rapt. Agent: Piers Blofeld, Sheil Land Assoc.

December 1, 2023
When Meg's famous singer sister, Haley, dies at a high-end rehab facility, Meg is immediately suspicious. She and Haley had a tough childhood and have had their ups and downs as adults, but Meg doesn't believe that Haley would commit suicide. She decides to investigate Haley's death by checking into the facility. Meg has her own substance-abuse issues, so fitting in at the rehab isn't hard, but she realizes that to find out what really happened to Haley, she must deal with her own trauma first. While the unreliable narrator trope has been done too many times to count, Quinn's (Black Widows, 2021) unique story hooks readers from the start and has twists and turns that will keep them guessing. Themes of addiction, trauma, and grief set this apart from other thrillers, and readers can sense Quinn's personal rehab experience, which she writes about in her acknowledgements. While supporting characters could use more depth, this is a fine thriller that's hard to put down.

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January 12, 2024

The latest novel from Quinn (Blood Sisters; Black Widows) features a woman who's trying to find answers about her sister's death. Meg and Haley are very different, except that they share addiction issues due to a traumatic childhood. Meg works undercover security in Los Angeles. She poses as a high roller, playing the casino card tables in order to catch loan sharks and cheaters. She is a bit too dependent on pills and alcohol to get her through. Movie star Haley is always in the tabloids, especially for her own addiction problems which have landed her in an elite rehab facility known as the Clinic, located in the Pacific Northwest. Meg tends to ignore the media hype around her sister. Then, she hears that her sister has taken her own life. Refusing to believe it and wanting to find out exactly what happened, Meg assumes a new identity and enters the Clinic as a woman named Beth. While there, she finds that her own life might be in danger. VERDICT Readers who enjoy suspense stories with characters who "go inside" institutions to investigate, such as Helen Fields's The Institution, will enjoy this title.--Nanci Milone Hill

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