Cate Quinn’s New Thriller: The Clinic Book Review

I recently had the pleasure of listening to The Clinic by Cate Quinn on audiobook and to say that it was a thrilling adventure would be an understatement. I’ve never felt so bewildered by a story. The plot had me switching sides every couple of chapters so I had no idea who was trustworthy. So in today’s The Clinic book review, I’m going to be sharing my thoughts on this story as well as some of the more unique aspects of the plot.

If you enjoy thrillers, you can read more of my thriller book reviews here.

What is the plot of The Clinic?

From the critically acclaimed author of Black Widows comes a thriller set in a remote rehab clinic on the Pacific Northwest coast, in which the death of a woman inside prompts her sister to enter the clinic as a patient in order to find the truth. Perfect for fans of Stacy Willingham and Tarryn Fisher!

Meg works for a casino in LA, catching cheaters and popping a few too many pain pills to cope, following a far different path than her sister Haley, a famous actress. But suddenly reports surface of Haley dying at the remote rehab facility where she had been forced to go to get her addictions under control.

There are whispers of suicide, but Meg can’t believe it. She decides that the best way to find out what happened to her sister is to check in herself – to investigate what really happened from the inside.

Battling her own addictions and figuring out the truth will be much more difficult than she imagined, far away from friends, family – and anyone who could help her. (Amazon.com)

My Initial Thoughts

I loved the idea of Meg signing up for rehab as a way to investigate into her sister’s death. It kind of reminded me how in season 2 of American Horror Story when a reporter named Lana Winters gets committed to a mental asylum, and does some research and investigating while she is there. It just makes for an interesting story. In Meg’s case, she is really motivated to find out the truth about her sister because of their fragile relationship. Haley left her some voicemails on the night that she died and Meg has no idea what they are about.

This story was really interesting because of Meg and her personality. In her first chapter where we are introduced to her job at an la casino and her life, it’s clear she has some issues. Whether they’re from childhood trauma or whether they’re from other aspects of her complicated life, it’s unclear. But what is clear is that she’s going to have to face her demons eventually. In order to find out the truth about what happened to Haley, she’ll need to be in tip top shape.

The kind of funny part if that although Meg enters the clinic under false pretenses, she does actually have a drug addiction and could actually use the help of a rehab facility. But will she give in and do the work that she needs to do to get better? That’s just something you’ll have to read and find out.

Different Points of View

The Clinic is told through two points of view in alternating chapters. The first is Meg, an addict in denial who is fighting her past demons and it working to find out what actually happened to her sister Haley Banks at this addiction clinic, which also acts as a mental health facility.

The second is Cara, the administrative manager of the clinic. We’re first introduced to her in present day, as the local police come to The Clinic to investigate Haley’s death. They ask plenty of questions about the facility and Dr. Lutz and it definitely seems fishy. I wasn’t sure if Cara was trustworthy or if she was trying to hide some from the policy.

And aside from the two narrators, there are many secondary characters in this story that help to add to the mystery including Meg’s fellow neighbors and roommates at the clinic. Dr. Lutz has them all on certain treatment protocols and they are reluctant to talk about it at first. Meg must be quiet and unobtrusive with her question asking so that the others don’t get the wrong idea.

For the most part she does a great job with her investigation, but sometimes her emotions do get in the way.

How Many Pages is The Clinic?

The print book of The Clinic is 444 pages.

How long is the audiobook of The Clinic?

The audiobook of The Clinic is 13 hours 14 minutes long. I recommend listening to it on 1.5 speed which is what I did. It kept the story moving without going too fast. If you listen too quickly you might not remember everything later on.

What I Liked About The Clinic

Meg was a likable character. She has a complicated back history that includes an injured shoulder from a frightening event that occurred at her job. Part of this is why she uses alcohol and pills to cope with her pain. And although the reason why she enrolls at the rehab center is to find out the truth about what happened to her estranged sister, maybe it could also help her own demons.

I liked how at the beginning of the story we know Haley is dead and that the local policy think something is up. There are a lot of things that just don’t make sense and they ask Cara a lot of questions that don’t necessarily have satisfying answers. Was there foul play involved? Is the Clinic a rehabilitation center, or a place that corrupts its patients?

Cate Quinn does a really great job of weaving together a story that you can’t stop reading because you just have to find out the truth! I wound up listening to this whole audiobook in just 2 days because I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen next. Her fellow patients had interesting opinions on Meg’s sister Haley which also added some nuance to the story.

Some of the most frightening scenes in this book were of the different kinds of treatment, so be forewarned.

What I Didn’t Like About The Clinic

While I did enjoy the unexpected turns, it also felt like a lot of the things that happened were a bit out there. Haha. I’ve never really thought that about a book before. But the last third of this book had a lot going on. That’s to be expected. Most suspenseful thrillers have their big reveals towards the end. The only way to power through is to suspend your disbelief and keep reading.

I did find it confusing as well how the clinic seemed to be mainly for famous people, and yet the let Meg in. Why? That wasn’t really clear to me.

But those are just small issues from my point of view. 

In Conclusion

I thought this book was really good. For a psychological thriller, it had all of the mind games and second guessing that I was expecting. And as I mentioned earlier, it was really interesting and kept me reading late into the night.

​I hope you enjoyed my review of The Clinic by Cate Quinn. The Clinic may be her latest novel, but she also has another book called Black Widows that sounds really interesting. I really enjoyed her writing style and am sure her next book will be something to look forward too!

For more Thriller Recommendations…

You can read more of my thriller book reviews here.