VBT# The Therapy Room - OMJ Ryan

 




VBT# The Therapy Room - OMJ Ryan - September 2025

There's something deeply unsettling about the idea that the person sitting across from you in therapy might not be who they claim to be. OMJ Ryan's The Therapy Room explores this fear with a premise that immediately grabbed my attention: what happens when grief transforms into calculated vengeance?

The story follows Olivia, a woman hollowed out by loss and injustice. When her brother Daniel died and his killer walked free, Olivia's world shattered completely. Years later, she's alone—family gone, purpose lost—until she spots Shelley, the woman she believes destroyed everything. This chance encounter becomes the catalyst for an elaborate revenge plot that had me questioning the ethics of justice versus retribution.

OMJ Ryan crafts a compelling cat-and-mouse dynamic as Olivia infiltrates Shelley's therapy group under the false identity of "Jess." What makes this particularly twisted is Shelley's vulnerability—she's battling postpartum depression and disturbing thoughts about harming her family. As someone who's witnessed friends struggle with PPD, I found these scenes both authentic and heartbreaking. Olivia's manipulation of someone in such a fragile state made my skin crawl in the best possible way.

The psychological chess match that unfolds is genuinely gripping. Olivia systematically dismantles Shelley's life with surgical precision, and I found myself simultaneously rooting for and horrified by her methodical approach. OMJ Ryan excels at showing how trauma can twist someone into something unrecognizable, and Olivia's transformation from victim to predator feels disturbingly believable.

However, the book's greatest strength—its slow-burn buildup—becomes its weakness in the climax. After hundreds of pages of mounting tension around Daniel's death, the revelation of what actually happened left me feeling cheated. The truth felt anticlimactic and underwhelming compared to the weight OMJ Ryan had given it throughout the narrative. It was that frustrating "really, that's it?" moment that deflated much of the story's impact.

Despite this disappointment, I appreciated OMJ Ryan's exploration of how people process trauma differently. The therapy setting provides an intimate backdrop for examining vulnerability, trust, and the masks we wear. The question "are we really safe telling our secrets to strangers?" lingered long after I finished reading.

The Therapy Room is an engaging psychological thriller that mostly delivers on its promises. While the ending didn't quite meet my expectations, the journey there was compelling enough to keep me turning pages. Fans of revenge narratives and domestic thrillers will find plenty to enjoy, even if they might share my frustration with the resolution.

 Amazon: https://amzn.to/3I8vFi5