The Therapist

The therapist is the novel’s antagonist and the first-person narrator of the Interludes. Juggling multiple identities, he is born John Beaumont, but to Alice, he is private investigator Thomas Grainger.

A manipulative murderer of women, his character embodies the theme of Trust and Betrayal. Keenly attuned to the psychological vulnerabilities of others, his “trick is to be who people want [him] to be” (342). Stalking and studying his potential victims, he infiltrates their lives by posing as whatever he feels they are looking for. In the cases of Marion Cartaux, Justine Bartley, and Nina Maxwell, he masquerades as a therapist. In the instance of Alice, he recognizes that she is looking for “a saviour, a redeemer” (342) who can help her make restitution for the past. Consequently, Alice trusts him implicitly, viewing him as the answer to her problems and as a potential love interest. Through the therapist’s character, Paris subverts the trope of the white knight: Instead of rushing in to save the protagonist at the last moment, he emerges as the source of the danger. His presence contributes to the sinister atmosphere of the Circle when it emerges that he has been a secret resident of the gated community all along.

Paris satisfies the requirements of a psychological thriller by providing insight into the serial killer’s mindset and motivations. Nina Maxwell assesses him as possessing “psychopathic tendencies” and a personality disorder. His delusional and misogynistic perception of women is also conveyed through his thought processes during the novel’s Interludes. Convincing himself that his victims have fallen in love with him, he punishes them when he fails to control their actions. His targets reflect the theme of The Repercussions of the Past, as they all physically resemble the girlfriend who rejected him years earlier.

Mind games are a crucial feature of the therapist’s modus operandi, and he relishes pushing his role to the limits of credibility. As Alice falls increasingly under his spell, he provides a variety of hints pointing to his own guilt. Ultimately, however, the antagonist’s arrogance proves to be his downfall. His assumption that his parents will always protect him is disproved when Lorna stabs him to death.

Leo is Alice’s live-in love interest. From the start of the narrative, Paris alerts readers to his suspicious behavior: his resistance to socializing with the neighbors, his obsession with the security of his documents, and his unlikely explanation when a strange woman confronts him in the street.

Leo deceives Alice through a number of lies and omissions. His failure to tell her about the history of their new home and his concealment of his former conviction for fraud underline the novel’s theme of Trust and Betrayal. The discovery that Leo has changed his name and is literally not who he claimed to be highlights the author’s exploration of identity and how far it is possible to truly know another person. Paris also utilizes Leo’s character as a plot device, misdirecting the attention of readers and the protagonist. Alice’s fixation on Leo’s dishonesty distracts her from identifying the real killer, placing her in increasing danger.

Leo represents the difficulties of maintaining complete honesty within close relationships. While he is a deeply flawed character, his deceit stems from his desire to prevent the stigma of his criminal past from impacting his future. Leo’s love for Alice is demonstrated as he continues to look out for her welfare after she ends the relationship. The protagonist eventually recognizes that she has judged Leo harshly, partially due to envy that he was able to atone for his crime in prison while she was denied the opportunity. Realizing that she is also guilty of lies and omissions, Alice reconsiders a future with Leo at the end of the novel.

Tamsin is initially presented as the antagonist of the narrative. While the other residents of the Circle welcome Alice to the neighborhood, Tamsin is hostile, making it clear she views her as an outsider. As the character who is most openly resistant to Alice investigating Nina’s murder, she emerges as a prime suspect.

In the course of the narrative, Tamsin’s vulnerability is gradually revealed. Like Alice, her present is haunted by The Repercussions of the Past as she battles with the trauma of her best friend’s murder and her suspicion that her husband may have been involved. Tamsin’s cold and brittle manner emerges as a facade, concealing tumultuous repressed emotions. Even her immaculately tidy home is revealed to be a symptom of her sense of powerlessness in every other area of her life. Tamsin unwittingly avoids becoming the next victim of the therapist when she cuts her long “coppery red hair” (3) after Nina’s death.

Despite her acrimonious relationship with Alice, she potentially saves her life when she reveals Oliver did not have a sister. The disclosure exposes Thomas as an impostor.

The murder of Nina Maxwell provides the mystery that drives the plot of the novel. Alice’s discovery of Nina’s fate illustrates the theme of The Repercussions of the Past. As the dead woman shared the same name as her sister, the protagonist feels an immediate connection to Nina Maxwell. In Alice’s mind, the two Ninas become interchangeable, and her quest to solve the murder reflects her thwarted desire for justice in the case of her sister’s death.

Alice’s fixation on Nina Maxwell as an emblem of her dead sister prevents her from seeing her own similarities to the dead woman. Nina had long blond hair like Alice, and their physical resemblance is emphasized when Tamsin mistakes the protagonist for her dead friend. Alice’s discovery that Nina also detected the presence of a nighttime intruder implies that she may be destined for the same fate as the murdered woman. The parallels between their lives create a sense of foreboding.

While Nina was the third victim of the therapist, the novel’s Interludes portray her as a confident and insightful woman. From her first appointment, she distinguishes herself from Marion and Jutine by dismissing the therapist’s Henry David Thoreau quotation and insisting that she is happily married. Nina’s professional experience as a therapist allows her to quickly recognize an impostor. Turning the tables on the therapist who enjoys psychologically manipulating women, she treats him as a “case study.” However, she pays for the experiment with her life.

Lorna and Edward Beamont are the most elderly residents of the Circle. The couple appears to epitomize respectability in their manner and appearance. Edward’s “neatly parted” white hair and Lorna’s trademark “string of pearls looped around her neck” convey a reassuringly old-fashioned air of propriety to their neighbors (44). Consequently, when Lorna lies to the police, framing Oliver for Nina’s murder, no one questions her account.

Throughout the text, Paris offers hints that the Beaumonts are harboring a dark secret. The couple’s reclusiveness and Lorna’s habit of clutching at her pearls betray an underlying anxiety. Meanwhile, their ambiguous whispered warnings to Alice suggest their fear of an unspecified person. The revelation that Edward had a heart attack directly following Nina Maxwell’s murder also provides a clue to their involvement in the crime.

Lorna and Edward highlight the theme of Trust and Betrayal as they successfully deceive their neighbors and the authorities. However, they are unwilling accomplices to the murders committed by their son John. Their virtual imprisonment in their home emphasizes the Circle’s dual associations of safety and danger. Having moved to the gated community to escape their son, they find themselves trapped inside it with a murderer. After years of abuse from her son, Lorna finally snaps and kills him after his actions cause Edward to suffer a fatal second heart attack.

Justine is the first client described in the novel’s Interludes and the therapist’s first murder victim. Her death is relegated to a missing-persons case when police incorrectly conclude that she ran off with her therapist. After Lorna kills her son, Justine’s body is found buried in the Beaumonts’ former garden in Bournemouth.