Book Review for Closure by Garrett Addison

I received this book for free. This does not impact my review in any shape or form. 

Closure, by Garrett Addison, is a psychological thriller about how far someone will go to get justice, no matter how cruel this might be. The book introduces Dr. James Malter, a clinical psychologist dedicated to helping hospice patients find peace before they die. After being accosted by Detective Nate Kelshaw, Malter suddenly finds himself in the middle of a criminal investigation, in which his patients have begun to kill people. As bodies start piling up, Kelshaw and Malter must find the link between his patients and the victims before another innocent is caught in the crossfire. 

I’ve got to admit; in the beginning, Nate Kelshaw was a complete dick. While I do understand the frustration he has with Malter, especially since he treated his wife, you catch more flies with honey. Hell, if only he’d been a little nicer the investigation could’ve started much sooner, and the body count could’ve been cut down in half. That being said, I do like how they were able to come together, if only to try to protect Melanie, even if it took an arm and a leg to get them there. Moreover, I liked the dichotomy that Nigel and Tom had. Although Tom had destroyed an innocent, in the end he got to live, even if it meant being tortured by the memories of his transgressions. Nigel, on the other hand, doesn’t have that luxury. Despite him becoming a monster, he embraced it, never minding what Jenny wanted, or Matter, for that matter. They became shells of what they once were, and for all their preening and posturing, they both ended up suffering the same fate.

That being said, the book does posit interesting questions on how someone should handle grief. If we were going off of clinical definitions, it’s easy to see how their grief would be dismissed by the mental health professionals, even loved ones. It begs the question what lengths people will go through to get justice, especially when they’ve got nothing left, and no one else is willing to give it to them. It reminded me of a detective series I used to read when I was a kid, where the murderer was a teenaged girl who was dying of cancer. It doesn’t matter what punishment the judge handed her; in the end there’s only so much anyone can do. Similarly, the way Tom treats his punishment harkens back to Crime and Punishment, in which the character was tortured by his own conscience. Similarly, Tom tries to go through the same journey, being repentant, avoiding people, love, intimacy, everything. And yet, Nigel makes a point; Tom got to live his life the way he chose. The same couldn’t be said of Jenny. 

I have to admit; the somewhat happy ending seems out of place. Despite that, I enjoyed the intricate plot lines and complex themes. As such, I would give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars.