Shrink Solves Murder by Philippa Perry

When the body of a young man is discovered at the bottom of a cliff, the police assume he died by suicide. However, his psychotherapist, Dr. Patricia Phillips, who lives nearby, is adamant he wasn't suicidal and sets out to prove he was murdered.

I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of Shrink Solves Murder by Philippa Perry in my swag bag at the recent Bay Tales crime fiction festival. As a fan of the cosy crime genre, this sounded right up my street.

Dr. Patricia Phillips was a successful solicitor in London. Dissatisfied with her life, she retrained to become a psychotherapist and now practises from a shepherd's hut attached to her cottage on the South Downs. The death of one of her clients doesn't sit right with Pat, although most of their sessions took place via Zoom, she knows he wasn't suicidal. Along with her close friend and neighbour, Prichard, Pat is determined to prove to the police that it was murder.

From the very opening pages, I loved Pat and her "grumpy old woman" persona, particularly the way that she kept shouting at people who were doing things that annoyed her (standing too close to the cliff edge, not keeping their dog on a lead, etc). The list kept getting longer, and I found myself nodding along in agreement. Pat is obviously very empathetic, but she also has just the right mix of self-doubt and stubbornness to make her an interesting character that the reader can sympathise with. She's not a fan of social media either, and her opinions of Instagram in particular rang very true.

There is a whole host of eccentric support characters, many of whom are possible suspects. Pat's neighbour, Prichard, is only mildly eccentric, but I can see lots of scope for the character. The pair work well together, with Prichard being the comedic sidekick to Pat's straight man.

As Pat digs deeper into the events leading up to her client's death, there are some tender moments, which reflect on the aftermath of a sudden loss. There was one chapter in particular, where Pat is talking to a depressed young man, that was extremely moving, and makes you appreciate the work of those who support individuals in crisis.

 

I did find the ending a little disappointing. In an effort to keep the identity of the killer hidden until the very end, it felt a little abrupt and almost as if the murderer had been plucked out of a magician's hat. It won't, however, stop me from reading any more of what I hope will be a new cosy crime series.

Shrink Solves Murder by Philippa Perry will be published on 7th May 2026 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to Bay Tales and Hutchinson Heinemann for the proof copy.

Author Details

Philippa Perry is an artist and psychotherapist as well as a TV and radio presenter. She is the number one Sunday Times bestselling author of The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read and The Book You Want Everyone You Love* To Read?(*And Maybe a Few You Don’t), published by Cornerstone Press. Her books have been translated in over 40 languages.