A Familiar Sight

Written by Brianna Labuskes

Narrated by Kate Marcin and Chris Andrew Ciulla

A shocking murder carries echoes of the past for a psychologist in a startling novel of suspense by a Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author.

Psychologist and criminologist Dr. Gretchen White is a specialist in antisocial personality disorders and violent crimes. She’s helped solve enough prominent cases for detective Patrick Shaughnessy that her own history is often overlooked: Gretchen is an admitted sociopath once suspected of killing her aunt. Shaughnessy still thinks Gretchen got away with murder. It’s not going to happen again.

When a high-profile new case lands on Shaughnessy’s desk, it seems open and shut. Remorseless teenager Viola Kent is accused of killing her mother. Amid stories of childhood horrors and Viola’s cruel manipulations, the bad seed has already been found guilty by a rapt public. But Gretchen might be seeing something in Viola no one else does: herself.

If Viola is a scapegoat, then who really did it? And what are they hiding? To find the truth, Gretchen must enter a void that is not only dark and cold-blooded, but also frighteningly familiar.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Aug 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781713554196

Brianna Labuskes

Brianna Labuskes is the Washington Post bestselling author of The Librarian of Burned Books as well as eight thrillers. For the first decade of her career, Brianna worked as a journalist for national news organizations covering politics and policy.

Reviews for A Familiar Sight

[pgchuis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was weird. It features Gretchen, a sociopath who consults for the police. Here she has questions about whether Reed's psychopathic daughter Viola killed her mother Clare. I have no expertise in psychology, but Gretchen mainly seemed to me to be very angry all the time. The present day chapters were engrossing, and I liked the banter between Gretchen and Marconi. The chapters from Reed's point of view went backwards in time and were confusing.I found the resolution to what happened to Tess puzzling and a bit underwhelming. The ending was depressing and I began to wonder if there were any characters in the book with 'normal' human emotions.

[Lena May · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Definitely an interesting perspective, but to be frank, it felt more like the author guessing (educated guessing, but still guessing) how a “sociopath” and “psychopath” may act and speak, not writing from any sort of experience. I am not familiar with this author so I could be wrong about that, but that’s how it felt reading it IMO. Almost like it was written for a YA audience; not a lot of gore or anything, not particularly thrilling or spooky…more of a whodunnit, which was okay, I guess I just expected more from a sociopath’s perspective…..this kind of felt more like Pretty Little Liars than Dexter, is what I mean lol

Audiobook: the narration is fine, though attempts at Boston/Southie accents fall a bit flat
All in all: glad I read it, will likely read the others in the series
Rating: probably closer to a 2.75 than 3

[paulagalvan-323293 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was surprised to find Dr. Gretchen White, a police consultant, was a diagnosed sociopath suspected of killing her mother! Since seriously flawed and abused protagonists have become the norm, this gave this book a refreshing new angle. That said, that theme became somewhat overdone because of all the psychopathic tendencies of the characters. However, scary, unpredictable characters are needed for an excellent psychological thriller. The author told the story by skipping back and forth within a twenty-year timespan, which made sense in the end, but I think I suffered a minor whiplash along the way. But there were enough plot twists, some very unique, that I want to see what Dr. White is up to and will look forward to the next book in the series.

[cathyskye · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

None of the characters in Labuskes' A Familiar Sight really reached out and grabbed me. It was the puzzle of the plot that kept me hooked. Filthy rich Dr. Gretchen White who refuses to lock the doors of her Porsche and loves toying with people always remained a bit gimmicky to me instead of feeling human. Marconi, the sergeant assigned to follow White around, was the only character that piqued my interest. She had the smarts to adapt to White's idiosyncrasies, and both White and I appreciated her skills.A lot of your reactions to this book will hinge on how you feel about Gretchen White. May you get along with her better than I did. Even though the story is compelling, the characters aren't calling me back for more.

[zoes_human · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I so wanted to love this. The lead is a nonviolent sociopath. Individuals with this mental health issue are consistently portrayed as serial killers, and I was excited to see someone managing the condition cast in a role as a whole person. Unfortunately, as cool as all that is, the book was too predictable for me. No surprises. No shocks. Nothing unanticipated. Pleasant enough to read, but not what I want from a suspense book.