I really liked the premise of “Please Tell Me” by Mike Omer: An eight-year-old is abducted and then returned, and she refuses to talk about her ordeal or anything else. She begins seeing a local child therapist who gently encourages her to play with toys. What the child reveals is unsettling, to say the least. The little girl demonstrates reenactments of several unsolved murders.

The main character, Robin Hart, is a complex creation. She is a PhD psychologist and specializes in helping children through therapy, but she also has her own unresolved issues going back to her own childhood. Omer leaves a trail of clues regarding Robin’s mother and the trauma Robin endured in her own childhood that isn’t really resolved until the end. In fact, one of the recurring themes in the novel is motherhood: What makes a “good” mother?

Kathy is the girl who was abducted for over a year while she was playing in her front yard. It was during COVID, and their neighborhood was quiet and safe. Claire, her mother, was right inside the house doing the dishes, but after Kathy’s disappearance, she had second-guessed everything she did leading up to the abduction. And when Kathy returns, Claire is determined to make sure she does everything possible to keep Kathy safe and help her emotionally. Her husband, Pete, doesn’t get it.

He doesn’t approve of the therapy because he doesn’t understand how Kathy’s reenactment of what she witnessed will help her heal. He thinks Robin is making her do things. We see that Robin isn’t “making” Kathy do anything. Robin provides a playroom ,and Kathy is encouraged to play with whatever she wants. There are many different possible activities, including a sandbox, art supplies, and dolls and a doll house. Kathy plays with the dolls, but in a very disturbing manner. She has one of the dolls, a creepy-looking one, kill some of the other dolls in very specific ways. Kathy also makes props for the doll house at home and brings them to use during her sessions with Robin.

When Robin realizes that some of Kathy’s play seems to resemble recent murders, she contacts the police. But there’s a fine line for therapists, and Omer carefully and accurately takes us through a description of that line (his parents and sister are psychologists and advised him regarding the responsibilities of therapists). What can Robin reveal and what should her first priority be? Helping Kathy or helping the police catch a serial killer? Or can she do both?

The story is gripping. Omer’s ability to write a tightly-knit plot combines with his likable characters and results in a novel that is extremely readable. In fact, we really want to know what happens next, so we fly through the pages. The twist at the end is nicely done. While I don’t necessarily think there is enough deep material for a book club to plumb, this is certainly a fine suspense novel and worthy of recommendation.

This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.