The Liar’s Room

Set mostly during a single marathon therapy session, this unsettling psychological thriller from British author Lelic (The New Neighbors) pits the counselor calling herself Susanna Fenton against the young man who arrives at her office one day and introduces himself as Adam Geraghty. Susanna, who has crafted a second act with her now-14-year-old daughter, Emily, after a horrific series of events 14 years earlier, instantly senses that on some level she knows Adam. When their session begins, however, his pointed questions start to suggest he’s the one who knows precisely who she is—and that unless she can manage to outmaneuver him, her carefully reconstructed life could come crashing down. Leaving or calling for help isn’t an option, given the evidence Adam supplies that he knows Emily and that her safety hinges on Susanna’s cooperation. Though the increasingly dangerous sparring between the pair does, inevitably, take on a somewhat stagy quality, the painful secrets exposed and the tragic linked past that emerges contain enough emotional truth to carry the day. [em]Agent: Caroline Wood, Felicity Bryan Assoc. (U.K.). (Jan.) [/em]