I could not get into this book, ultimately it was not form me and I could not finish it. It may be one for other readers

The Patient opens with a written account from the protagonist of her past - Rachel is in jail and is recording the events that have led her to her current situation.
Rachel is a married Dr and she makes an error in judgment, crosses a professional boundary, and gives her new patient Luc her telephone number. Not expecting to hear from him, she is astounded when she finds that Luc and his wife Ophelia are renovating a house in her neighbourhood and so begins their affair.
The book has lots of twists and turns (some of them slightly predictable) but it's the author's description of how tumlutous relationships and marriage can be that makes the book enjoyable.
A fgreat read for all of those wanting a fast paced, psychological thriller.

I enjoyed this although it was a bit of a slow burn at times. Worth preserving though for all the twists and secrets at the end.

The download date was unfortunately missed, I would be happy to re-review if it became available again. I have awarded stars for the book cover and description as they both appeal to me. I would be more than happy to re-read and review if a download becomes available. If you would like me to re-review please feel free to contact me at thesecretbookreview@gmail.com or via social media The_secret_bookreview (Instagram) or Secret_bookblog (Twitter). Thank you.

The Patient is a psychological thriller which begins at a slow pace before revealing all its secrets at the end. Rachel is a married GP with a grown up daughter who begins an affair with Luc after he seeks her help. The story develops around their relationship as well as Rachel's fear she is being stalked. After two local people knows to Rachel are brutally murdered, she becomes involved in the police investigation and the truth is rapidly uncovered.
I really struggled with the slow pace of this book, but persevered with it. The relationship between Rachel and Luc and the twists in the storyline seemed completely unbelievable compared to how mundane the first half of the novel had been. If you’re prepared to stick with it and take this book with a pinch of salt, you will enjoy it.

Overall, while I appreciate the effort put into the book, The Patient wasn't a standout read for me. If you're a fan of slow-burn suspense stories, you may enjoy it, but if you're looking for something more fast-paced and thrilling, this may not be the book for you.

After a slow start and a plot which looked like a moral and ethical dilemma storyline about a Doctor / patient love affair, the story escalated into something a whole lot darker involving deception on a large scale. Highly compelling, with interesting twists and turns.

With thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to review an advance copy.

I'm not a big fan of a slow burn and this is exactly that. Expecting a doctor/patient thriller from it's description, more of a medium/fast pace which would keep me on the edge of my seat however that was not the case. The book dragged and was more of a love affair that went wrong with not enough going on until the end.

Ooooh man the lies and deceit in this one were JUICY! Tremendous story where I didn’t know what to expect next. Very captivating and couldn’t put it down. 5 stars.

The Patient Jane Sheritt

3 stars
Dr Rachel Goodchild is a 49 year old doctor who has been married to Nathan, a teacher for 25 years. Their daughter Lizzie is 24 and a librarian in Salisbury where they all live. Rachel’s marriage and in fact her whole life seems to be stagnating. Her husband is no longer interested in her and her daughter resents her mother for all the times that, as a busy GP, Rachel has been absent.

When she is working late in her surgery one evening she is interrupted by a patient who comes in stating that he wants to commit suicide. Luc Lefevre is a 40 year old Frenchman and from the first time they meet there is an instant attraction between him and Rachel. Soon afterwards Luc is back in his cottage in France and he invites Rachel to join him and without hesitation she joins him telling her husband that she is at a convention in Paris. They have 5 days of complete bliss before Rachel returns determined to never see Luc again. However Luc’s wife, Ophelia, have bought a house in Salisbury so Luc and Rachel are thrown together again.

To begin with I thought this was a good basis for a story although relationships between doctors and patients are not allowed and if discovered, Rachel would have been struck off. However we are then introduced to Ophelia’s brother, Blake, who is an incredibly handsome and charismatic figure.

As the story progressed I thought that it became more and more improbable. Both Ophelia and Blake give versions of their lives which seem completely improbable and the boring Nathan appears to be having an affair. When two murders of innocent people are thrown into the mix I just did not believe the reasons why they were murdered and I thought the ending was just not believable.

The book was well written and easy to read but I just could not believe the plot or the actions of some of the characters.


Karen Deborah
Reviewer for Net galley

Unfortunately after multiple attempts to connect with this book I have had to mark as dnf. I think it was just too slow paced to hold my attention.

This was not what I was expecting. There's lots of twists and an interesting layout with multiple timelines which eventually converge and unique characters, especially having an older female lead. However this was more of a romance with drama and some thriller involved I wouldn't classify it completely as a thriller. Saying that, I did enjoy reading it and I was captivated by the writing I just think if you're looking for a thriller this might not be the one for you.

First time reading a book by this author but absolutely loved it and will definitely read more by her

Do not read this book on your own at night! It was seriously creepy at times and I was totally sucked in. Lots of careful plotting with unexpected outcomes, some of which I did not see coming.

Rachel is a character that I could totally relate to in many ways. It is clear that her life has reached that stage where she is not sure where to go next. She is a caring doctor who clearly works very hard and is in a long term marriage which has become stale. I did not like her husband from the outset and his actions towards her did not deserve suck loyalty. Her relationship with her daughter was broken and Nathan did nothing to help fix it. Therefore, it is of no surprise at all that Rachel embarks upon a passionate love affair - albeit, brief - with Luke. It is wrong on so many levels, but carefully developed so that you, as a reader, are sucked along, too. From here the story becomes seriously creepy with intricate plotting and twists which were breath-taking at times.

My advice to readers is to keep their eyes on all characters because no one is what they seem!!

It’s a DNF for me. I got 4 hours in to a 9 hour audio & it too slow, the characters are entirely boring & I’m just not enjoying it, I’m sorry!

3.5 rating
A set of circumstances leads Rachel into trouble. She’s a dr in Salisbury, married to a teacher, Nathan and they’re in a bit of a rut. Returning home via the surgery she’s called upon to try and help a disturbed new patient, Luc. Well first off I loved the setting and as a fairly frequent visitor to lovely Salisbury could easily picture quite a bit of what was described. Wish it hadn’t had been quite so predictable though: the bad’un was obvious right from the start and I do like to have to work a bit harder than this! Rachel was a frustrating character who made some pretty stupid decisions and the others in this book weren’t very likeable either - step forward Lizzie. I did like how it was written, but not the rather rushed ending. The main draw was where it was set and it might have been a little tedious without that as it was often slow going with a bit too many flowery descriptions.

Not quite the thriller I was expecting. This had a great deal of overblown ‘romance’ and self pity that just made this impossible to enjoy.

A captivating unusual storyline with emotional turmoil, suspense, threat and danger and a surprising twist at the end.

I enjoyed this read, although I did go into it believing it was something else.
I enjoyed the pacing and the overall vibe that this gave off. It was both creepy and gripping, a fun read!

The only regret I have about this book is that it took me so long to pick up. It’s been sitting on my shelf for a good year now thanks to @netgalley and quite honestly it deserved more than that. I had a tear in my eye when I finished it, it was everything. It had callousness, sexiness, a murder mystery, heartwarming friendship and unbounded suspicion. It had me hooked from page one and I couldn’t put it down. Demolished it within a day, pick it up.