I loved the twists in this fantastic thriller. The build up is slow but in the best way, simply adding to the tension. Great characters and a fantastic read- I highly recommend it

The start of this book is brilliant, atmospheric and tense. The ending is good, however the middle is a bit drawn out and confusing.

Rachel is a GP who finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation, we know she has been called in for questioning but we are not sure what role she is thought to have played. The narrative jumps back and forth from present day to memories of recent events. And the transitions between the 2 are not always clear.

None of the characters are very likeable, although some become more understandable as the book goes on.

The middle was drawn out and overly complicated. The last part was good, if still a little confusing. We don’t fully learn everyone’s motives but we know enough to have some resolution.

I found The Patient to be a slow burning mystery rather than the page turning thriller I had expected. None of the characters were particularly likeable and, although I finished it, it just did not work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

A well written thriller, with a good beginning setting up the believable characters in a city setting and including just the right amount of hints as to what might happen.
However, the closer the book came to the convoluted ending the less interested I became as the unbelievable twists were piled on.
Thank you to netgalley and Harper Collins for an advance copy of this book

I loved this book, at first I was a bit confused (only because I like to know what's happened haha) but as the story unfolded I quickly understood that things had not gone right. I loved how the pieces came together as the story unfolded and found I couldn't read it quick enough!

What happens if you fall in love with one of your patients? Would you risk everything for your new found love, and new found life? That's what happens to Rachel, when she meets Luc in her GP surgery one late evening. Her first thought is to help him, but then that help turns into something else when she discovers that they are neighbours.

How far will Rachel go to be with Luc, and how much does she really know about him?

The Patient is a gripping psychological thriller that will keep you guessing right until the end.

I was expecting a thriller nap but it was more of a mystery. I found it very slow and felt that none of the characters were very likeable and really nasty to each other, I did skim read a lot of this book, overall I was quite disappointed

I’m quite torn with this book. There are parts of it I really enjoyed and others where I struggled a bit. It felt like it was part psychological thriller and part domestic noir and the parts didn’t quite gel for me with neither quite winning me over. Overall though it is an ok read.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Sometimes I loved it, other times I disliked it intensely. So this review is difficult to write. Not sure how I feel about this book except to say it didn’t excite me as much as I thought it would. So, I’m only giving it three stars. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This wasn’t the book for me. The blurb suggested it would be a page turning thriller and at 30% through I wasn’t turning pages and I wasn’t thrilled. The characters aren’t likeable as a psychologist myself. I couldn’t separate myself from the unethical decisions being made.

This wasn’t the book for me but if you like slow burn domestic novels, this could be the one for you.

What a fantastic rollercoaster of emotions! Rachel is the main character in this novel she is a GP with a husband- Nathan and a grown up daughter Laura ( who doesn't want anything to do with her!) Rachel is bored with her life until she meets Luc, a newcomer, in her surgery one night he's depressed and needs to talk! The attraction seems instant, and she gives him a prescription but then doesn't see him until a few months later when it turns out he and his family have bought a house near her.... And so begins a passionate affair, the problem is Luc and the family all have their own secrets, but has Rachel fallen to much in love to see what is in front of her? The murders soon start and Luc gets arrested because all the evidence points to him and because he was manic at the time this is how the murders occurred. Rachel doesn't believe that Luc could be capable of murder, even in a manic/ psychotic state but then she gets accused of being an accomplice!!!

Loved this novel, haven't read any by Jane before but I will be looking out for them now. Highly recommended if I could give more than 5 stars I would!!

Wow, thank you to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and Netgalley for the invitation to read The Patient. What a treat.

I love it when you know or have been to the the location of a book and The Patient took me right back to the Salisbury Cathedral Close are of Salisbury, and indulges your imagination with the fantastic descriptive writing of Jane Shemilt.

I started this book with no expectations as had never heard of or read a book or by Jane Shemilt before, but will definitely be looking out for more by this author and checking out previous books, as if they are anywhere near as good as this, I will thoroughly enjoy them.

In this book Rachel Goodchild, a local GP meets Luc late one evening at the practice, the attraction is instant.
But she is a doctor, and he is her patient. She gives him the drugs he needs – but in doing so, risks everything.
And when a secret is exposed, they’re both in the firing line. He's not only her patient but a neighbour too and there's a very tangled web to uncover. The book is told from Rachel's perspective and flits between the present and the past and flows perfectly. I loved

It is an incredibly well written and unpredictable psychological thriller and really hard to put down as it is so exciting, and love the mix of betrayal, obsession and nervousness and 'its worth the wait for the fantastic twisty ending.

My only negative was that I don't think the blurb really did this book a justice as there is so much more to it. than that.

I’d like to thank HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Patient’ written by Jane Shemilt in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Rachel Goodchild is much-respected GP and married to schoolteacher Nathan, and though their marriage isn’t unhappy it’s become stale and dull. So when Rachel meets Luc Lefevre, a new neighbour who’s briefly her patient, there’s an instant attraction that she’s unable to ignore, nor does she want to. But a relationship with him can be her downfall by ending her marriage and her career.

The book focuses on Rachel, her family relationships and her love affair and at the beginning I enjoyed the story although I thought it was more of a family drama than a mystery thriller. It was clear from the start that Rachel was being questioned by the police but it wasn’t until later we discovered why. I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable and the story was so slow I was tempted to jump over bits but I’m glad I didn’t as I became more involved as it went on. The story had some good visualisations and I was hoping it would build up to a dramatic ending but I was disappointed as it seemed to fall flat towards the end, almost as if the author couldn’t think of another way to finish. To sum it up, I enjoyed the story but wouldn’t have been disappointed if I hadn’t read it.

Rachel is a middle aged doctor living in Salisbury with her teacher husband. A terribly respectable, rather boring existence, the only fly in the ointment being her tricky relationship with her grown up daughter who has recently moved back to the town.
An unplanned appointment with Luc, a distressed and mentally disturbed patient, awakens new feelings in Rachel. When they meet again a few months later the attraction is intense and a passionate affair begins. However, there is far more to Luc and his family than meets the eye and death follows them to the quiet streets of Salisbury.
I really enjoyed The Patient. It’s is well plotted and written and leads you exactly where the writer wants you to go. It’s not really a thriller, more a domestic drama. I had a good idea where we were going by the last quarter but it still had some surprises and it was throughly enjoyable finding out the denouement. I would imagine I would have devoured it in a day on a sun lounger.
Thank you to #netgalley and #harpercollinsuk for allowing me to review this ARC

A dark domestic thriller.
Rachel is a GP , who begins a passionate affair with a one time patient Luc. This in turn leads to devastating consequences for them both .
The story is a slow burn and includes a few twists and turns . Murders , stalking , obsession all feature in this story.
The writing is strong but slowed paced and I enjoyed the final twists .
A solid story .
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK .

The Patient was more of a domestic mystery rather than the thriller it was said to be but on this occasion it didn’t hinder my ability to enjoy this book.
Rachel Goodchild is late forties and a doctor, she is finding that the distance between herself and her husband is growing and her adult daughter just can’t seem to abide being anywhere near her. Rachel’s life is just plodding along until a patient sits in front of her in tears feeling like killing himself. Rachel prescribes him some medicine to help and advises he seeks help further the next day. She strangely feels attracted to Luc but tries to think nothing of it. Rachel and her husband Nathan are invited to a house warming at the newly renovated canonry and the owners are Luc and his wife Ophelia. Rachel wanders out into the garden with Luc and it’s pretty obvious that although he is younger than her he is attracted to her. An affair starts and also the start of murder and disastrous consequences for Rachel.
Although this was a slow burner it made me want to read it, I enjoyed the different timelines and thought it worked well. The structure and plot line was good and there were some decent twists and turns in there. I just wish the ending had explained a few more loose threads than it did.
I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

The book centres on Rachel – a 49 year old GP. She is bored in her marriage to a local school teacher, and her grown up librarian daughter doesn’t seem to want anything to do with her – and she feels peri menopausal and invisible. Having a central character the same(ish!) age as me was interesting.

Rachel’s first dealings with Luc are as a patient – after hours one evening at her surgery – but this is only a very small part of the storyline.

Luc and his glamourous wife Ophelia, and extended family, have moved to Salisbury (the cathedral – famous for the fact that Russian spies like to visit it – is almost a character in its own right!!) and Rachel and her family are invited to their housewarming party – and from there the storyline develops.

The plot twists and turns – in Salisbury and France – and you’re never quite sure whom to trust. I have to say that some of the twists I guessed – whilst others were a total shock – which gave me the right level of smugness whilst still enjoying the ride!

I really enjoyed the book and will definitely look out for more books by this author in the future.

The Patient is released next week, 28 April 2022. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Description 🔖

When Rachel and Luc meet, their attraction is palpable and instant, but not conventional. Rachel is a doctor and Luc is her patient.

Decisions are made that puts everything on the line for Rachel and when a huge secret is unveiled, both of them are in the firing line in a serious way. Someone or everyone is lying. What is the truth?

General Thoughts 🤔

What a whirlwind this book was. This is the quickest I’ve gotten through a book in a while (audiobooks aside). I just could not put this down and devoured the chapters like I was reading on a deadline. I thought that The Patient was very moreish right from the offset and the pace of the book started fast and continued on that trajectory.

The last third of the book felt like someone was toying with my emotions and laughing at me. Just when I thought I had gotten to the truth, there was a loose thread and I figured out there was a lie somewhere. And then the same thing would happen again. This was definitely a book that kept me on my toes.

Characters 👫👭👬

Rachel was the main character in The Patient and the story was told from her perspective. I had a weird connection with this character in that I thought that she was emotionless at times and I couldn’t quite understand her POV, but then at others, my heart broke for her. I think she had a taste of what her life could/should have been and from that point on, life as she knew it maybe felt bland and not where she was supposed to be.

Rachel’s daughter Lizzie got under my skin. She had a very obvious problem with her mother, however didn’t take any adult steps to try and resolve anything. She came across like a bit of a brat to me and I just wanted her to cut her mother a bit of slack and give her a chance.

Writing Style ✍️

I really enjoyed the tone of this entire story. The author was able to create a sense of unease right from the beginning which was maintained and increased throughout the rest of the book. She was also able to keep the story compelling by weaving an unpredictable plot that was full of twists and turns.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

I started this book without having a clue what it was going to be about (the blurb certainly keeps it mysterious) and I was so pleasantly surprised. It was brilliantly paced with just the right amount of eerie, spin chilling tension. This is the first psychological thriller that I’ve read in a while that has truly taken me by surprise; 100% worth a read.

I had high hopes for The Patient but It was a really slow burn with way too make background and character building for me. Usually I enjoy this but I just did not care for any of the characters and what was happening to them.

Thanks to the publisher for this book. Can't love them all

Thank you to Netgalley and the oh lsiher for approving me for this arc

I didn’t like the flow that much of this book, I’m not sure if it was me as I couldn’t read a chunk ag a time. I didn’t gel with the book well.

I hope others found this better than I did