Where do I begin with this review? I did not like this very much at all, in fact I'm struggling to think of anything I did like...
First of all the blurb is slightly misleading and because of this I was expecting a lot more from the story.
This felt to be written in a jarring way and I felt it just didn't flow very well. It is too slow and therefore, dull.
All the characters main personality trait seemed to be that they didn't have any. The lead character Rachel, we are led to believe is a successful mature career woman, but she is written like she is a lovesick teenager after one short appointment with Luc. I found this to be highly irritating and spent most of the book wishing she would get a grip and grow up.
I never once felt that the connection/attraction between Rachel and Luc come across on the page, so I really didn't care about them. It also feels like not enough is actually happening.
The last 40% of the book felt to become even more ridiculous, as the author seemed to be just throwing everything out there and seeing what worked.
Unfortunately this just never worked for me and I would be wary reading anything else that this author writes.

Thank you to Netgalley/author/publisher for an advanced copy of this!

I really liked the idea of this book and the writing style but I’m not sure Rachel’s character was for me! She has a damaged relationship with her daughter and is bored in the relationship she has with her husband.

It’s not too shocking when she starts a relationship an affair with her patient, Luc (I guess he was only temporarily her patient) Based on the title I would have assumed that he was a orient for longer than roughly an hour.

With a slow start, the book starts to get interesting about 40% of the way through, there are lots of twists/plotting/ and the story really picks up.

I enjoyed this book but I guess I just didn’t seem to Rachel’s character!

4 stars for me!

Rachel is a GP who is in an unhappy marriage and begins a relationship with a patient. I'm afraid I found it hard work and boring, with little plot and unlikeable characters. The unlikeable characters bit I can cope with, if I'm invested sufficiently in the plot and I enjoy the writing style. Unfortunately, neither of those were true for me in this instance and I think the advertising around this book is misleading as, had it been marketed as a family drama I'd have been less disappointed.
It's definitely got it's fans and for those who enjoy a book about relationships and with a twist at the end, this is for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview. Just not one for me.

The Patient is a slow-burning mystery about secrets, lust, and the need to feel appreciated.

Firstly, the synopsis does nothing for this book as it doesn't give any of the main story away, merely stating that there are two characters who are attracted to one another. So I was pleasantly surprised by how everything developed instead, as The Patient is a much more character-focused story full of suspense than what I was expecting.

Although there are many thriller elements thrown in, what this book really about is Rachel, a middle-aged woman who has reached an age where she is starting to feel invisible in her life. Her husband is focusing on his career, while her daughter no longer needs her support or affection. It's such a great focus for the story as I found Rachel really compelling, trying to understand how I would feel in her situation and if I would react in the same way.

However, Rachel's relationship with her daughter, Lizzie, felt like a missed opportunity to me. I wanted to feel the tension between these two and see the emotions that were boiling up, but Lizzie's excuses came far too late. While I understand the conflicts that can arise between mother and daughter, Lizzie's attitude wasn't explained until the final few chapters, so her actions came across as ignorant and cruel instead of understandable and sympathetic.

I also found the layout of the story a little messy. The story is told in two timelines - past and present - whilst the dates at the top of each chapter are in chronological order. So I didn't really see the point in this. I was constantly on the lookout for a jump forwards in backwards in time. But instead, the timelines intertwine in quite a muddled way. I would have much preferred the before and after to be better separated as this would have added a lot more suspense, showing a bigger contrast between Rachel considering an affair and then the shocking situation she found herself in after.

There's a lot of mystery and the last section of the book is chocker-block with twists. And while I had my suspicions about every single character, I couldn't pinpoint what was going on so everything came as a surprise.

The revelations at the end, however, felt so disjointed, as if the answers were stated rather than explored. Despite everything around her turning into absolute chaos with so much going on, Rachel seemed to shrug her shoulders and simply accept what was happening to her. Her lack of reaction, therefore, meant that there was no emotional resolution to leave me feeling content.

While I did enjoy reading The Patient and believe that the characters were strongly developed, there were just too many things that didn't connect with me in this one. The potential was definitely there, but too much got in my way to appreciate it more.

This is my first Jane Shemilt novel, and I would definitely read more, entirely captivated by her descriptive style, and the intrigue written into her creation of a believable world, though quite disturbed.

I would say the synopsis from the publisher does the book no justice.

Shemilt weaves a thrilling narrative, giving appropriate depth to each character, and she paints a glorious picture of the various settings of the novel. The story is gentle to start, and builds to a suitable crescendo, with some quite vivid descriptive of some uncomfortable situations, and I raced through it in a couple of nights, to find the apt conclusion.

If I could, I would actually give this 4.5 rather than 5 stars, only because I guessed the ending long before I reached it, but it was still most enjoyable.

I've never read anything by this author before but I'm definitely going to look out for more after reading this extremely twisted and chilling thriller.

Rachel Goodchild is forty-nine, a doctor, a wife and a mother.

Just as she is about to go home one evening, a newly registered patient, Luc, arrives at her practice in a distressed state. Having failed a patient previously with depression and anxiety she doesn't want to make the same mistake again so she talks to him, makes him feel at ease, then sends him on his way with a prescription. She couldn't help noticing that he was an extremely attractive man.

Two months later, Rachel and her school teacher husband, Nathan are invited to a housewarming party for the new neighbours. Yes, you've guessed it, Luc was the husband of Ophelia who had sent the invites out!

There is a clear attraction between Rachel and Luc. Chance meetings. The touch of his hand on her shoulder when she fears she is being followed.

Rachel attends a ten day medical conference in France. Luc invites her to stay for a few days at his Grandfather's house which he is renovating.

After returning home to her husband, Rachel still thinks she is being followed so reports it to the police. Soon after, there is a murder. Is this connected?

This isn't just a thriller. It's so much more, which I wasn't expecting. The forbidden attraction between two people. A stalker. A web of lies. Jealousy. Murder. Disastrous consequences.

Written in chapters from Rachel's point of view,  past and present.

📣 Deals with mental illness.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and author for an ARC. Really happy to have discovered a new author.

The blurb for this one doesn’t do it justice! Don’t go into this expecting a doctor/ patient and drug seeking relationship because that’s really not what this is about.
The Patient is more a story of affairs, secrets and light suspense. No one in this book is telling the truth and the line between doctor and patient being blurred was handled well.
I’d say this is more of a mystery than a thriller but it was engaging and I read it in a day despite it being quite slow burn.
The writing was pleasant and kept me reading, the characters were interesting despite me not actually liking any of them in the end and whilst there were no shocking reveals the slow drip of new information was engaging and enjoyable.

I’d recommend this one to fans of slow burn mysteries who like books you can inhale in a day.

A patient
A Dr
A special and unique relationship where you can ‘tell all’ for 10 mins then you both move on……..what do you do though if the attraction between you is so strong you are both more than happy to throw away everything you have to indulge your passion? And what about the consequences that abandon may bring?
This book is, as we say, a slow burner and also very descriptive, over so at times but it is well written and handles subjects such as mental health and the menopause in the story
There are some twists and an unusual ending
A different read for me

7/10
4 Stars

Thank you to @netgalley and publishers for this gripping thriller.

A doctor-patient relationship that turns into way more than that. A murder mystery with unusual twist.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

must admit i did struggle at the beginning with this one but only at the pace...but the writer had a style of writing that kept me intrigued enough to carry on with and boy was i glad when i got to the end to find out all what had been going on

there were so many red herrings and pathways that the writer took you down...there were characters you liked and some you loathed, did not like the daughter at all...

but this is life and how we interact with people some we understand and some we dont...

will be keeping an eye out for more of this authors works

I received an E-ARC with a request for my honest review.

This book follows Rachel Goodchild from Salisbury who is a doctor, wife, and mother.

After feeling she has let a previous patient down, when an anxious patient turns up at the surgery, she agrees to see him.

She sends him on his way with a prescription, but she can’t stop thinking about him.

When they meet again, the attraction she feels continues but with secrets and murders revealed it leaves Rachel in a difficult and distressing situation.

Where will this relationship go? What secrets are eager to be revealed?

This book is certainly a book that made me feel I didn’t know where things were going. Not only with a love affair I wouldn’t expect but then with the murders, you don’t know what to believe.

There is a portrayal of mental health in the book from the start, but it all adds to the mystery of the storyline.

I didn’t particularly warm to any of the characters, especially Rachel who I thought I would. I also didn’t really feel her character felt real enough.

Overall, a suspense thriller with obsession, secrets, and murder.

I started reading this book, gave up and then gave it a second chance and glad I did. It was a great suspense book and thrilling to read.

Was fortunate enough to get an ARC from Netgalley of this book, and the premise really drew me in. There's lots of potential here, some expert manipulation and a mysterious 'treasure' to be acquired, but it's just lacking a little bit of sparkle to tie it all together. The end seems to tumble to a conclusion with a collection of disjointed paragraphs. But the way the story is built makes for an interesting read!

Every novel needs descriptions of settings, of the landscape, of passers-by, what's going through the character's mind, etc, etc, but there is surely a limit. And at 25% of the way through The Patient, I'd reached it. I know there's a good story in here just waiting to burst out and had I persevered, I'm sure it'd have been worth the effort but... with so much detail thrown in, I just got bored waiting for the story to start. So, regrettably, a DNF for me.

In The Patient, we meet our narrator Rachel, a 49-year-old GP who feels her best days are behind her. She has a fractured relationship with her daughter and is a little bored by the one with her husband, so its unsurprising when she embarks on an affair with the enigmatic Luc.

The title suggests that there is a huge doctor / patient line crossed but Luc can only very briefly be classed as her patient (like an hour) so this isn't really the dynamic explored in the story.

What does become clear is that things with Luc are not as they first seem... For a book with a linear, slower-paced start, there were more twists than I thought were coming, but this was an enjoyable addition to the overall read.

Packed full of deception, twists and a clever plotting, this was a great read but I didn't necessarily warm to any of the characters - although maybe I wasn't meant to!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

When Rachel meets Luc the attraction is instant. But she is the 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. Not all patients are telling the truth.

Rachel, a GP, is in her forties, her marriage to Nathan is stale, and her daughter is distant with her. When Luc turns up to her surgery, he's a new patient, he's clearly distressed. She helps calm him down.

The story is told from Rachel's point of view. The pace is slow. I didn't like any of the characters and I didn't trust any of them either. It's quite a dark read but it's neither tense or thrilling. The story has a dual timeline with a few twists. I didn't dislike this book but I didn't love it either.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HarperCollinsUK #HarperDiction and the author #JaneShemilt for my ARC of #ThePatient in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this story and could not put the book down. It was at times confusing as to the sequence of events but it did not detract from the story itself . After the first few changes in time sequence I just gave up looking at the dates and let the story line flow at its pace and that made it easier.
Difficult topics to cover in such a easy to read , fully emotional way. Some of the ending was predictable but the whole story kept me wanting to resolve all the issues and find out exactly what was going on.
Great author. Highly recommend this book .

Wow what a brilliant story with so many twists and turns This is my first title by this author. A slow burner of a read, It grew on me. It took a while to get into the writing style but I couldn't wait to see how it ended! I'd definitely read more from this author.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

For me i think the book missed it mark.. It got a bit confusing at times with the time line it felt very back and forth but the months never really changed.

It had promise but i just wantes that little bit more to draw me in.. Unfortunately this one was just not for me

The Patient is a contemporary domestic suspense novel set in Salisbury, England, about a middle-aged doctor who begins a relationship with a married patient, with deadly consequences. I’d read The Drowning Lesson by this author before, and had also 3-starred it, but liked the sound of this, especially since the heroine is a GP of approximately my age. It’s a well written thriller, and I did quite enjoy it, but I was put off by the universally unlikeable characters and predictable twists.

Rachel is a 49 year-old, perimenopausal empty-nester with a boring marriage and a stressful job at the local medical practice. When sexy architect Luc presents as a new emergency patient one evening, she is drawn to him, and helpless to stop herself falling into an affair when they meet again some months later. When she starts hearing footsteps behind her, Rachel initially blames stress and paranoia, but then a violent death has her questioning everything - could her lover be a murderer?

I’ve read a few books this year by former GPs, and they all make me grateful not to be one any more - then it occurred to me that contented current doctors are too busy to write books, so I’m probably getting a skewed perspective. I do like the accuracy that medical authors bring to scene-setting and plot details.

This is all told from Rachel’s first person perspective (past tense, thankfully) and initially I had a lot of sympathy for her, but this dwindled as she makes excuses for her awful adult daughter’s selfishness and rudeness, her husband’s neglect and her own lust-confused-with-love making her sure Luc must be innocent. The murder mystery wasn’t totally convincing, and I guessed who was behind it and some of the reasons why, but probably only because I read too many thrillers. I liked the descriptive passages of Salisbury and Provence, and I did get caught up in the story, but doubt it will stay with me for long. 3.5 rounded down.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the ARC. I am posting this honest review voluntarily.
The Patient is published on April 28th.