I was so excited to receive this ARC from Netgalley and it did not disappoint!!! I couldn’t put it down!!!

Review📚

I loved how this story unfolded, moving easily between past and present to reveal fragments of the current situation and corresponding past events. While there is an undercurrent of domestic abuse in Lauren’s story, a history of fabricating illness and the associated uncertainty muddies the waters a little, creating doubt over how Lauren is sustaining her injuries. Throw in a mystery involving the whereabouts of her boyfriend, and a doctor who seems to be pushing the boundaries of doctor-patient relationships and you’ve got yourself a fast paced read that reeled me in and had me binge reading into the early hours!

My only real gripes were Lauren’s ‘best friend’ - who (although she served a purpose towards the end) was just the biggest bitch to Lauren and kind of made me view her as a weaker person for even having her in her life, and Nick-the-roommate - whose presence in the story seemed a tad pointless to me 🤷🏼‍♀️

No spoilers here, but I thoroughly enjoyed this and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend 🙌🏻

⭐️4/5⭐️

Thank you @rachelsrandomresources @netgalley and @bookandtonic for my copy of The Good Patient to review 🙏🏻

Thank you Boldwood and Netgalley for this arc. I really like the mystery reading and this time I was really hooked from the start. I was wondering who is really telling the truthnor is all just matter of point of view. I always lovd different time lines

This was my first time reading anything by Alex Stone and it will not be the last. I really enjoyed the writing style. I liked the interactions between characters and how realistic they were.
This book was a very slow burn and had small twists and turns throughout. There wasn’t anything jaw dropping but the medical and family history of Lauren added an element of suspense and mystique that kept me entertained throughout. This is a true psychological thriller. The character development and unreliable narrator were perfectly executed.
My true rating is 3.5 stars
I will be posting this review on Instagram, Goodreads and Amazon

This was an interesting read, I found the plot line interesting with all of Laurens relationships with people in her life, and to be in her head about how she feels about these relationships was gripping. I was rooting for her throughout the whole book and the ending gave me hope for her. But this story did fall short for me I went into the book thinking it would have more of a thriller feel to it instead it gave off just a storyline of abuse and I felt like there was parts that just kept getting repeated which made me lose interest. It did pick up more towards the ending though so not a bad book at all it just wasn’t for me personally.

I think this is the third thriller I've read by Alex Stone and I have found her to be a bit hit and miss. Unfortunately, this one was a complete miss for me. I couldn't even see the point of it. It is meant to be a psychological thriller...even a domestic thriller would suffice...but it reads more like a messed up romance/love triangle. I made it through 20% of it before I wondered what the hell was going on as nothing was going anywhere. It was just a bunch of back and forth between the past and the present, and a slow build with a speed that was glacial. After 20% I want there to be some direction at least. But all I had was an unsure patient who ended up in a relationship with her treating ED doctor. Um...boundaries, people?

Lauren has had a tough life. She grew up being taught that love was pain. And now she's an adult in the casualty department with a suspected broken wrist. Staff have seen her come through their doors on a number of occasions with similar injuries, and the frequency of them noted. Dr Menon sees through her facade, the wall she has built up around herself.

Lauren's medical history is extensive, going back to her childhood with a mother suspected of harming her suffering Munchausen by Proxy syndrome. Her boyfriend Josh has always known about Lauren's "illnesses" and when her mother died when she was 15, she moved in with Josh and his family...and they became her second family. They gave her a sense of belonging. Until Josh told her she would always be "just a guest".

Now Lauren wakes up in hospital after a head injury following a jet ski accident. And Josh is missing. The police are there to question her, believing she had something to do with his disappearance. But Lauren swears that Josh was not with her the day she took the jet ski out. So where is Josh?

Throughout the course of the investigation, and the to-ing and fro-ing of the story, Lauren and Dr Menon (Abhilash) have developed a friendship that grows closer despite the boundaries that should separate them. Not only that, Abhilash is due to return to India in a few months to marry a bride his family have chosen for him. What I don't understand is why they continue this affair or relationship or whatever it is, when they know it isn't going to last. That he is just going to leave for India and marry another woman he hasn't even met. I don't get arranged marriages but I do respect that it is part of their culture. What I really don't get is they both knew this and yet they still continued seeing each other. To me, it was pointless. In fact, that is just how I pretty sum this book up - pointless. The whole book to me just seemed pointless.

Maybe I'm in the minority but I just don't get what the author was trying to communicate with this book. What the whole point of it even was. To me, it was just a waste of a few hours I can never get back.

I would like to thank #AlexStone, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TheGoodPatient in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

This was an interesting read. There are some triggers so may not be suitable for some readers. Overall, it was a fast read and I love the writing style. I definitely would recommend.

I loved the twists and turns in this one. So many times I wanted to yell at the characters to watch out and don't be so darn gullible, because I could see things coming that they just weren't seeing, and I absolutely love that in a thrillery read. I like when things aren't so complicated that I feel like I need a secret decoder rings, but there's enough hidden that I feel like I've Scooby Doo'd some stuff. All in all, a great read!

I picked up this title thinking it was a medical thriller but it is more of a romance driven book with a few thriller elements. Told in the first person, it is about Lauren who wakes up in the hospital after having a jet ski accident. Lauren has been in the hospital previously with a broken wrist and going further back she has had a childhood with a mother suspected of harming her with Munchhausen by Proxy syndrome. The police become involved because Lauren's boyfriend Josh was thought to be with her on the jet ski but has not been found; Lauren insists Josh was not with her on the day she took out the jet ski.

Most of the book is about a newly developed friendship between Lauren and an understanding doctor named Dr. Menon. Dr. Menon who is originally from India, seems to spend most of his time giving Lauren inspirational speeches on the order of believe in yourself and she begins to fall in love with him. The then and now sections begin to tell us more about Lauren and her relationship with Josh who was abusive. Josh's family and Emily, Lauren's only friend somehow believe her job which was really supporting the couple to be an unpaid hobby, and they feel resentful of her for not doing more for Josh. There is never any mention of Lauren being given therapy for her childhood or having even one person who was nice to her until she meets the doctor. Along with the doctor we meet his roommate Dr. Nick who may also have a crush on Lauren.

This was a quick read but I never found the plot to be interesting. We didn't find out much about Lauren's childhood and when she was questioned and accused by the police without ever being offered an attorney, the story just seemed to be a pile on about how people everywhere were against this young woman. At times it did remind me of a young adult story or perhaps a Hallmark style movie. I finished it quickly and thought the writer was talented but it wasn't the right story for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC in exchange for a review.

This book was very interesting. I liked the characters and the plot. Definitely twists and turns throughout that I didn’t see coming. I liked the quick short chapters, easy read. I wish there was more of the background of Lauren and her mom but it was good.

Wow! I totally loved this book! Such a fabulous read! I couldn't put it down. It kept me gripped from beginning to end. From the beginning I liked Abhilash and Lauren both. It's a book where you are always keep guessing ,whether they are telling truth or not. Several sensitive these are discussed deeply. Beautifully written mystery thriller. Highly recommend.”

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

This domestic thriller follows Lauren Taylor a woman with a shocking childhood past who never seems to be able to shake off her history.

When she wakes up in the hospital and learns that her boyfriend is missing, she knows the accusations will fly so keeps some of their relationship secrets.

A new friendship gives her the strength that there is someone who believes her, and cares about her.

Where is Lauren’s boyfriend? Did Lauren have anything to do with his disappearance?

This domestic thriller was a great read all the way through, as you had the mystery of who was telling the truth and learning more secrets as you move through the storyline.

There is an underlying story of domestic violence so it may not be for some people if this is a trigger for them. I will say that it doesn’t go into too much detail though, but it is mentioned throughout.

I liked how the storyline showed Lauren’s strength throughout with not only her childhood past trauma, but her life since then too. She is a brave woman and with all the accusations she receives it must be extremely hard to deal with.

Overall, a domestic thriller where the secrets and lies of a relationship are revealed.

First, I want to thank Alex Stone, Boldwood Books, NetGalley and Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with this book so I can bring you this review.

OH YES!!! The Good Patient is GOOD!!! Alex Stone is becoming one of my favorite authors! Her latest The Good Patient I found completely intriguing and fascinated me to no end!! She has a habit of writing her stories so creatively outside of the box! One reason she is becoming my go to author!

Instantaneously Alex lured me into her fast paced storyline by feeling empathy and compassion to what was going on in Lauren’s life. You know my heart strings were pulled with this storyline! She hooked me and I had so many questions that needed to be answered just from the prologue itself. Needless to say, I binge read this book!!

If you were to ask me which storyline was my favorite it would have to be Lauren’s and her relationship with her Mother. That story was deep, intense, emotional, and there were times I wanted to reach in and hug Lauren! I appreciated how Alex went back in time to when Lauren was little then flash forward to modern day.

There was a time in the book that Alex totally shocked and stumped me! I thought I knew the medical diagnosis Lauren had but I was so wrong! Alex taught me something new (besides that I am human and make mistakes).

I loved how Alex took us back in time when Lauren was young to fast forward today. In doing so we got to learn more of her backstory and see the person she became today.

By the end of the book you get a better picture of why Alex chose the title The Good Patient. Guaranteed you have not read a story like The Good Patient! This needs to be put on your TBR list and moved to the top! Oh and this book deserves way more than 5 stars!

Thank you Boldwood books for the arc!

I struggled with this one to be completely honest. The storyline had promise but I ended up just being annoyed by the main character, Lauren. The end of this book left me wanting more.

The Good Patient by Alex Stone is a medical thriller that kept me captured from the first line.
High points in my love of this book
-Dark and twisting story
-psychologically complex and heavy material
-an ending that was Cathartic without being easy to digest

If you are already a fan of thrillers and mystery or have enjoyed this authors previous works you are in for a treat.

This book was good, but the ending could have been better. I guess not every book has a happy ending though. This book definitely kept me reading and I read it in one day.

An excellent read which covers some difficult subject matters such as fabricated illness and domestic abuse. The subject matter is tackled sensitively and carefully and the overall result is a thought provoking and compelling storyline. I liked the main character and empathised with her life journey, vulnerabilities and seeming flaws. Her insecurities and issues with trust were explored and developed well and this made her a very real and credible character as well as likeable and the book a real page turner to see how her tale panned out. There were some welcome twists and turns and the ending was not obvious and a bit of a tear jerker. I wasn’t a hundred percent appeased with the reasoning behind her not sharing certain evidence with the police when given the opportunity but I’ll let that go to artistic licence and the good of the story. Otherwise completely recommend, a very enjoyable read.

My first book by Alex and certainly won't be my last.
Well written, great storyline, great characters - couldn't put it down.
Highly recommended

This medical thriller is the newest addition of the Alex Stone collection, and as per her previous reads, she grabbed me almost immediately with the opening of ‘The Good Patient.’ 

Secrets, lies and plot twists. This had me captivated. The author has wrote the storyline well, fast-paced and creatively. Stone can take sensitive content and making sure it’s done with empathy towards her readers. Although potentially triggering, the writing allows the reader to understand the characters without divulging darker than necessary. 

I have to admit I shed a little tear at the closing scene, but I am so pleased it concluded as it did. 

This latest release by Alex Stone is not my favourite, but is still incredibly enjoyable. If you are a fan of this author’s work, you will love ‘The Good Patient’ and I recommend you order a copy today!

Amazing book!! Very easy to read !! The characters were developed very well, you won’t be able to stop reading . The plot is going to blow your mind !! Please Give it a try ! Loved it