Thank you Net Galley for an audio copy of The Surgeon by Leslie Wolfe. I loved this book! There are so many twists and turns. I need a Part 2! This book kept me on my toes with every minute!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

Anne is a well known heart surgeon in Chicago with an impeccable track record until she loses her first patient. He died only after she recognized him. Did she do her best to save him? The ADA Paula is after Anne.

The Surgeon was suspenseful & had some great twists, but all in all I had a hard time liking any of the characters. There were some great plots & great twists. I couldn’t get over the fact that Anne was so childish. She was a top performing surgeon, if not the best, and I had a hard time believing she wouldn’t be a strong, powerful woman. I think I would’ve like it more had Anne been a little more bad ass.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
I will start by saying that this was a DNF for me. I hated to not finish an ARC but I couldn’t continue to commit the time to a book I wasn’t enjoying. I had the audiobook and got about halfway through before deciding I wasn’t going to continue the other 5 hours of listening. I’m still going to rate and review because I do have opinions to discuss about what worked and didn’t work for me.
Heart surgeon Anne Wiley loses her first patient and spends what feels like chapter after chapter obsessing over the same few questions of whether she intentionally let the patient die or not and if she realized it was someone from her past before or after they died. First of all I found it very unbelievable that a heart surgeon hadn’t lost a patient for their entire 12 year career to this point. Heart surgeons operate on very sick people and very old people. I just can’t buy that she had never lost a patient until this one. Next, a bada$$ heart surgeon with that kind of record should have self esteem in droves. This character whines a lot. She is completely insecure and that doesn’t fit with the doctor image she should be projecting and just wasn’t a likeable character to me. Added to that the narrator reads the character very whiny. To be fair since I think the character is whining that probably works but it’s not enjoyable to listen to. It was a couple hours into the audiobook before I figured out where the other viewpoint even tied in. I do wish I learned what actually happened to her sister and if the doctor did something to cause the patient to die or not… but not enough to invest another 5 hours of listening. Some of the other reviews describe a slow start and then it picking up. I hope that’s true and would possibly even recommend an edit to take out some of the repetitive thinking of Dr. Wiley to move the beginning of the story along quicker. Possibly reframe the doubts she has in a more assertive way or give us the background for her sister sooner so we can side and identify with the main character more earlier on. The idea for the story is good it just wasn’t for me the way it was executed here.

Anne Wiley looses her first patient on the operating table. A constant and obsessive perfectionist - Anne cannot let it go. The daughter of prestigious surgeon and operating nurse, failure is simply not a part of Anne's life. As Anne struggles with her guilt, she can't help but question did her brief glimpse at the patient's face seal his death?
Paula is having an obsessive affair with Anne's husband, As a candidate for mayor, Paula cannot help but lust for Derreck - and his potential power. As a very successful member of the State's Attorney office, she feeds off of Derreck's lust. But his devotion to his wife - that must end.
A well setup plot and twists - I just could not get past Anne's ongoing waffling. Amazing character building but I could not get past Anne's constant insecurity.

The narrator reads at the perfect pace and with the right emotion. The story centers around a patient that dies in the surgeon’s table. At the end of the surgery, the surgeon recognizes the patient as someone from her past. The story is well thought out and has a lot of twists. Some of the conversations seem to drag on longer than necessary but overall the story is worth the listen.

3.75 out of 5 stars

This is my first novel by Leslie Wolfe and I am certain I will be reading more by them.

Anne Wiley is a successful surgeon who has never lost a patient.... until now when she does lose a patient after getting a glimpse of his face. The question is did she actively let him die or was there something she could have done to save him? With a detective who is determined to arrest Anne no matter what Anne is in the fight of her life.

I loved that the novel is set in Chicago (One of the best cities) and I really enjoyed the cat and mouse game playing out. Gwendolyn Druyor was a fantastic character who managed to make each character different.

I did have a few issues, I thought that in many ways Anne could have been a bit sharper but I enjoyed the story and the characters

although had a slow start once the story got going and I felt invested in the story I couldn’t put it down! It was full of twist and kept surprising me constantly with the way the story unfolded,

This was a good listen - narration was a little robotic sounding, but not enough to detract from the story. There was some predictability to the plot, but also a few hard twists that caught me by surprise. This would be a great summer poolside read/listen!

The Surgeon was a really good thriller. I was kept engaged and wondering what would come next. The twist at the end had my jaw dropped because I was just not expecting it at all. I liked how it was told from the view of the surgeon and the district attorney investigating the death of the patient. The narrator was good.

In the book The Surgeon, author Leslie Wolfe weaves a story of what happens when a heart surgeon suddenly recognizes the patient she’s doing heart surgery on. And the patient is a very bad man who did unspeakable things to her sister. Dr. Anne Wiley seems to have it all. Success as a heart surgeon, a husband who is a successful lawyer and running for mayor, and has a wealthy family heritage. But all is not as it seems. And one decision to stop reviving a patient, a very bad man, results in the secrets coming out!
This was a good story that kept you guessing. I did not like the ending. The audio-book narration was alright. I would recommend this book. I received a copy of this audio-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for gifting me an audio ARC of this thriller by Leslie Wolfe and wonderfully narrated by Gwendolyn Druyor- 4 stars!

Dr. Anne Wiley, a renowned heart surgeon, had never lost a patient before until today. When she saw the face of the patient she was operating on, everything changed. Now she can't let it go. Neither can an aggressive, determined assistant district attorney, Paula Fuselier, who learns about the patient's death and wants to prosecute. What are her ulterior motives?

This was a good mystery, with alternating POV from both Anne and Paula. Neither of these characters are completely likable, yet their stories are intriguing. There are plenty of twists that I didn't see coming! This is my first book from this author and looking forward to exploring more of her work.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for my copy of The Surgeon by Leslie Wolff

Anne is a cardio surgeon who just lost her first patient on the table. Did she do something to cause his death? Could she have prevented it? Did she want to? I loved how Leslie Wolff let the story slowly unravel and just when you thought you had everything figured out, here comes a plot twist! This was my first book by Leslie Wolff and I will definitely be checking out more of her books!

Good twists and turns. Keep me at the edge of my seat throughout. Would be interested in more of Leslie’s books.

I really enjoy reading mystery/thriller style stories, but oftentimes, they miss the mark for me.
This is NOT one of those books!
I had such an enjoyable time reading The Surgeon.
I think the author, Leslie Wolfe, did a great job in crafting a story that leads the reader down a specific path, and then obliterates that path and turns everything on its head.
This book reinforces how fun it is to be surprised by a story!
The characters are complex, at times frustrating and unlikable, and that adds to the tension that Wolfe masterfully creates.
The plot is quick moving and keeps the reader on their toes.
The ending is shock, after unexpected shock.
There is some monotony to the inner monologue of the main character and the supposed villain's reasoning for their actions is a little clunky, but it doesn't take away from the overall story.
I would highly recommend The Surgeon!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the free e-audio book in exchange for an honest review.

Ann is heart surgeon who has not lost a patient in the 12 years of practice. The hospital has promoted this so much that she is on billboards across the city. Today, she loses her first patient on her operating table and when she looks at his face, shorn of all hair, she recognizes him as someone she hoped would never live. Did she intentionally kill him? Does anyone else know her relationship to him? Will she be arrested? Fired? Will it ruin her marriage and her life? Ann does not know who to trust, including herself.

This is a slow burn, psychological, twisty thriller. Some of the twists I anticipated and some I did not. Also, I commend the author on her medical research as this was a very well written doctor/medical thriller. However, I did not like Ann. To be a female surgeon and the face of the hospital, she should be a very strong, unemotional, clinical, arrogant person. Instead, we have a weak, emotional, puddle of a doctor that just did not match her position. I found her personality very unbelievable and irritating.

The character that I did not like but found very believable was Assistant State Attorney Paula. She is very real and nasty. Having an affair with a married man (Ann's husband) and awaiting her next big case, she pounces on the death of the man on Ann's table to make a name for herself.

I have mixed thoughts about this book. I think there are 2 things for me that make this a 3 star book: the weak character of Ann and the narration. I really dislike audio books that sound like autobots. I do not recommend the audio book and think I would have liked this more if I read it.

If you like medical thrillers, pick up the book and give it a whirl. Don't get the audio version!

This was a very good book.

If you like stories with unlikable characters and a good mystery then this book is for you.

‘Trusted surgeon. Loving wife. Murderer?’ - cover tag line.

My thanks to Bookouture Audio for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The Surgeon’ by Leslie Wolfe. The audiobook was narrated by Gwendolyn Druyor.

This medical/crime thriller proved a highly engaging read. Like most crime and psychological thrillers, I read it ‘cold’ in order to avoid spoilers. So just a brief overview.

Chicago-based Anne Whiley is a cardiothoracic surgeon who in her twelve year career has not lost a patient. Until today. As she calls time of death we are made aware that although she hadn’t recognised her patient during the pre-operative consults, when she looks behind the drape she realises that he is someone that she hates. Had this led to his death?

As Anne wrestles with her conscience and looks into possible medical reasons for the death, she is shocked to learn that Paula Fuselier of the State’s Attorney Office is investigating the death. Her world is threatening to come crashing down, ruining both her career and marriage.

While I enjoyed this novel I did find it rather strained credibility that given the serious nature of cardiothoracic surgery that this was the first time that Anne had experienced losing a patient. In addition, her constant anxiety that she was about to be arrested for murder seemed like a catastrophic expectation given the circumstances. I could imagine a good defence attorney demolishing the case especially given Paula’s toxic behaviour.

Still, I set aside these quibbles as it really was a gripping thriller with plenty of twists and turns. It was the kind of book that I found almost impossible to put down.

With respect to the audiobook, Gwendolyn Druyor has served as narrator on almost 300 titles, including a number by Leslie Wolfe. I felt that she did a good job with this audiobook and I enjoyed the contrast between those chapters told from the viewpoints of Anne and Paula. A change of tone and inflection differentiated between Anne’s sense of service and dedication versus Paula’s nastiness and ambition.

Overall, while this was the first novel I have read by Leslie Wolfe, I certainly am interested in reading more of her works.

I really have mixed emotions for this book, there were some parts that I didn't like only because it sounded like it was a force fit.

Dr. Anne Wiley, the surgeon in the story is married to a very loving man named Derreck - she has huge success rate and has never lost a patient on the operating table till date. But one day, something goes wrong and a man ends up losing his life on her operating table. There's a lot of repetitive parts where Dr. Anne rants the name of the man whenever she thinks of the death. It goes on a for quite a bit, and kind of killed the essence of suspense.
I don’t usually like giving low rating, but this was honestly 2.5/5 for me as I didn’t see much development of the story, characters.
Thanks to Netgalley, Leslie Wolfe & bookouture audio for approving the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This thriller is so dark and twisty, I was obsessed flying through the chapters at breakneck speed. I was obsessed and barely put it down til the end and WOW that ending was crazy and I thing there is definitely a room a sequel. This is such a complicated twisty thriller with multiple POVs. I don't want to say too much and risk giving away spoilers. All I will say is that if you like a dark suspenseful thriller then this is perfect.