If you’re looking for your next thriller, Family Doctor is the book for you. You won’t look at your doctor the same after reading this book.

JM Dalgliesh delivers a gripping psychological thriller in Family Doctor, a story that plunges the reader into a chilling moral dilemma. The plot begins with a harrowing ultimatum: a doctor must kill someone to save her daughter. This sinister call sets the stage for a tale brimming with suspense, secrets, and consequences.

The story artfully weaves past and present, revealing how prior mistakes come back to haunt the characters, creating layers of tension. Dalgliesh’s writing is dark and evocative, capturing the protagonist’s turmoil and the psychological weight of her predicament. The build-up is expertly paced, keeping the reader engrossed and uneasy, with every twist amplifying the stakes.

What sets Family Doctor apart is its exploration of ethical boundaries and the fragility of human judgment under pressure. Readers will find themselves questioning how far they would go for love and justice. This novel is a must-read for fans of dark, emotionally intense thrillers that linger long after the final page.uild up is great on this story and I feel like you can really feel the darkness of the story in the writing.

What a shocking, fast paced thriller! Kelly and her teenage daughter Lauren move to a remote Scottish island to escape Kelly’s troubled past. She is the only doctor on the island and is now living a quiet life. Then the unthinkable happens; Lauren is abducted. The demand? Kelly has three days to kill one of her patients or Lauren dies. Despite a fairly basic premise, this book is dark, captivating and very tense. The atmosphere of the island adds to the drama. I recommend this fun book. With thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC. My opinions are my own.

thank you so much net galley for this arc. i really enjoy this book., about a women who her daughter gets kidnappers what her to kill a paitent or her daughter will die. loved the twist and the setting on an island.. who should she choose the alcoholic abusive man or the retired church warden.?

I didn't love it but that's not to say it wasn't a good book. It just didn't grab me like some other books have. It was a good story with some surprises.

Your search for thriller perfection is over. My heart raced as I gorged myself on Family Doctor in a mere few hours, desperate to reach the end yet not wanting it to be over. It was intense, suspenseful and anxiety inducing in all the right places. The pace was snappy the entire time and the claustrophobic atmosphere seeped into my pores. Characters were compelling and the plot was superbly executed. Unique surprises met me around every bend. I also like that the novel wasn't gritty or gory. It was JUST right.

Dr. Kelly and her daughter Lauren live on a tiny isolated Scottish island that offers a unique lifestyle as islands are wont to do. When Lauren is taken (that prologue!), her kidnapper contacts Kelly with a short but chilling set of rules. In exchange for Lauren's life, Kelly must kill a patient. How does one process that? She starts to see her patients in a new light. Though help surrounds her, she must keep her dark secret to herself. One of the rules. Her mind races to the past, present and future but she only has 72 hours. Tick, tick, tick...

The ending is extremely gratifying and unpredictable. A thriller reader's dream!

My sincere thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the pleasure of reading this novel which had my stomach in knots!

It's a true family drama based thriller, where the daughter is kidnapped and there is ongoing historical issues within the family dynamics.

The characters are well developed, that the author cleverly has you suspecting one character, only to take you off in a completely different direction! I love thrillers that keep me guessing, and this one kept me pleasantly confused up to the last few chapters. I did eventually solve the mystery before reveal (note: I read ALOT of thrillers), but I was completely sucker punched by the twist at the end!

The chapters are beautifully short with a lot of punch; my favourite kind to pick up at bedtime for a quick read before lights out. I really enjoyed it. I liked that the main character Kelly was flawed and not in any cliche way, and enjoyed slowly learning about her history as the story progressed. I must admit, I did get rather attached to a side character (the neighbour) but I'm a sucker for a sweet love interest.

All in all, a read that I'd recommend if you love family dramas, and quick easy reads.

OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!!! This book was insane. All the plot twists left me dizzy in a good way. I think I found a new insta-buy author.

I have three days to kill a patient. If I fail, my daughter will die…
Fresh and dynamic... Fast-paced and spellbinding...a book you will have a hard time putting down.

Fantastic book. I loved the storyline line & the characters . Kept me up all night and I couldn't put it down, definitely 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love a psychological thriller and Bookouture never fails to deliver with the authors they publish in this genre so I jumped at the chance to read and review this book.

Kelly and her daughter Lauren moved to a small island off the coast of Edinburgh where they had hoped to start a new life. Kelly is the only doctor on the island and was enjoying the quiet life of seeing her patients in her medical practice next to her home and occasionally making the odd house call to patients who were unable to visit her. That is, until she receives a mysterious text message and voice note confirming that someone had taken her daughter and she has three days to kill one of her patients or else her daughter Lauren would die.

Kelly is plunged into the unknown having so idea who or why someone would have taken her daughter. She then has to struggle and come to terms with the fact that she has to kill an innocent patient in exchange for the life of her daughter.

For the majority of the book I had absolutely no idea who possibly could have put Kelly in this predicament. There are then some chapters woven into the story of an event that happened in Kelly and Lauren's past which sheds some light on the 'why' Lauren was taken. But it's still a mystery as to the 'who'. There was a big twist towards the end that I did not see coming.

With short snappy chapters that move the story along at pace this was an enjoyable read which had me racing through the pages. A definite recommendation to any readers who like a psychological thriller.

This book follows, Kelly, a doctor on a remote island in Scotland who has had her daughter kidnapped. The kidnapper threatens to kill her daughter if she doesn’t murder one of her patients. The story follows her as she reflects on past life changing events leading up to the kidnapping and on her present search to find her daughter and save her life. This book had a very original premise with many twists, complex characters, and unexpected details that kept you hooked from the beginning until the end, trying to figure out the truth of it all. Over the course of the book, I suspected many different characters, but didn’t see some of the twists coming at all. Overall, it was an enjoyable, fast paced read. Thank you to J M Dalgliesh, Bookouture, and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

FAMILY DOCTOR by J. M. DALGLIESH.
Release date set for the 2nd of January 2025.
This is a shocking, suspenseful and a very tense book.
I haven't read a book like this one before.
I love a good fast paced book and this is just that.
Talk about putting someone in an impossible situation. WOW.
My first book by this author

Gripping and utterly addictive! She is the only doctor on a isolated island and someone has her daughter. To get her daughter back safe and sound all she has to do is kill one of her patients. The back story made sense and I was totally electrified by the twist at the end that leaves you wanting more. I would love a sequel!! The isolated setting made me feel alone.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
A heart stopping must read book!!!!
Hoping to escape her past Kelly moves with her daughter to the island,
Everything is going great until she receives a video text of her terrified daughter and the message —-
3 rules- 3 days
You must kill one of your patients
You must not tell a soul
You must not get caught

Gripping, shocking, pulse pounding and hard to put down! J.M. Dalgliesh had me on the edge of my seat and turning the pages in this fast-paced gripping book! Rules, rules, you must obey the rules! Kelly is the only doctor on a remote Scottish island. When her daughter, Lauren is kidnapped, she is given a set of rules that she must follow to get her daughter back! Whew!

Three Days....

Talk about pressure! Three days is all Lauren must do as the kidnapper asks. They will be the longest three days of her life! Readers, like Kelly, know her daughter has been taken and what Kelly must do to get her back, but what no one knows is who has taken Lauren and why? Readers are left scrambling along with Kelly as she struggles with still doing her job, doing her best to find her daughter, and coping with blasts from the past.

Whew! The pacing is perfection as there is never a dull moment in this book. This book has drama, tension, suspense, and a riveting mystery! I felt for many of the characters and had my heart rate increase a few times as Kelly got closer to the truth!

The setting was great and provided a nice amount of atmosphere. I love the dread which flowed throughout this book. The myriads of emotions that Kelly was feeling felt very real and leapt off the pages! There were a nice number of twists and turns in addition to a shocking reveal at the end!

This is the second book that I have read by J.M. Dalgliesh, and I can't wait to read what he writes next!

Gripping, tense, dramatic, and suspenseful!

Great book. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the next twist and there are several. Nice ending too. Looking forward to the next book by JM Dalgliesh.

This was so good! Such a twisty unexpected ending and kept me excitedly turning the pages! Cannot wait to recommend this book!

3.5, but I'll round it to a 4 because it didn't spend 5 pages doing the "explanation" bit at the end. It was brief and succinct, just the way I liked it. Being in Kelly's head was kind of meh. She wasn't the best character; nobody in the story is really likable. But if you're looking for a fast paced thriller with a good premise, this is it. I think it could've done more with the premise, and I wasn't super surprised by the outcome, but it was a solid easy read.

Loved it! An original premise and perfectly plotted out. It Lso has some amazing twists thrown in. The characters were brought to life perfectly and it all just felt really real and believable! I was absolutely hooked and couldn't wait to see how it all played out. And spoiler.... it played out absolutely nothing like I initially imagined lol