Wow...I was just left reeling by that twisty conclusion. Someone has taken the good doctor's daughter, and all she has to do is kill a patient to have her returned. Or is it really that simple? Who is behind all this? Many plausible suspects surround Dr. Kelly, but the answer comes in unexpected places. The small Scottish island setting with country folks provides the backdrop for this twisted thriller. Kelly has more gumption in her than at first glance, for sure. I thought it plodded along fairly well, but with no real surprises...until that ending! We could be set up for a sequel...and I'm here for it!
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARL. All opinions are mine.

January 2nd 2025: HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY!

The Family Doctor by J.M. Dalgliesh is the first book I've read/listened to by the author and after finishing this, I immediately added other novels from the author to my TBR list!

The premise of this book was as thrilling as I hoped it would be. In the novel, Dr. Kelly’s peaceful life on a quiet Scottish island is turned upside down when her daughter, Lauren, is kidnapped. She’s faced with a harrowing ultimatum: kill one of her patients within three days, or Lauren dies. The impossible moral dilemma built intense tension while the unpredictable twists kept me on edge, wondering just how far one would go to save their child.

Again, this is the first book I've read/listened to by J.M. Dalgliesh and I am excited to read more from him! This was a solid four star read meaning I absolutely believe fellow thriller fans will greatly enjoy this! I'm a huge fan of audiobooks and appreciated the narrator's ability to bring the characters to life. I love it when a talented narrator can communicate emotions in a way I missed while reading the book version.

Thank you NetGalley, J.M. Dalgliesh, Bookouture, and Bookouture Audio for approving my request to read/listen to this ARC in exchange for a review

Title: Family Doctor
Author: J.M. Dalgliesh
Format: 🎧
Narrator; Eiliah Beaton
Publisher: Bookouture Audio
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Pub Date: January 2, 2025
My Rating: 4 Stars!!
Pages: 311

Story is told in present day and two years from the POV of Protagonist Doctor Kelly Murry.
Dr. Murry is typically called Dr., Kelly and is the only doctor on the Isle of Jura which is a stunning remote Scottish island. She has moved to the island to restart her life with Lauren her nearly twenty year old daughter. Kelly received a strange message that she is given three days to kill a patient or else her daughter whom they have kidnapped will die.

We learned that two years ago things left apart for Kelly ~ I won’t spoiled it for you as I went into this clueless. Although I do real a lot of psychological thrillers I do know to expect a few things
 I know to be suspicious of everyone!
 I know there will secrets!
 I know that more than likely the most obvious person didn’t do it!
 I know to expect twists, turns and a BIG reveal!
Okay I was on this!! Although I was somewhat close ~
Did I figure out whodunit ~ Nope!!!

Kelly kept me reading as I was so curious what a doctor would do in this situation.
This was my first Jason Dalgliesh and I was positive I read others- I guess not but I can assure you I WILL read another!!

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this audiobook.
Publishing Release Date – January 2, 2025.

Domestic thriller set on remote Scottish island.

Kelly has escaped a checkered past by coming to the island and setting up a small clinic there. She and her teen daughter, Lauren, are making the best of things. On a day when Lauren is meant to be heading off island for an important interview, Kelly gets a message from Lauren’s phone. The directions and rules are clear. Kelly must kill one of her patients or whomever has kidnapped Lauren will instead kill her.

This was fast paced even as it stretched credulity. As Kelly richochets from being terrified to determined, she has no idea whom to trust and definitely no clue about the person who has taken her daughter. Except Kelly knows this villain must have information about events in Kelly’s past. They want to hurt her in the worst way a mother can experience.

The characters were predictable and I had figured out the twists early on. The writing style was good but overly wordy in places when action would have sufficed. I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator did an excellent job of bringing appropriate dramatic flair to the story and that enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

J.M. Dalgliesh’s *Family Doctor* delivers a solid thriller that sits comfortably in the middle of the pack. While it doesn’t completely blow the genre out of the water, it serves as a reliable “in-between” read—perfect for those looking to pad their reading goal or cleanse their palate between heavier books.

The story follows Dr. Kelly, whose character is serviceable, if not particularly remarkable. You’ll understand her motivations and follow her decision-making, though some choices—especially for someone in her profession—can feel frustratingly illogical. Still, she’s relatable enough to keep you invested.

As for the twists? They land in that sweet spot between predictable and over-the-top. While some were easy to spot, others managed to surprise me, which kept me turning the pages. The plot isn’t overly complex, and while it won’t yank you out of a reading slump, it’s far from a disappointing experience.

*Family Doctor* isn’t the thriller I’d rush to recommend to everyone, but it’s a solid addition to the genre for those who enjoy a steady, straightforward story. A good pick for when you’re in the mood for something light yet engaging.

3.5⭐
Genre ~ psychological thriller
Setting ~ Scotland
Publication date ~ January 2, 2025
Publisher ~ Bookouture
Est Page Count ~ 311 (p+ 42 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 47 minutes
Narrator ~ Eilidh Beaton
POV ~ single 1st
Featuring ~ missing daughter, dual timeline, secrets from the past, infidelity

Kelly gets a message that her daughter, Lauren, has been kidnapped. In order to get her back safely she’ll need to kill one of her patients. Can she take someone’s life in order to save another?

Who has Lauren? What is Kelly hiding from the past? Are they connected? There are plenty of suspects from the present and the past to go around. The infidelity was gross, I mean it usually is, but this one was extra gross.

Overall, at times slow moving for me, but engaging nonetheless. I didn’t not see the culprit or the twists coming, so whoop whoop for that.

Narration notes:
She did fine, and sounded like how I would think a mother in this situation should sound. Her voices for men, oof. She would slow down her tone, which made them sound odd to me. Didn’t hate it per se, but I think I might slightly like it better in book form.

I got the chance to check out a new(to me) author from a publisher I really like so I was excited. This author's work is not for me.

This takes place on a Scottish island which is interesting because my last audiobook did also. I didn't fancy it much either. Maybe this is not my atmosphere.

Dr. Kelly is the only doctor on this island. She's moved there to get away from a family-related tragedy/scandal with her equally annoying and unlikable teen daughter, Lauren.

One good thing was the book jumped right into it. Lauren disappears and her mother receives a call saying they have her daughter and that she must kill a patient and get away with it to get her daughter back. It sounds more exciting than it is.

Most of the book is Dr. Kelly rambling to herself. She's pretentious and judgmental. She has "not like the other girls" energy. She and Lauren are BEAUTIFUL but any other woman who cares about her appearance is a cheap tramp. I don't need a likable character but I need to be able to understand them somewhat and nothing she did made any sense to me.

We switched timelines from the present to the past when the scandal in question took place but I kept thinking missed something and went back looking for it. I didn't miss it, it was just not structured in a way that I enjoyed. I like to find out juicy tidbits but it would tell you something 2 chapters before it explained it and even then it was confusing. In both timelines Dr. Kelly is a snob.

The narrator did a great job with what she was working with. Sometimes Scottish or Irish accents can be difficult for me as an American in audio form but it was great.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up. This was a fast paced thriller with multiple twists as a family doctor with secrets tries to figure out how to save her daughter while also balancing a moral dilemma. I found the story pretty predictable and some of the plot choices were strange to me. Overall, I enjoyed listening to the audiobook due to the narrator and the quick progression of the book. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a good thriller! A bit over contrived, but it was a good binge read. The setting is neat. Twisty enough that I did not predict anything accurately. I didn't like the audiobook narrator for this though. She was way too chipper in the beginning and didn't seem to fit the character. She does all the other voices very well though!

Thanks to netgalley and Bookouture for a gifted audiobook and exchange from my voluntary and honest review.

1.5

Not for me at all.

I listened to the audio version, which was narrated by Eilidh Beaton. The actual recording was fine as Ms Beaton has a clear voice and didn't try too many voices. It's a problem for all women to do male voices - they always sound like they're talking down their nose. That aside there was a certain amount of pausing and sobbing which I felt unnecessary but on reading other reviews I see that the "stuttering" language was spoken in the text (w..w..what, d..d..don't - you get the idea).

The storyline is quite ridiculous. Dr Kelly (I can't remember her full name) has gone back to being a GP on the Isle of Jura after being suspended for not being able to save the lives of two girls during a pool party held at her home. (I'm still not clear on mwhy noone else could perform chest compressions on the second girl). This has caused the break up of her marriage and her daughter to become somewhat distant - I'm not clear on why. The reason for the marriage breakup is part of the plot.

The action begins one day when the daughter, Lauren, is abducted whilst on her way to the mainland. There then follows a demand by the kidnapper that his rules are followed - no police, noone else to be involved and she has to murder one of her patients in the following 72 hours - or her daughter will die.

What follows is the most ridiculous farce imaginable with Dr Kelly being given clues at every turn as to who the abductor is but completely ignoring them. (SPOILER: At one point she even ties up a completely innocent person and threatens them with death - without having a shred of evidence that they are involved).

And the conclusion is completely insane. I'm quite useless when it comes to practical things but even I know diesel doesn't behave the same way as petrol. Not only are the final panic-stricken scenes utterly ludicrous but if I had to hear "M..m...m...mum" followed by "B...b...b...baby" one more time I'd have lost the few marbles I had left.

I spent a lot of time talking to this book. It didn't make any difference. It still wasn't my thing at all. But don't take my word for it. I'm in the minority. Everyone else seems to have loved it. So it's probably just me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the audio advance review copy.

The first book finished for the year!
Thankfully it was a decent one. I listened to the audio ALC which I enjoyed listening to the accented narrator.

I am thankful to have gotten the ALC for free from Bookouture Audio through NetGalley to consume which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

This is a strange experience where I enjoyed the listen overall but I wanted to shake the FMC the entire way as she made ridiculous and unlikely decisions.

One issue I had is that the dialogue didn’t flow easily. It wasn’t natural, especially between Niall and Kelly, the husband and wife. I’m not sure if the narration contributed to that or not as at times I feel that it was just expressed bizarrely.

Overall the narrator Eilidh Beaton did a decent job. I appreciated that she spoke at a decent pace. I did however speed it up to 1.5x.

The book comes out January 2nd so you don’t have long to wait!!
My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read agai

A young woman is kidnapped and her mother, a physician on a small Scottish island, is given a choice: kill a patient or your daughter dies. The novel takes its time in slowly revealing the doctor's past and what could possibly make her the target of the kidnapper's demands. The story is unlikely, and the relationship between the mother and daughter is not nuanced enough. Also, several important plot strands are left loose at the end. Still, the audiobook is entertaining to listen to if you don't mind the (again) unlikely leaps and spins at the end. Except for the very last reveal: that one is entirely believable. 3.5 rounded up for entertainment value.
My thanks to the author, publisher, @Bookouture, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook of #FamilyDoctor for review purposes. Publication date: Jan. 10, 2025.

Family Doctor follows the only doctor on a remote Scottish island. Finally feeling safe and at-ease on the island, Kelly is startled by a link to a video stream showing that her daughter has been kidnapped. The kidnapper informs Kelly that in order to save her daughter, she must kill one of her patients.

This book feels like a wonderful mix of John Marrs and Freida McFadden. Sort of a popcorn thriller but with depth and plenty of twists and turns to keep you hooked. The story is compelling throughout and has wonderful pacing. The dialogue is strong and the characters are interesting. I really love the setting of this one. It feels like a locked room mystery since the island is so small and isolated. It truly left me guessing until the end. This is a wonderful easy read, but it certainly left my jaw on the floor!

Thank you Bookouture Audio for providing this audiobook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

THAT ENDING WAS EVERYTHING!!! The whole way through the book, it just felt kind of, eh, to me. I kept thinking this could have been better in one way or another, but then what you find out at the very end definitely made me give it another star.

The characters were slightly forgettable but overall this was a fast-paced, easy read. I will definitely be on the lookout for more books by this author.

Lauren and her Mom moved to a remote Scottish island to start a new life. Things were going well until Lauren was taken and her Mom told to kill a patient if she wanted her back alive. Who is doing this and why?

Well written and well narrated novel (I listened to the audiobook). Good characters in this well paced, atmospheric novel. Lots of tension and twists as time runs out. Will there be or can there be a happy ending?

In the Family Doctor we have Kelly who is a doctor on a small Scottish Island and one day she gets a call from a stranger who informs her that he has kidnapped her daughter Lauren and she has 72 hours to kill one of her patients or he will end Lauren’s life. Will Kelly be able to do it?

The premise of the book started off so strong and I was completely locked in with Kellys life and backstory, but along the way it started to drag out and I found myself aimlessly reading. It is definitely a slow burn but for the kind of plot this is, had It been speedier and action based it would have held more attention more strongly.

The perpetrator was a pleasant surprise and the additional twist at the end I admit I did see coming but I don’t want to ruin it with how.
The book was atmospheric and had some good likeable and unlikeable characters. I just wished the pacing had me been faster.

Will continue to scope out more of this authors work.

The story plunges into the life of a mother whose world turns upside down when her daughter goes missing. She then receives a chilling directive from an anonymous watcher: to save her daughter, she must kill one of her patients.

This book was a solid read that moved quickly. At times, I found myself deeply engrossed in the story, while at other moments, the narrative seemed to speed along effortlessly. "Family Doctor" is a good choice for those seeking a straightforward and engaging thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read “Family Doctor”. I took a break from reading thrillers/mystery books a year ago and after reading this book it made me crave more! I liked how the book switched from present day to the past so I had a better understanding of what happened leading up to her daughter’s kidnapping. This book had me guessing until the very end on who the bad guy was and that ending threw me for a shock! I also loved the pace of this book and how it didn’t take long for it to get into the thriller parts. The narrator did a really good job on this book and I would definitely read from the same author again and listen to the same narrator again!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC copy of Family Doctor! I listened to the audiobook and it did not disappoint! The first half was a bit slow and mysterious, felt like a lot of build up with more repetition than I cared to be reminded of over and over. The second half, I couldn't put down - wanting to find out what happened next. I'll admit, the story was a bit over the top, but an absolute thriller nonetheless. What sealed the 4 stars for me, was the final jaw dropping line that made me physically gasp out loud. Well done! Solid 4 stars!

Rounding up to 3 ⭐


Just an OK from me I think.
Nothing majorly wrong with it, but not really anything I can rave about either.
Predictable at times, but did throw in at least one surprise.
I was indifferent to the main family, and that makes a difference to how much you care if they make it out alive.
I'd pick up the author again, but I'm not hunting down everything they've ever written.