The Family Doctor by JM Dalgliesh

I received the audiobook for this from NetGalley in return for my honest review.

First off, this book hooked me from the start. It’s pretty fast paced all throughout and the narrator was great, especially with all the different characters voices. It really felt like there were multiple persons acting out each part.

So, Kelly is the main character, and she’s a doctor and mom to Lauren. One day Kelly receives a video call claiming that her daughter has been kidnapped and the only way to get her back is to kill one of her patients, and she only has 3 days!

The story goes back and forth between 2 years in the past and present and you learn about Kelly’s troubles past and answers to why Lauren was kidnapped.

The story is super gripping and will leave you on the edge of your seat. There are multiple twists that I never saw coming!

I highly recommend this one!

I couldn’t stop listening to this book! I finished it in two days because I had to know what happened. At first, I was like meh this is going to be boring I’ve already figured out the twist, but then nope I was all wrong! I never saw the twists coming! There were a couple times I caught on to certain things happening, but for the most part I was left guessing as to what was going to happen!

What a ride! I’m new to J.M. Dalgliesh and this was an intense introduction. I was immediately drawn in by the isolated setting of a small Scottish island and the underlying question of how the main character, Kelly, and her daughter ended up there.

The author quickly throws a firework into the mix with the kidnapping of Kelly’s daughter and a threat to kill her if Kelly - a doctor - doesn’t kill one of her patients. From then on I was analysing each character, wondering if they were the one who had it in for Kelly, and more importantly why they had it in for her. Kelly herself is not entirely likeable and the cat and mouse game often swings around, making her the hunter.

I was pleased to be doubly surprised at the end of the book. The narration by Eilidh Beaton was excellent.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to access this ARC.

JM Dalgliesh’s Family Doctor is a slow-burn thriller that builds up to some truly shocking twists. The story alternates between two timelines, giving readers a glimpse into the past and how it ties into the present-day mystery.

While the beginning felt slow and took some effort to get into, the second half made up for it with its suspense and surprises. The dual timelines added a unique layer to the story, and I especially enjoyed how everything came together in the end. The audiobook narrator was fantastic and really brought the characters to life.

I’d give this one 3.5 out of 5 stars—not quite a 4 because of the slow start, but still an enjoyable read for fans of thrillers with a touch of psychological depth.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. This one took a while for me to really get into and I actually had to re start it a couple times. The beginning was kind of eh and a little predictable. The two timelines were interesting but also confusing because the past timeline really flip flopped a lot. Overall I ended up enjoying it and the ending was a surprise but not too unexpected as I thought there was more to the story.
Narration was good and I liked the island setting.

I could not stop listening to this audiobook once I started it because I just had to know what was going to happen. While I did suspect one person of being behind Lauren's disappearance, I was thrown for a loop and was still surprised by the ending. Plenty of twists and turns without getting too convoluted to follow along. This one is pretty fast paced and will have you flipping the pages or listening until you can't anymore. As a parent, this book may make you ponder what you would do if your child was being held hostage with some outrageous demands. I was on the edge of my seat.

The only thing I wish would have been different was the daughter's POV. I wish we would have gotten more from that angle but I understand the author's decision based on the events in the book.

The audiobook narrator Eilidh Beaton has a wonderful narration tone and pace.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for access to the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



✨ moms love, whatever it takes, thriller.



✨ oh the pressure of this story is insane.
Listening to this while I do our Christmas dinner is brutal as I can’t stop🤣 fast paced and just adrenaline rush I would say.
A mums love for her daughter, as a doctor she must have to choose between her career or to save her only daughter.
The ending of this is quite sad but atleast great outcome at the end.



✨ Thankyou @bookouture for the opportunity to listen to this arc for a honest review .



✨ shaye.reads

3.5 stars ✨

The Family Doctor by J.M. Dalgliesh is a gripping and thought-provoking psychological thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. Set on a remote Scottish island, the story follows a seemingly ordinary family doctor whose life unravels as dark secrets are exposed. Dalgliesh masterfully blends suspense, tension, and complex character dynamics, creating a narrative that’s both chilling and emotionally engaging. The book explores themes of trust, betrayal, and the hidden lives people lead, making it a compelling read for fans of psychological dramas and mystery thrillers. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, wasn’t quite a 4 star book for me because I did predict a lot of the twists, but was still a solid read.

Wow.. This was fantastic...

This is the first time I've listened to an audiobook by this author, and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. Absolutely beautifully narrated by Eilidh Beaton, the story just flowed from pitch, tone, and delivery. All characters were brought to life in their own unique way amazingly well, by this one narrator really did justice to the storyline.

As the only doctor on the Scottish island of Jura, Kelly has moved here to restart her life with her teenage daughter and of course being a doctor she gets to know many of the people's lives their inner most secrets and some of what goes on behind closed doors that maybe not many others would be privy to but would this make her a target? When her daughter is kidnapped on the way to an interview, Kelly has been given strict instructions on how to proceed if she wants her daughter home safe and well.. Can she save her daughter? Will she stick to the rules? Who could be behind all this? Will she figure it out before it's too late?

Really is intriguing right to the very end, and what a twist.. Absolutely brilliant..!!

5 stars 🌟 all the way

With much gratitude to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to this ARC in return for an open, honest review. Best of luck with publication in January 2025 🎊 📚 🎧

This is how you write a thriller, edge of the seat stuff!

I DIDN’T FIGURE IT OUT 😵😵😵

Set on the Isle of Jura, Dr. Kelly has 3 days to murder a patient to ensure the safe return of her daughter. Can she do it? Who could possibly have taken her daughter and why?

Buckle up and find out.

J. M. Dalgliesh’s writing pairs perfectly with Eilidh Beaton’s voice for the audio narration. Genuinely excellent.

If this isn’t a January best seller, I’ll eat my hat!!
All the stars 🌟
#Jorecommends

Huge thanks to Bookouture Audio via NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧

Family Doctor by J M Dalgliesh is a decent read. I like the premise, the mystery, and the various potential suspects. However, I did find Dr. Kelly inconsistent. For someone so smart that has a PhD, why would she not think twice of leaving a voicemail describing the crime she'll commit if the person doesn't get back to her? A voicemail?! There were other inaccuracies like this that left me flummoxed. Also, when we were finally going to see who was guilty, there was an excessive amount of environmental description; easily 15 minutes or so. It was boring and unnecessary, and it didn't add any tension to the event.

Regarding the mystery, I immediately wrote down someone who was guilty and was (eventually) found to be correct. I consider there to be three main twists. The first was fine, I appreciated the second, but I felt indifferent about the final one, which the author seemed to intend as a significant reveal. It seems like a sequel is possible, but I don't think I'll read it if it comes out.

Eilidh Beaton was an okay narrator. There were a few mispronunciations (I did take into account her accent), and I found her tone to be quite basic when I wanted more emotion.

Thank you to Bookouture for providing me with an ALC.

3 stars
Kelly is a doctor on a small Island. Everyone knows everyone and doctors make house calls to their patients. However, everything is not as it seems when Kelly’s teen daughter, Lauren, goes missing. Lauren can return home, but Kelly will have to do the unthinkable to make it happen.

Eh…the premise was promising, but the actual execution was a bit lack luster for me.
No one in the book was likable and Kelly’s behavior was pretty odd under the circumstances. I did a whole lot of “why would she do that? Why would she say that?” while listening to the audiobook.

The book was still very easy to listen to, but the last 10-15% was pretty painful for me.

On a positive note: The narrator was very clear in her speech and fit the role well.

A big thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to preview this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

What the absolute f*ck was going on here? I love dit all so much! I did not expect the bad guy to be who it was! How did he even know who to go after? Brilliant. Brilliant ending. I loved the narration.

2.5- A doctor's daughter has been abducted, and she has 3 days to kill someone to save her. Can she trade another's life to save her daughter's? There are secrets in her past that she has tried to hide, but they might be the reason for this situation.

I expected to like this one more than I did. I didn't really care for the main character or her daughter for some reason and it made me not as interested in the problem. I just wasn't very engaged in her dilemma. The book wasn't bad, just didn't make me feel very invested as some other books do. It also seemed there were a lot of characters came and went quickly in a way that made me not care about them.

The book wasn't bad, and I did finish it, but I was underwhelmed by it. The audiobook was well done, and I like the narrator.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the audiobook for review.

A remote island where Kelly is the only doctor, suddenly faced with kill a patient within a certain time ir I'll kill your daughter. This was a binge fast listen full of action and tension. The narrator did a brilliant job of telling the story and all the character were given real emotion . I especially loved the subplot where we discovered why kelly was here rather than in Edinburgh and the way in which it was dripped throughout the story. This was also full of red herrings as Kelly desperately tries to work out who has her daughter. Some of the action was very graphical bur so realistic, would make a brilliant film. The final reveal was perfect and I felt the door might have been left ajar for a sequel. The narrator got all the emotion of all the characters through fantastic delivery of a well written story. The detail made me believe and the backstory slotted in so well. The final reveals made sense but also this felt like it could be a real life story and not a novel.
Thank you so much to netgallery, author and narrator for this action packed binge listen that will have you up all night

I did suspect the epilogue in a way, idk why but not in that way necessarily! But the killers?! Got me lol i suspected a few ppl and was WRONG.
I was entertained and this is my first but not last book from this author.
Thank you to Netgally, Bookouture audio, and the author; J M Dalgliesh, for this audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

It has been s while since I have read a mystery/thriller and this book was just what I needed . Great story with many twists and turns.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Bookuture Audio for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great quick, twisty thriller. I've read well over a hundred thrillers this year and it's not often that I don't see 'the bad guy' coming.

A desperate mom that will do whatever it takes to save her daughter!

The narration for this was great. I'll definitely be looking into more books from this author.

I was teetering on 4 or 5 stars but ultimately I had to go with 4.5 rounded up.
Going through my mental notes to review this book was easy because I couldn't stop reading- every twist and turn is still so fresh. This is for sure a great thriller/suspense with twists that keep coming.
I enjoyed the fact the main character wasn't horribly annoying like some in her position usually are; she had moments where she walked a thin line but all in all, I wasn't cursing her out for being terribly whiny and useless. I think J M Dalgliesh wrote the main character with enough emphasis on her struggle and emotional pain without going overboard which makes the reader root for the mother!
For lovers of books that don't spell out the ending in the first few chapters, give this a read. I wish I could forget this book and read it over again. I'll definitely be diving into more from J M Dalgliesh.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me have a go at this book before it was ready for the masses

This was so good!

Premise - what would you do if the only way to save your teenage daughter’s life is by taking someone else’s? For the only doctor on a remote Scottish island this hypothetical becomes real when her daughter is kidnapped and she receives a terrifying call laying out the terms for her return. She’ll have to go against all her training and kill one of her patients - and get away with it - if she ever wants to see her child again.

This story was so gripping, it was impossible to tear myself away before the very last word! It's hard to make me relate to someone who's actively considering murder, yet Dalgliesh pulls it off. I felt for the mother the whole way through, even as the darkness in her past was alluded to and eventually revealed.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Eilidh Beaton. Her accent is absolutely charming and fits the main character and the story, where the remoteness of the Scottish island is a significant contributor to mood, perfectly. She gave a very dynamic read and I highly recommend enjoying this one as an audiobook! It’s a treat.

Thanks, NetGalley and Bookouture, for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.