I'm not a big fan of a slow burn and this is exactly that. Expecting a doctor/patient thriller from it's description, more of a medium/fast pace which would keep me on the edge of my seat however that was not the case. The book dragged and was more of a love affair that went wrong with not enough going on until the end.

Ooooh man the lies and deceit in this one were JUICY! Tremendous story where I didn’t know what to expect next. Very captivating and couldn’t put it down. 5 stars.

The Patient Jane Sheritt

3 stars
Dr Rachel Goodchild is a 49 year old doctor who has been married to Nathan, a teacher for 25 years. Their daughter Lizzie is 24 and a librarian in Salisbury where they all live. Rachel’s marriage and in fact her whole life seems to be stagnating. Her husband is no longer interested in her and her daughter resents her mother for all the times that, as a busy GP, Rachel has been absent.

When she is working late in her surgery one evening she is interrupted by a patient who comes in stating that he wants to commit suicide. Luc Lefevre is a 40 year old Frenchman and from the first time they meet there is an instant attraction between him and Rachel. Soon afterwards Luc is back in his cottage in France and he invites Rachel to join him and without hesitation she joins him telling her husband that she is at a convention in Paris. They have 5 days of complete bliss before Rachel returns determined to never see Luc again. However Luc’s wife, Ophelia, have bought a house in Salisbury so Luc and Rachel are thrown together again.

To begin with I thought this was a good basis for a story although relationships between doctors and patients are not allowed and if discovered, Rachel would have been struck off. However we are then introduced to Ophelia’s brother, Blake, who is an incredibly handsome and charismatic figure.

As the story progressed I thought that it became more and more improbable. Both Ophelia and Blake give versions of their lives which seem completely improbable and the boring Nathan appears to be having an affair. When two murders of innocent people are thrown into the mix I just did not believe the reasons why they were murdered and I thought the ending was just not believable.

The book was well written and easy to read but I just could not believe the plot or the actions of some of the characters.


Karen Deborah
Reviewer for Net galley

Unfortunately after multiple attempts to connect with this book I have had to mark as dnf. I think it was just too slow paced to hold my attention.

This was not what I was expecting. There's lots of twists and an interesting layout with multiple timelines which eventually converge and unique characters, especially having an older female lead. However this was more of a romance with drama and some thriller involved I wouldn't classify it completely as a thriller. Saying that, I did enjoy reading it and I was captivated by the writing I just think if you're looking for a thriller this might not be the one for you.

First time reading a book by this author but absolutely loved it and will definitely read more by her

Do not read this book on your own at night! It was seriously creepy at times and I was totally sucked in. Lots of careful plotting with unexpected outcomes, some of which I did not see coming.

Rachel is a character that I could totally relate to in many ways. It is clear that her life has reached that stage where she is not sure where to go next. She is a caring doctor who clearly works very hard and is in a long term marriage which has become stale. I did not like her husband from the outset and his actions towards her did not deserve suck loyalty. Her relationship with her daughter was broken and Nathan did nothing to help fix it. Therefore, it is of no surprise at all that Rachel embarks upon a passionate love affair - albeit, brief - with Luke. It is wrong on so many levels, but carefully developed so that you, as a reader, are sucked along, too. From here the story becomes seriously creepy with intricate plotting and twists which were breath-taking at times.

My advice to readers is to keep their eyes on all characters because no one is what they seem!!

It’s a DNF for me. I got 4 hours in to a 9 hour audio & it too slow, the characters are entirely boring & I’m just not enjoying it, I’m sorry!

3.5 rating
A set of circumstances leads Rachel into trouble. She’s a dr in Salisbury, married to a teacher, Nathan and they’re in a bit of a rut. Returning home via the surgery she’s called upon to try and help a disturbed new patient, Luc. Well first off I loved the setting and as a fairly frequent visitor to lovely Salisbury could easily picture quite a bit of what was described. Wish it hadn’t had been quite so predictable though: the bad’un was obvious right from the start and I do like to have to work a bit harder than this! Rachel was a frustrating character who made some pretty stupid decisions and the others in this book weren’t very likeable either - step forward Lizzie. I did like how it was written, but not the rather rushed ending. The main draw was where it was set and it might have been a little tedious without that as it was often slow going with a bit too many flowery descriptions.

Not quite the thriller I was expecting. This had a great deal of overblown ‘romance’ and self pity that just made this impossible to enjoy.

A captivating unusual storyline with emotional turmoil, suspense, threat and danger and a surprising twist at the end.

I enjoyed this read, although I did go into it believing it was something else.
I enjoyed the pacing and the overall vibe that this gave off. It was both creepy and gripping, a fun read!

The only regret I have about this book is that it took me so long to pick up. It’s been sitting on my shelf for a good year now thanks to @netgalley and quite honestly it deserved more than that. I had a tear in my eye when I finished it, it was everything. It had callousness, sexiness, a murder mystery, heartwarming friendship and unbounded suspicion. It had me hooked from page one and I couldn’t put it down. Demolished it within a day, pick it up.

A thriller/ romance crossover with a bored and stressed GP falling for a handsome enigmatic stranger in her surgery. A decent read, though some of it felt a bit unnecessary, and it could have been a bit tighter.

I agree with the other reviews that refer to this as a "slow burn". Although well-written, "The Patient" could have been tighter in its plotting and would have benefited from more immediacy in the action: quite a lot of important events take place off-page or the reader learns of them indirectly, which really detracts from the tension of what could have been an engaging, interesting thriller.

Rachel is a straight laced and highly respected GP, her husband a popular teacher. Life is good apart from a rather fraught relationship with her daughter. But life is also boring, they've become stuck in a rut. So when Luc appears in her life, handsome Gallic charmer personified, the attraction is instant. The problem is he's in the middle of a mental health emergency and she's treating him. They risk everything in being together and soon their affair is exposed in the most dramatic way possible.

When you read the blurb for this you'd be forgiven for thinking it's an emotional domestic drama. But actually it's more thriller and mystery. A slow burning one which at first I wasn't 100% sure on. But as it moves from the romance to the thriller it becomes far more interesting. It proved to be a very enjoyable read with lots of good twists and turns.

The pace moves along nicely with a building menace. The characters are interesting and well-developed. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I DNF’d this at 25% sadly. The writing did not captivate me and I didn’t particularly care about any of the characters? It just wasn’t for me.

A slow burn of a read, The Patient reveals every twist carefully to ensure you stay engrossed and entertained from cover to cover.

I thoroughly enjoyed this intelligent, well written thriller. Jane is adept at scene setting, and although the beautiful descriptions occasionally slow the pace, the novel is well structured and it's difficult not to quickly become engrossed in the lives of the characters. Great ending, too.