Rachel, a middle aged GP is working late in her surgery one day when a patient appears, clearly distressed. He is Luc, an architect who has just moved into the area. Rachel listens to him until he is calm, writes a prescription and gives him her number. A couple of months later she is surprised to learn that he is her new neighbour. She is also attracted to him.

I've read several of Jane Shemilt's books and loved them but this one didn't quite work for me. I found the main characters hard to like, especially Rachel, and the depiction of the love affair with Luc rather febrile. The accounts of her fear of being followed were a little repetitive and I became bored with them, skipping over them. I also guessed who was behind the murders early on and as for the painting - even I knew what it was and I couldn't even see it! This latter of course can be attributed to the excellent description of it in the text, I just didn't buy it that Rachel didn't realise. Shemilt is an excellent writer but this was wasn't entirely to my taste.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Rachel Goodchild is the doctor, Luc LeFevre is the patient in question. He’s in desperate need of help, she writes him a prescription and gives him her number if he needs further help..... no one could have foreseen what would follow. Rachel’s marriage to Nathan is in free fall and her relationship with her daughter Lizzie is very strained. The story is told from Rachel’s perspective with a fusion of past and present which works very well.

This is how you write an intelligent, unpredictable psychological thriller, it’s gripping from beginning to end! It’s very well written with a good pace, there are some excellent twists and turns with the whole package giving you prickles of fear right from the start. A sense of tense unease is conveyed effectively from the get go which deepens to become chilling and menacing which contrasts so well with some of the sensuality in the storyline. There’s a fantastic use of place with the novel being set in Salisbury. The cathedral and the cathedral close are used masterfully to suggest various things such as menace from the watchful gargoyles to comfort and clarity from the solidity of its embracing stone walls. The pretty town, it’s beautiful cathedral and it’s environs provide a stark contrast to the horror that unfolds. In addition, the author uses other locations to suggest various emotions such as the noise of a river or the deceptive calm of the surface of water with the unseen turbulence beneath. I love the art element which plays a large part both in the plot and in conveying moods and this is cleverly done. The character development is very good too, as several of those surprise and fool you, not just once either!

Overall, this is a gritty, compelling and absorbing new novel from a talented author.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins, Harper Fiction for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

This story follows a series of events in the life of Rachel, a successful GP in which her life begins to unravel. Clearly unhappy at home, detached from her daughter, Rachel is lonely, menopausal and disillusioned with life.

It’s hard to say much more without giving away everything that happens; however, I will say that the synopsis/blurb is misleading. It’s not inaccurate, just I expected something more than what ultimately unravels.

This is the second book I’ve read by this author, and I confess, it’s going to be the last. Clearly, we just don’t vibe. I found the vast majority of the characters to be quite unlikeable. Rachel, we are led to believe, is quite the career woman, yet she barely seems able to decide what to make for dinner without a degree of anxious hand-wringing. Her husband is mediocre at best, but clearly emotionally stunted. How can your wife be expressing concerns about her lack of relationship with your child and you just shrug it off?

As for Lizzie, she just comes across as an utter bitch who, frankly, I couldn’t be bothered to give the time of day to. On the whole, a lot of the relationships/issues didn’t really make any sense.

With regards to the plot – I was intrigued, until things got insanely convoluted. For me, this felt like someone trying to throw a lot of different options in to the mix in an attempt to keep the reader guessing. I’d have preferred a well written and thought-out story instead of the pick n mix solution I was left with. For a slow paced book, not enough happens, until ALL the things happen at the end.

Honestly, I found this odd and far too repetitive in places.

I felt as if it was a little far fetched at times, but overall I thought it was a pretty good book! I will definitely be looking out for more books by the author.

So many twists and turns. How life would be different if you had just taken a different step? Made one different choice? A brilliant book that keeps you guessing from start to finish. The characters really draw you into their lives, all the way to the end.

Menopause approaching, stuck in a rut, an attraction to a patient must not be acted upon. But the patient is now a neighbour and the attraction will not be ignored. The story gathers pace and I don't want spoil the surprises but I will say they are unexpected and jaw dropping.
I could not turn the pages quick enough.

Lots of wonderful twists and turns in this story of a doctor and her patient falling in love. The love aspect is very peripheral though - there's far more darkness lurking beneath the surface. While I did guess who was ultimately responsible, there were still plenty of surprises around motives and reasonings, and it kept me wanting to turn the page to find out what was really going on.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

Normally I love novels like this but for some reason I couldn’t get into it. I picked it up and put it down so many times that I might as well trade it for my dumbbells.

The synopsis was well written and had me excited for get cracking but it was a slog to the plot twist and then once that happened I was left a little deflated. Was that really it? Just that.

Maybe I’m being more critical than usual as I’m spending most of my time reading these days and therefore there is stiff competition. Either way I don’t think this book is going to find a place on by bookshelf or in the post for a friend.

This story is about GP, Rachel. She is successful in her career but unhappy in her marriage to Nathan, a teacher. Their daughter Lizzie is distant and she feels unable to connect to her. Rachel's life feels very lonely. Right from the start the reader understands something is going on... there is a real atmosphere. Rachel thinks she is being followed, her husband thinks she is crazy. One night, Rachel stays late to see someone who is not a registered patient but this meeting changes everything.

This is quite a complicated story and it's difficult to explain what its about without spoiling it. This is a book that's not necessarily what you'd be expecting. I wasn't hugely keen on Rachel. For a professional woman I found her very insecure and her decision making was pretty poor. I didn't like Nathan or Lizzie very much either! Infact, many of the characters in this book aren't very likable so its difficult to invest in them. At times its quite repetitive as various incidents or observations are repeated. Despite these things, I read this book quickly. I thought it was a little bit long. On my kindle between 30 and 50%, there wasn't much going on but it still held my attention throughout.

Overall this is something a bit different and not what you'd expect!

This is the first book I have read by Jane Shemilt so wasn’t sure what to expect. When reading the blurb however the book sounded right up my street so wanted to give it a go. I will say that the blurb doesn’t actually give anything away about what really goes on in the book tbh it could be talking about a completely different story altogether. Having said that I did enjoy the book although I did think it was rather slow going at the beginning. As I got going I become pretty invested in finding out what happened and even though we do find out what took place and by who I’m still not 100% certain we learnt the whole truth.
All in all a good thriller that will keep you interested the whole way through and will leaving you guessing until the end.

I’m sorry to say that I didn’t enjoy this at all. I found it tedious from the start and it became far-fetched very early on. I was disappointed because it sounded promising from the blurb. However, I am grateful to the publisher for the AVC and the chance to review.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. This book was hard to get into it seemed to drag on a bit. But then the story got a lot better. Some amount of twists and a lot of secrets. The storyline was brilliant the characters worked well together. Nathan surprised me at the end, but I did think he was been unfaithful but not with her. And the baby’s dad was a bit of a shock too, I’m thinking they knew each other a lot longer though. Great book im glad I kept reading it. Well worth 5 stars.

It took a while for me to really get into this book but it was worth it when I did as the story brought so many questions making it hard to see the outcome

THE PATIENT 📚

When Rachel meets Luc, the attraction is instant. But she is a doctor, and he is her patient. She gives him the drugs he needs – but in doing so, risks everything. And when a secret is exposed, they’re both in the firing line. Not all patients are telling the truth.

I downloaded this book off @netgalley in exchange for a review. I was drawn in my the cover and title as it sounded like something I would enjoy. The storyline was good but not the strongest. A lot happened but I think the title and cover were slightly misleading as i thought it would be about one patient. There were definitely a lot of twists and turns I wasn’t expecting though which meant I read it really quickly, it just wasn’t what I expected! Overall it was a good book and I did enjoy it and I would deffo recommend to others.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a rollercoaster this turned out to be. I just couldn’t put it down, wondering if Rachel was going to survive or if indeed she was involved in some way with the murders. Rachel is a GP and looks after some patients with mental issues which turned out to be different to how she thought.

The Patient started off well for me, it is well written and I was drawn to the setting of my home town of Salisbury and the character of Rachel. However I found that the relationship between Rachel and Luc did not ring true for me, this quickly became too melodramatic and I increasingly lost interest in the plot.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC

Rachel Goodchild is a GP and married to Nathan for 25 years when she meets Luc Lefevre, a patient and falls in love with him. Luc is also married to Ophelia and recently moved to Salisbury. Luc and Rachel start an affair. With her head turned by the affair, she behaves totally out of character. I read this book quick as I wanted to know what happened in the end. A gripping read as murder and stalkers are thrown into the mix.

I've never read anything written from a doctor's perspective before and to be honest I found this one a bit grim and depressing. Nevertheless it develops into a well thought out, gripping murder mystery.
Well worth the read.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. A gripping thriller with numerous twists, and a very clever story. The characters are all slightly unbelievable, but not so much as to spoil my enjoyment of the book. Definitely one I would recommend.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Great story telling as it wove a compelling and intriguing plot about a GP caught up in a love affair with one of her patients. I couldn't put it down! Wonderful settings and characterisation, thank you!