A unique story. Best friends or are they - a lot of competition. Some he said/she said as you discover the back stories of Rea and Julia. A good thriller with some surprises.

Deadly Cure is a fast-paced, original medical thriller full of twists and turns and I raced through it in a couple of days, reluctant to put it down.

Rea and Julia are both doctors. Friends since they were teenagers, there is a also a degree of rivalry as they have followed the same career path. Things come to a head when, competing for the same medical research job, and one Rea has set her heart on, the job goes to Julia - though the manner in which she does so leads to a rift between the two women. Eventually Rea decides to make peace with Julia but arriving at her flat to to try and rebuild their friendship, she finds Julia dead. Rea become a prime suspect in her death whilst at the same time she is offered the opportunity to take Julia’s job - but she soon discovers that things may not be entirely what they seem at the research institute, though Rea may not be an entirely reliable witness.

I enjoyed the characterisation in the novel - both Julia and Rea are flawed, likeable but driven to succeed in their chosen career - and the dual narration allows us to see both sides. Rea’s medical history also adds an element of an unreliable narrator which keeps the reader unsure as to how much of her version to believe. It is a book that keeps you guessing - every time you think you have things figured out, something else happens to change things as it heads to a dramatic conclusion - and one that also makes you think, raising some interesting questions around medical ethics. It may be a little far-fetched but if you like a wild ride, and an original take on the genre, then I can guarantee this will be an addictive read you won’t want to put down.

Rea and Julia are friends and rivals in the field of medical research. Rea is devastated when Julia is appointed to her dream job, using Rea’s research, but then things get even darker when Julia is murdered and other mysterious events occur suggesting that all is not what it seems in the research laboratory. The biggest problem I had with this story was the lack of empathy with the characters - understandable to some extent as they portray driven and ambitious individuals who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals - but then you don’t find yourself rooting for them when you need to. A fast paced and compelling medical thriller in every other regard, however.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy to read and review.

From reading the reviews already posted it looks like another marmite book and I’m one of the not a fan brigade. I thought is was predictable and a lot of events just could never have happened.

I enjoy reading medical thrillers and this debut by a real medic was a fast paced read. However, parts of the story were unbelievable and the two female protagonists dislikeable. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Dr Rea Dharmasena is devastated when she loses out on her dream research job to her med-school rival and best friend, Dr Julia Stone. But just as Rea finds it in her to forgive the betrayal, Julia, after a life-changing medical discovery, is found murdered. Now Rea has the dream job she's always wanted. But at what cost?
A fast-paced psychological thriller based on themes of betrayal and ruthless ambition. The exploration of the toxic friendship between Rea and Julia is exceptional in its execution.
Set in the medical field, the prose is expertly crafted to create points of perfect tension. And the insight into scientific research is both fascinating and frightening.
Confidently written and an original take on the murder mystery genre that will keep you second-guessing, Deadly Cure is a captivating read.
Perfect for fans of The Silent Patient and Patricia Cornwell.

What an absolutely brilliant debut.
This book kept me gripped from the start.

Both Rea and Julia are very toxic characters making for some great reading; the perfect 'frenemy' duo! Although they're not the type of characters you can particularly warm too, you do sympathise with their history. I definitely appreciate the authors approach to rather emotional topics.

Being a big thriller reader I loved the uniqueness of this book, never once did I get the feeling 'I've read something like this before'.

From about chapter 22 onwards this book made its suspense presence known! There's so many hold your breath moments, I was left reeling from the intense situations. Brilliant.

Overall.
This is a new dark and twisted take on a medical thriller. The lines crossed between ambition and curtsey firmly destroyed. Whatever your thinking while reading you're probably wrong, throughout the pages your subtlety thrown from the scent.. the ending is very unexpected. The hunger for success is very much at the forefront of this, the belief in something bigger than yourself. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a thriller with a difference, busting with betrayal, rivalry and murder.

I love a good medical story so this one caught my eye from start. Three friends from the early days go through to become doctors two of which compete for the same dream job one gets it by using the others research materials and so a friendship is torn
Then the friend is harassed and finally murdered but by whom? Meanwhile the friend who also went for job originally now gets offered job
This is the first of a series of complicated plot twists which are brilliant and well thought out I would never have got the ending this book gets its truly fantastic and horrific at same time and let’s hope this absolutely doesn’t happen in our hospitals !

Ooh this was a great book, nothing like what happens when two good friends want the same job, I really was so sure I knew where this story was going to end up and I was so wrong and that’s what I love about a good book when it sends one in the wrong direction , a great ending also…

This is one of my favourite genres when it comes to reading but sadly using the term ‘thriller’ or ‘murder mystery’ for this book just didn’t fit. I found it neither thrilling nor a mystery.

It’s rare to read a book where you actually dislike all the main characters, but I liked none of them in this book.
Not one. It was obvious very early on what was happening. There was one small surprise at the end but that was it.

I haven’t given you a précis of the book as you can get that from the cover.

Sadly, this book was simply not for me, I couldn’t wait for it to end.

My thanks go to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance e.reader copy of this book.

This was everything you need for a thriller and crime story. It is not as black and white as you first think and like most typical thrillers, is full of twists. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

This book is a slow starter. At first, I found the POV of the two women doctor protagonists quite muddled. There really didn't seem to be sufficiently different 'voices' to differentiate the two. And then, suddenly, without me quite realising how it happened, I was hooked. I thought it was going to be just another rather obvious 'whodunnit' but it had multiple layers of additional complexity that I really hadn't expected.

I had identified some of the baddies but the final 'twist' was well hidden and yet everything remarkably fitted together. EXCEPT, and it's a big except, I just didn't buy the 'romance' between two of the characters as being in anyway genuine.

A good solid read - well done! And thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy.

I did start off thinking that this was going to be a slow moving story and then, out of the middle of nowhere, it grabbed me and dragged me through all of its twists and turns to its surprising conclusion.

Mostly a very well put together story where I spent a lot of time trying to second guess the author's plot and getting so much wrong.

Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the plotting and the twists and the book as a whole, I must say the last page left me wondering why there were no more pages to turn.

Rea is waiting to get her dream job but she's pipped at the post by her friend. She stole the job with her own work which upsets Rea but then her friend dies and she gets her dream job but its going to cost her heavily. The truth is never what it seems.

I do love a medical feel story and this was certainly interesting. The plot was a very slow burn but the ending was interesting. I did enjoy the twist though had figured it might be a possibility. The writing is detailed and good. The characters are not particularly likeable except Rea's best friend. He was the best of all of them. i wanted to like Rea but she does some seriously questionable things in the beginning. A good story with a clever plot.

Three university friends all now Drs in their own fields but two competing for one research position. The method one uses to get the position causes a split in the friendship. Not just a splintered friendship but professional bitterness and secrets being to unravel.
Just when you think you know where the story is going it takes a very different direction. The surprises just keep on coming right up to the last page.
Enjoy I did

This was a really well written story! There is Julia and Rea. They are two very close friends who want the same job. Julia gets it but uses Rea's research paperwork to get it. Rea is mad at her and when Julia is murdered ,Rea is offered the job. She takes it but how does she look now? Rea feels so guilty for getting the job that was Julia's. It doesn't feel right. There's also the matter of who killed Julia???
This story really got me comfortable.. I really thought I knew where it was going but oh no!!!. It was a brilliant ending and I absolutely loved it!!
Many thanks to Netgalley for the free arc book for an honest review.
#Netgalley, #DeadlyCure, #randomhouse, #mahicheshire.

Fantastic debut! Got to love a bit of frenemies and this is certainly packed with them! Thank god for Feng and someone who was genuine.

I really enjoyed the plot and seeing the events unfold, tho I did not see any of it coming 😂

This is a pacy and twisty thriller, I’m excited for the authors next book.

𝗔𝗗-𝗣𝗥 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁: Thank you to @adventureswithwords and @harvillsecker for having me on the readalong.

Headlines:
Holy smokes, the twists
Unreliable narrators
Nothing is as it seems

I want to start off this review with my professional head on and state that the events in this book would never really happen in the UK. Health professionals would not be so lax in their personal values or their ethical accountability, on top of which medical research is tightly legislated and regulated in the UK. However, a thriller can be fantastical, right? And so, I read this by stowing all my professional knowledge and going with the flow.

This thriller was about friendships, twisted ones and genuine ones. There was a threesome of friendships in Julia, Rae and Feng, a shady bunch they were. Out of these three, I loved Feng and I basically didn't like one other character in the book but it was never the intention of the author to make likeable characters, I don't think. I had that 'love to hate' thing going on.

The setting was in the medical world, straddling the medical research world and there were some unrealistic aspects to how this written but I think that artistic licence worked on the whole here. The story depicted a search for cure to cancer that was nicely pitched alongside the personal lives of the three. I liked the fact that I was taken in by some of the characters and totally proved wrong. I had theories, none of which came to fruition, so this one really kept me guessing.

This was a gripping read and definitely one that can whisk you away. Please trust your health professionals at the end the day though please!

Thank you to Harvill Sacker/Viking Books for the review copy.

When I saw Deadly Cure I was immediately drawn to the idea of a hospital based thriller. Having grown up on a steady diet of ER in my teens the concept of hospital dramas has always captured my imagination!

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We're introduced to Rea and Julia, long time friends and fierce competitors. Brought together through their own individual tragedies, the two have been perpetually neck in neck when it comes to their professional lives. From Uni to residency they've both been determined to follow the same path and now their dream research role is up for grabs.
Their competition spills over into questionable tactics resulting in Julia getting their dream job and Rea feeling scorned.

The fallout results in a twisted tale of revenge, discovery and jaw dropping revalations.

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I got invested in this story fast. Told in dual perspective, flipping between Rea and Julia, we see their thought processes, methods and motives from the off, giving nuance to each decision made and allowing us to sympathise with each in turn.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style, I feel the subject matter did jump the shark for me through the second half of the book and, though compelling, it felt unrealistic to the point where it broke the immersion for me completely towards the end even earning an amused eye roll or two.

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If you're looking for a compelling little mystery to get sucked in to I highly recommend Deadly Cure however if you're looking for something that's rooted in realism it may be an idea to give this one a miss.

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Thank you very much to @penguinrandomhouse and @netgalley for this advanced copy of Deadly Cure.

Deadly Cure focuses on two best friends and med-school rivals, Dr Rea Dharmasena and Dr Julia Stone. When Rea loses out on her dream job in research at the London Medical Institute (LMI) to Julia, things become very awkward, especially as she gains an advantage by unethical means. As a result, the friends have quite a public falling out. Rea finally manages to forgive Julia and arrives at her flat to apologise and ask her forgiveness, only to find Julia dead. Being the second choice, Rea ends up with her dream job, after all, working under the charismatic Director, Dr Owen Ansah.

I loved the premise of this fast-paced thriller. Unfortunately, although it started brilliantly and didn’t give up the whole way through, I stayed up far too late reading, and when I reached the point of just three hours before having to get up for work, I forced myself to put it down at 81% to be finished the following day.

There was strong character development, with a diverse range of characters. It was a joy to see two strong female characters in medicine/science who weren’t painted to be saints but real, flawed people. I loved their fierce competitiveness, which isn’t often described, especially between females in a career sense rather than looks. However, they have some great redeeming qualities, making them easy to connect and empathise with.

There are some big ethical questions at the core of the book, Julia has invented a cure for cancer, but should she be using it on a human before testing on the mice? Can she go through with it, and what are the consequences? There are plenty of darker elements as well, is there a basement at the research centre; has it been imagined or purposefully hidden?

The ending was superb, a little unbelievable, and I am sure there are a million ethical and practical considerations that may have suffered for a good story, but this was not what I expected and gave a great ending to a great book!
I enjoyed this well-written debut novel from Mahi Cheshire and will keep an eye out for any future books.