Ooh, this was sooo good! Couldn't read fast enough to find out what was really going on and who the killer was! Very well done psychological thriller with great characters, lots of intrigue and sadly, loss. A definite must-read!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

“𝑵𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆.“

𝑩𝒍𝒖𝒓𝒃
The Good Doctor follows Chloe Woods, who has everything she ever wanted - a caring fiancé, a dream home and her dream job. And most importantly, her fiancé doesn’t know about what she did in the past. But when on the first day of her job she comes face-to-face with that past, she must do everything to save her new life and others around her…

𝑴𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔
To start with, the plot was a little spoiled for me by the trigger warning at the start. It made me lose that thrill of reading this book but it changed as I got the know more about the mysterious life of Chloe Woods.

The dual POVs - Chloe and Jameson’s, kept the plot engaging and interesting. As we move forward, the chaos in Chloe’s life kept me wondering what is going on. This is what I like about the author, there was not a moment I lost interest in the plot even if it was slow-paced..

But soon, the plot started to become clear and it felt like there was unnecessary distraction and confusion was added just to get to the point.. The endgame was predictable and very early in the plot too, so that’s a disappointment for me!

Moreover, I felt like there was more focus on the romance angle than the mystery/suspense. This aspect took a large part of the plot keeping the mystery aside, which felt a bit disorienting. But boy do I love the romance angle in this one coz Jameson was swoon-worthy!

And the relationship development in this was immense.. The way it progressed added so much depth and kept me hooked.. Plus, I like how the author has addressed a controversial topic weaving a psychological thriller around it and at the same time bringing awareness to it.

𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏
Overall, this was a slow-paced captivating mystery/suspense that became predictable pretty soon. With its chaotic plot and interesting sequence of events, this book was an entertaining read nonetheless.

P.S. This is what happens when you listen to too many true crime podcasts, Chloe😅

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮, 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖 𝙋𝙖𝙮𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚-𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 14 𝙅𝙪𝙣𝙚, 2023.

From my blog: Always With a Book

This is Jessica Payne’s third book and the second one I’ve read. I really enjoyed the first one, her debut novel, Make Me Disappear, and now after devouring this one, I am adding her to my list of auto-read authors and putting her second book, The Lucky One, on my tbr!

I love a good medical thriller and when I saw that this one was being described as “Grey’s Anatomy with murder” I knew it was the book for me! And let me just say, it totally delivered. Right from the start I was drawn into this story, and loved how dark and twisted it was, as well as how full of misdirection it was. It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. I thought I knew who the guilty person was but then about halfway through, things take a turn and I was left stumped!

Having the story told from dual points of view was such a great choice as it allows us to see both sides of a very complicated relationship and really kept me guessing as to who could be trusted. I also loved that the story moves back and forth in time, filling in the past, giving us crucial backstory on all our characters.

While this is a murder mystery if you will, it also tackles a controversial topic, one that is rather a grey area and I loved that Jessica Payne decided to go there. There is a content-warning at the beginning of the book if you aren’t sure, but I feel like it is these types of books that I love reading because it allows us as readers to question how we would handle things, to question our stand on these types of issues.

I loved this book and flew through it. It’s an addictive read and the twists and turns it takes along with the short chapters just beg you to keep reading. I definitely recommend this one if you like medical thrillers!

The mystery wasn’t too hard to guess and I wanted a little more suspense as well as an explanation as to why. However, I was invested in the characters and really enjoyed the romantic angle of this book!

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books from this author.
Loved the tension in this book. For a while I kept thinking what in the world is really going on? Great story!

I have read Jessica Payne's other books and very much enjoyed them. Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I am a nurse and stopped reading at the 25% mark due to inaccuracies about working in a hospital, caring for patients, and medical information. I look forward to reading other books in the future by Jessica, as long as they are not a medical thriller.

This book offers a trigger warning at the beginning of the book that could honestly be a bit of spoiler for some, giving as it gives away some of the content in the book. The character development was great, Chloe definitely had me invested. This was a read that just kept pulling me in because I had to know what happened next. This does take a bit of romance aspect as certain points throughout the book and the relationship development was phenomenal. I wouldn't really consider this a 'fast-paced' read but it did have me invested for a while. The suspense did feel a bit predictable but overall it didn't ruin the story for me.

4/5 stars

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

Chloe has finally left her old life behind. Now three years past her divorce to her first husband Jameson, she is excited for her engagement to Elton and her new job as a nurse practitioner. But on her very first day at the hospital, she is shocked to be paired to work with none other than Jameson. How did he find her? And is he still up to the things he did that caused Chloe to leave him? She will do anything to keep those secrets from coming out, especially to Elton.

Another solid thriller from Jessica Payne!! She created several well-developed characters, all with their own secrets and I was constantly going back and forth among them of who to trust. Jameson was a bit menacing, called “Doctor Death”, but I found myself very interested in why he was the way he was. Assisted suicide is a very intricate subject, and I thought the author handled it very appropriately all while spinning a mystery around the characters. I had an inkling of the final twist, but that didn’t stop me in the least from enjoying the story. After three fabulous stories, Jessica Payne will be an auto-buy author for me!

Thank you to thrillerbookloverpromos, Jessica Payne and Bookouture for the ARC! “The Good Doctor” releases June 15th.

Trigger warning: assisted suicide

This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly.

I have mixed feelings about this medical thriller.

On the one hand, if I could give this 5 stars for the VAD rep alone, I would. If I was rating it solely based on the FMC, predictability and one trope in particular, well it'd be less stars. I'll land on 3.5 rounded to 4.

I enjoyed the journey (check TWs) and found it hard to put down from about 50% onwards - very intriguing and full of suspense. Some interesting info on medical serial killers appears throughout and that was great too.

Before ~50%, it was a bit slow and repetitive. My main gripe with this book though is the stupidity of the FMC and the fact that if she was just a bit intelligent, a lot of the juicy parts of the story wouldn't have worked. If I mention my second gripe re: a trope, it'll be a spoiler so 🤐.

I would recommend this to thriller readers, particularly if you're interested in medical serial killer stories but would not recommend it to people who are opposed to people having the choice to use VAD. I think that the author did an outstanding job of this controversial topic, and conveyed the emotions well based on my experiences.

Anticipated publication date: 14 June 2023.

⚠️ The author has included TWs at the start of her book (again, I love this!) ⚠️

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and Bookouture for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Chloe, a nurse, is excited to start a new job, in a new city with her fiancé Elton. She has an absolute shock on her first day to find not only her ex husband Jameson, a Doctor, works there, but she has been assigned to work with him.

She had run away from him and their marriage after they both did something unforgivable. If Elton finds out, she’ll lose everything.

I did guess the major plot twist but this isn’t unusual for me and I found myself racing through the book to see if my theories were correct. 😂

I really enjoyed that the book was a thriller with a bit of a romantic comedy vibe to it. I think it ticks so many boxes and even non thriller lovers would enjoy this one.

The Good Doctor is the third book by Jessica Payne and I've enjoyed them all. The Good Doctors is a Grey's Anatomy style medical thriller which keeps you on your toes from the start.

A great start to the book with Chloe who has just qualified as a nurse practitioner and having a fresh start having left her past behind. She is starting her new job at Portland General Hospital in the ICU and has recentlt moved into her new home with her fiancé Elton. They are due to get married shortly. It all seems too good to be true, and then she finds out that she's working with her ex husband, Jameson. Not only that, but patients around her start to die and she's back in the turmoil of her previous life.

This is a real page turner and has some very interesting characters and storyline, with some short sharp chapters which help to keep you engaged. The book jumps between the past and present and from the point of view of Chloe and Jameson and this style of writing really helps to build the tension and keeps the pace and the intensity of the storyline moving along.

I have to say, I did guess the ending but it didn't take away from the book as needed to know if I was right and how it worked. I can easily imagine this being made into a movie and I enjoyed the hospital location and its creepier floors where Chloe and Jameson's office is situated.

The only thing that put me off a little was the characters' need to drink quite a lot from time to time, usually wine/bourbon and then go off and drive home, without considering whether it was safe to drive.

A big thanks to Bookoutre and Netgalley for an advance copy of the book to revie. Another hit for Jessica Payne and I look forward to reading lots more by this author.

Grey's Anatomy with murder? Count. Me. In.

Chloe was excited for her new life in Portland and landing her dream job, a nurse practitioner. She can't wait for her first day, that is until she runs into Jameson, her ex-husband. Chloe can't believe it when she finds out she is going to be working side by side with Jameson. Chloe left him three years prior, and has just wanted to move on with her life. She is newly engaged to Elton, who also works at the hospital. They had just bought a house. Why did he have to come back into her life now? As patients keep on dying Chloe is more convinced Jameson has something to do with it. Can she expose him before he reveals her secrets to Elton?

I really enjoyed this book. The story was told in two POVs Chloe's (where we get both past and present timelines) and Jameson's. I liked seeing things from each character! I really want to go into why I liked the book, but I don't want to give anything away! I think the author did such a great job! It was just a fast and great read. I can't wait to read more of her work.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, Jessica Payne and Thriller Book Lovers for the ARC in exchange for my review!

(Instagram post coming soon)

Author Jessica Payne has done it again. The Good Doctor is a medial thriller full of suspense and unexpected twist. I like that the author's career as a neonatal nurse practitioner adds credibility to the story.

Chloe and fiancée Elton had made the decision to stop travel nursing an take a job at Portland General Hospital, On Chloe's first date at Portland General she discovers her ex-husband Jameson works at the same hospital

Chloe and Jameson are assigned the task of researching .6 months of medical records to explain why the hospital has a high death rate.

Chloe's fears increase when patients suddenly start passing away.

This is a fun read and it keeps you guessing who is responsible for all the unexplained deaths

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Thank you NetGalley the opportunity to read and give a review on this book.

I love medical thrillers and The Good Doctor checked all the boxes.

Chloe is a nurse practitioner who has been doing traveling nursing with her fiancé for the last several years. When they decide to settle down, Chloe is shocked her ex-husband is her attending physician at her new hospital. Alternating between the past and present, we learn why Chloe and Jameson split and about how death seems to follow Jameson wherever he goes.

There were so many times during this book that I wanted to grab Chloe by the shoulders and yell at her to “wake up” and to “open your eyes!” I didn’t always like her but her story captivated me and I couldn’t get enough.

Payne does an awesome job developing the characters and weaving a complex plot. I loved the use of multiple narrators and timelines. We learned so much backstory and really got involved in the characters’ lives.

I bet some of the twists will really surprise many readers and they were definitely well executed. I had some inklings about things from early on but it was super fun to see everything play out and I was constantly questioning myself.

This one was great. I absolutely recommend and can’t wait to read more by Payne!

Thank you to Bookouture, Thriller Book Lovers Promotions, and the author for the copy.

The Good Doctor by Jessica Payne
Chloe and Jameson have the perfect marriage. She’s a nurse and he’s a doctor. Jameson has very strong views on dying with dignity and maybe even crosses a few lines to help patients achieve this. But it hits close to home when Chloe’s own brother, Nathan is diagnosed with ALS. Eventually Nathan asks for some assistance ending his life and this also ends Chloe and Jamesons marriage. Chloe leaves his ring and takes off the next day. Chloe suspects Jameson is involved in a lot more than he’s told her.
Fast forward a few years, Chloe, now a nurse practitioner with her new fiancé Elton, who’s also a nurse start new jobs in a new hospital. Of course her world is blown apart when she realizes who the doctor is she’ll be working along side, Jameson. Once again she starts seeing a pattern of too many deaths and it’s time for them all to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
I very much enjoyed this story even though I figured it out before the end. It’s a easy book to get into.

This is the first thriller I’ve read that takes place in the medical field & I loved that aspect of the book.

The plot was engaging and interesting. The story shifts between past and present, and chapters are narrated from a few different characters perspectives which helps to build the suspense.

The ending felt a little abrupt and the twist at the end was predictable, but overall I enjoyed this thriller! Definitely worth reading!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book! :)

4.5 stars rounded up.

If you like medical thrillers then this is for you. The Good Doctor is a story of a newly hired nursing provider who finds out she’ll be working in the ICU with her fiancé and directly under the supervision of her doctor ex-husband. Things get complicated as she tries to figure out why the death rate is so high in their hospital. Soon enough, anyone investigating the deaths coincidentally die.

This book does cover physician assisted suicide so if that’s not your kind of subject, I would say you should pass this book. As a person who absolutely loves true crime and is an RN- I was very happy to receive this ARC. I enjoyed the medical side of this as well as the suspense. I did figure out the ending a little early so that kinda bummed me out but it was still a great read and a satisfying ending.

Thank you to netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Good Doctor kept me up at night because I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen!

This story is full of twists that I DID NOT SEE COMING! I love when a book has a twist that manages to shock and surprise me BUT isn’t so far out of left field that it doesn’t make sense or fit the narrative.

My only complaint was the backstory. The early love story between Jameson and Chloe left a little to be desired. I wish there was more of it because I felt that it wasn’t as established as it could have been.

I did enjoy the author’s writing style and will definitely check out her other books!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Jessica Payne has done it yet again! Another thriller that had me glued to the pages and desperate to find out the truth. While I did figure the twist out pretty early on, the suspense still had me on the edge of my seat and fearful of what would happen. I also love that this author has a medical background and was able to write realistic scenes, this just added to my love for this book. The characters were easy to connect to and the “love triangle” added to the drama and kept the reader in suspense in so many ways. A great medical drama and thriller with a serial killer thrown in as well, worth every second spent reading this one! 4.5 out of 5 stars, rounding up to 5 on goodreads.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Jessica Payne, and Bookouture for providing me with this gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a brilliant book both as a thriller and as a spotlight on a subject that’s never far from the media.

I liked the medical element, I was glad to see real medical knowledge being used rather than someone who has guessed which can be very frustrating if you are a medic.

It’s a really good read, I did guess the ending but it’s good enough to be worth it.