I found this a very heavy story. It really touched me deeply. 

I loved the way we saw how Saphy's life changed from being a very ill young woman before the operation to a strong healthy young after the transplant. Of course it took some time and efforts, but she felt stronger and better every day. 

This brought a lot of joy for Saphy's entourage, but it also means another group of people is deeply sad because of the loss of a loved one.

I guess it's only natural you feel connected with the person who gave you a new chance to live a happy ever after and on the other hand I also think it's totally understandable for the donor's family to get to know who was being saved. The only problem is not to get to obsessed and to do it all for the right reasons, but that often is where it all goes wrong, right...

A great story with lots of suspicion things going on and  a few buckets filled with emotions. Sometimes people want to help uncover the truth, but they don't go about it the way they should and make it all worse, a lot worse. 5 stars

Thank you

Thank you Teri Terry for this brilliant first adult novel. The Patient is an absolutely brilliant psychological thriller. Flora a beautiful young woman is strangled to the point of near death. She ends up failing all brainstem tests and is an organ donor. The story is told from alternating pov between Fern, Flora's older sister, and Saphy, heart transplant recipient. The chapters are short and engaging in this fast paced thriller.
I was hooked from the beginning. It kept me engaged, there was no excessive amount of extra fluff to weigh the story down. I was able to figure out most of "who done it" before it was revealed but it wasn't disappointing at all. The biggest shock was the plot twist confession in the epilogue 🤯.

Definitely pick this one up it won't disappoint. Thank you Netgalley and publishers for this arc, all opinions are mine. Cannot wait for another one by Teri!

Loved, loved, loved!!! The book started off quite slow and although I enjoyed the plot about the donor process and the recovery, I was starting to think it felt more like general chick lit than any kind if thriller. Imagine my surprise when all of a sudden the tempo ramps up and there are twists and turns galore! The initial start got me invested enough that I was hooked once the pace picked up and I genuinely couldn't put it down! As is evident by the fact I'm posting a review at 1.3o am! It's so much more than a thriller or domestic noir, it's a story about who you can trust the secrets people keep, how far we'll go for a loved one, and the whole donor aspect was such a fascinating story in itsself! Even before those amazing twists. Just amazing!

Sending you link to my tiktok review. I really enjoyed the book. I always enjoy Teri Terri books. I will be buying it when it comes out to go with all her other books I own.

The main idea of the story is interesting. It’s about a person who gets a new heart from a girl who was killed. The first look at the main character’s interest in the person who gave and their family makes the story more interesting.

The author makes things exciting and gives a feeling of worry as the main character starts to doubt the reasons behind the donor’s death. Adding an attack on another person who had a transplant makes things more mysterious and makes everything more meaningful.

But, the way the story is told has some problems. The speed feels off, sometimes too slow and other times too fast. The character growth is insufficient because the main character’s reasons and feelings are not thoroughly looked at or told clearly.

Also, the ending seems easy to guess and could have a minor effect. The chance for a deep look at themes like who we are, feeling sorry, and the worth of another chance is only partially used.

In general, “The Patient” has a good idea and some intense parts. But it could have improved how fast it goes, making characters grow and ending things.

Thank you to Bookouture, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

*3.5

The synopsis of this book caught my eye immediately as it dealt with organ donation in the context of a thriller/murder narrative. The story is told from 2 POVs: Saphy’s, who is the recipient of a heart from popular socialite Flora, and Fern’s, Flora’s sister. There are suspicions regarding Flora’s death and organ harvesting with people claiming that she was still alive when her heart was taken from her. Once Saphy receives her heart, she starts seeing images of Flora in her mind and becomes obsessed with her and her family to the point where she begins to become her. The story focuses on finding out who Flora’s true murderer is as her organ recipients are violently attacked whilst her suspected murderer ex Benji is in police custody.

The ending is a little anti-climactic even though there are some surprising twists merely because it feels as though they were haphazardly thrown in. Instead of feeling disgusted and shocked like we were supposed to, I simply felt confused and a bit more elaboration and explanation could have been done. I wished there was more insight on Flora’s relationships with the characters in her life such as Marley, Benji and Leo as she seemed to have been intimate with all of them and they developed some kind of obsession with her but the timeline was confusing - was she playing all of them or dating one after the other? They had a big part in the story yet they lacked a proper background.

Thank you to netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for an honest review ✨

The Patient was deep dive into the world of organ donation and how it affects the lives of everyone involved.

The main character, Saphy, is in need of a heart transplant. From her point of view the reader sees how it feels to be on a donor list and receive the call that your organ has been obtained. We see what the surgical process entails and then how drastically life is changed afterwards.

The reader also unveils this story from the point of view of the organ donors sister, Fern. Fern’s sister was murdered and the circumstances around her organ donation were questionable at best. The reader follows Fern as she tried to solve her sister’s murder and tries to process the fact that another woman is walking around with her beating heart in her chest.

The story is a slow burn thriller. It spends a lot of time introducing the reader to each of the character’s lives pre and post transplant so you learn to love and empathize with both individually as your slowly lured into a beautifully shocking revelation at the very end.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this fantastic book!

A heart transplant is supposed to save a life. What if, instead of a second chance at life, it’s a second chance at death?

What if the reason the donor dies is because of a murder - a targeted one? What if the other recipients start dying because they now have an organ from this murdered donor? This is the angle the author takes in her debut psychological thriller.

Saphira Logan struggles to have faith in doctors after they couldn’t save her mom dying from cancer or her dad dying from Covid. The thing is, she was born with a heart defect and surgery is necessary to ensure a full life. She becomes obsessive in her quest to know more about her donor and it nearly costs her everything. It reminded me of the saying, ‘curiosity killed the cat.’

Fern is dealing with survivor’s guilt and struggling to make sense of her loss. You’ll read about her role in Flora’s death, the ethical considerations of transplants, and the power of organ donation. It’s never easy for anyone involved and there’s an invisible thread that connects the two families.

Terry takes readers on a slow-burner ride to show readers how both the donor and recipient families are dealing with the procedure. It won’t take long before readers become aware that something isn’t quite right and they don’t know who to trust. This is made more difficult because of the dual perspectives, both of Saphy (recipient) and of Fern (the donor’s sister).

This was refreshingly different and the mystery held my attention. The cover is fantastic and the publication date at Valentine’s is apropos.

I was gifted this copy by Bookouture and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I liked the novel less that I thought I would based on synopis. The description says that we deal with a dead donor whose recipients fall dead one by one. Okay, but until we will rich the point, half of a book must happen, and a lot of uneccesary pages been read. I do not have any complains about the language, and I know lot of important subjects are raised here, but in my opinion novel should start after the main character aclready had her transplant, not before.

3 stars

This book was full of suspense that kept me hooked immediately. Twists and turns kept it exciting and fast paced.

The concept is pure genius. A great page turner with plenty of twists

Beautifully written, compelling and thought provoking, I was drawn by the cover and blurb

This was the first book I have read from this author and wow it did not disappoint it was an excellent read. It was full of twists and turns which I could not predict. It kept me glued to my kindle I could not put it down. I will be looking out for more books from this author cause I really enjoyed this thanks to netgallery and the publisher for my advanced copy. Highly recommended.

Wow so I have lost I don’t know how many hours of sleep over this book as I had to know what the ending was. This is a tragic story of a woman who after a brutal attack was left in a coma but her death and organ donation changed the lives of a number of other people including the young woman who received her heart. As she meets the donors family and starts to obsess over the girl is her life actually in danger and is the right person in jail for the original attack or is it someone closer to home. Loved it!

I now have a new favourite author so I hope she can write quickly.
Loved this. Just when I thought I had the answers Teri would throw another curveball. Great read.

Teri Terry is one of my all-time favorite authors. I have read and loved several of her books and jumped at the chance to read her new book. "The Patient" by Teri Terry is a character-driven psychological thriller with a dash of supernatural elements thrown in for good measure.

Saphy, a young woman with a life-threatening heart condition, receives a heart transplant and gets a new lease on life. The donation came from Flora, a young woman who was declared brain-stem dead after a vicious attack that left her in a coma and on a ventilator. After learning her donor’s identity from the news, Saphy becomes obsessed with Flora. She picks apart every detail about Flora, collects her photos, and even tries to copy her appearance. She starts having nightmares about her and develops tastes similar to Flora.

When Flora's family contacts her and asks to meet her, she eagerly agrees for the chance to learn more about Flora. She wants to be Flora, whose life seems to sparkle. The plot thickens when a couple of patients, recipients of Flora’s organs, are viciously attacked, leaving Saphy worried that she is next in line. Maybe being Flora isn't such a good idea...

The novel is a concoction of intrigue, a psychological character study, and a family drama. With themes of friendship, bereavement, fallible human nature, right and wrong, and moral dilemmas, the author has woven a tale that I enjoyed reading.

The book is written from a first-person perspective, alternating between Saphy and Fern (Flora’s sister). Almost two-thirds of the book follows the characters and builds up to the action in the last third of the book. The story is well-written, and the narrative flows at a steady pace. I like that the author addresses the dilemma of organ donation from both sides of the coin. One of the most interesting questions this book raises is how you would act in the same position, and it emphasizes the importance of organ donation.

Even though the action doesn't start until the last section, it was an interesting read. I loved reading about the transplant process from the perspectives of both Saphy and Fern, though I really preferred Saphy and connected with her more. Fern was colder and harder to connect with, and I found her lacking, and her choices unacceptable. The ending was satisfactory, but I didn't like that not all parties got their just desserts. Some twists I guessed, but others managed to surprise me.

All in all, I loved the book and found it difficult to pull myself away from it. I give the book 4.5 out of 5 stars, rounded up to 5 stars. The story was engaging, the characters believable, and the steady pace of the plot kept me turning the pages. The author does a wonderful job of providing just enough detail to paint a clear picture of the characters and settings without being tedious. I recommend it to those of you looking for something a little different in their mystery books.

* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc. All opinions are my own.

Really good! I found myself reading late into the night because I couldn’t put it down. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

My original evaluation was this book was it’s good but too long with too many characters. By the end though, I see why all the characters are necessary. However jack was predictable. The author should have focused more on the murders and motive. The ending was sick to me and dropped my ratings.

When Saphy receives a heart transplant she becomes obsessed with Flora, the donor, known as Sleeping Beauty, who was strangled and left in a coma.
The first half of the book is an introduction to the characters, especially Saphy and Fern, Flora's sister (who are the narrators of the book), their lives, their friendships, their losses and Saphy's recovery. The author thereby builds suspicion and tension but at a too leisurely pace for my liking. The second part seems to pick up and increase the pace but by that time some of the twists are not so unexpected and you suspect practically the whole plot before you get to the end.
Still, this psychological thriller is entertaining if you're not looking for too much action.

After reading the premise for this, I had to get my hands on it. A heart patient receiving a heart transplant from a girl who was almost murdered and left in a coma.

Saphy has received a new heart who belonged to a girl named Flora. As Saphy is learning to live again and adjust, she becomes curious to who her donor really was. When Flora’s family decide to meet the recipient, it feels like Flora is still a part of their lives.

Soon, Flora’s sister becomes close to Saphy. She wants to know everything about who Flora was. Who was Flora’s attacker? Most importantly, why would someone want Flora dead?

This story was terribly boring. It read like a drama. A family reliving the life of a dead girl, and the one who wants to be living it. NOTHING even happened until 80% in the book. This could have been cut down by 100 pages. I completely understand character development, however, there was just too much bland conversation and repetitive questions.

I did enjoy the ending. Saw the twist a million miles away. I’d like to thank Bookouture, NetGalley, and Teri Terry for an ARC. All opinions are my own. Expected publication date February 13, 2024

Saphy has a heart condition and is on the transplant list. Flora has been in a coma since she was attacked and has been declared brain stem dead. When Saphy receives Flora’s heart it should have been the start of a renewed zest for life but instead she becomes obsessed with Flora and her family. When recipients of some of Flora’s other organs are attacked, she begins to think that her life may be in danger too.
The story is told from the dual points of view of Saphy and of Fern (Flora’s sister) and the first half of the book is mainly about the transplant, how the recipient feels and how the donor’s family deal with their grief. There are some red flags and hints that all is not as it seems and as a reader you begin to wonder who can Saphy trust and who has their own agenda. The pace picks up and it feels like a race to work out the puzzle. There are some fabulous twists and turns to the plot, secrets are revealed and clues add up for a tense finish. Saphy is one of those characters in a book who seems to repeatedly make the same mistakes eg why did she say that aloud or why did she get in the car, why didn’t she listen to her friend’s advice? Does she have no sense of self-preservation? Her pet cat was a better judge of character sometimes. I liked Flora’s sister Fern who changed for the better over the course of the book.
I have read and enjoyed Teri Terry’s Slated and Contagion series which were YA thrillers and I think The Patient is aimed at a slightly older audience. I enjoyed the complex plot and the scattering of clues and red flags throughout.