The Patient by Jane Shemilt
I would like to thank Anne from Random Things Tours and HarperCollins for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher – Harper Collins
Published – Out Now
Price – £7.99 paperback £0.99 Kindle eBook
When Rachel, a GP in Salisbury, meets Luc, the attraction between them is instant. But Rachel is married with a daughter – and Luc isn’t well.
Despite themselves, a heady love affair begins – one that threatens to risk everything Rachel has worked for. And when someone in the town is found dead, the spotlight turns to Luc. Torn between her career, her marriage and her heart, Rachel finds herself in the middle of something much darker than she could have imagined…
When we think of our Doctor we tend to think of them as a person we see for a particular reason; hopefully have a favourable opinion of their professionalism but we don’t really know them. Just as much as our Doctor are probably only interested in what could be impacting our health we don’t really need as patients to know what id going on when our Doctor leaves the surgery. In Jane Shemilt’s interesting thriller The Patient we get a tangled tale of a Doctor and her patient crossing lines and finding themselves in a story of greed, betrayal, and suspicion.
Doctor Rachel Goodchild’s life has gotten predictable as she approaches her fifties. Her daughter Lizzie has left home and has little wish to re-bond with her mother; her husband Nathan is now more someone she shares a home with and each day is very much like the last. Into her surgery comes the handsome and enigmatic Luc a man who admits to having suicidal thoughts. Rachel offers a solution and thinks that will probably be the only time she sees him, but Rachel is shocked to discover her new neighbours are Luc, his american wife Ophelia and their son. Rachel and Luc though find their relationship is moving beyond the professional and at the dame time Rachel starts to find herself sensing someone is watching her and getting closer. This story will end in a police interview, but we are about to find how Rachel’s life is about to be overturned.
Despite very early on knowing Rachel will be talking to the police this tale is very much a slow burn thriller. It is an interesting approach giving the reader someone who finds themself capable of more than they ever suspected. Told from Rachel’s point of view we watch someone slowly realise their life is no longer fulfilling (for a long time being a GP has been the core role for Rachel) and the strength of the tale is the developing swift yet plausible changes in her behaviour as her and Luc move into a passionate yet secret affair. We feel her elation, guilt, and sense of suspicion that someone knows more of her life than she’d like. She is a very plausible character and on top we get to see life from a GP’s perspective as to how they see their patients and the way a professional mask is usually used and sometimes slip. Very much the heart of the tale and we are soon fearing she has gotten herself too deep.
The thriller side is also a little unusual in approach. Here with Rachel having an affair we are her audience to the way her life is changing, and she discovers she can hide her own secrets. But then the tale takes a few savage turns as a killer is walking the streets of Salisbury and seems to have people around Rachel in their sights. Its an unusual tale of deceptions and betrayals where everyone is hiding some form of secret. An unusual set of reveals are in store, and we have to unpick a lot of lies to get to the answers for the death and deceits we encounter. A few surprises lie in store which keep you engaged with the story although these ae quite back loaded in the story so initially its very Rachel and her new romance focused but this is key to things going wrong later!
The Patient is a fast paced surprising and entertaining thriller. Perfect for a sunny evening as things get darker and more mysterious. Enjoyable and well worth a look.
