THE DOCTOR is a psychological thriller by Lisa Stone. This is the first book I have read by this author but it won’t be the last. This book kept me glued to the story to see what would happen next.

Emily and Ben bought a house next to Dr. Burman “the odd couple” referred to by Emily, as the Doctor spent a lot of late nights in the outbuilding. His wife, Alisha is sick and rarely leaves the house or sees visitors.

Emily and Ben have a newborn son, Robbie and Emily plans to stay home after her maturity leave ends to look after her son. Emily being very outgoing and sociable, tries to start a friendship with the doctor’s wife, but Alisha is too nervous and preoccupied to be a friend to Emily.

Then Emily’s cat, Tibs goes missing, and the doctor brings back the cat’s collar found in his yard to Emily. What is going on?

When Emily goes missing a few weeks later, Ben is plunged into a panic. His wife has left him a note, saying that she was leaving Ben and her son for another man? I don’t believe it!

Even though the reader can see how the story is being laid out, with so much evil lurking around the corner…you can’t put this book down. I had to see how it would end. The book ends on a cliff-hanger and not one I saw coming. I was glued right to the end.

Do you really know who your neighbors are?

Many thanks to the author, Avon Books UK via Netgalley for my digital copy. of this psychological thriller.

A young couple living next door to a Doctor and his wife with very strange things happening. For the first time in a long time I had to give up on a book. This wasn’t what I expected and was really far fetched I did not enjoy what I was reading. Did not feel it fair to give one star as I’m sure it would appeal to others but unfortunately not for me

Oh I love neighbourhood thrillers! Books about families and friends and odd things in the community.... And The Doctor was no different. This gripping thriller had me hooked immediately and I couldn’t put it down! I’m looking forward to reading more by Lisa Stone.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book and I really enjoyed it. It wasnt what i expected and not my usual kind of story but it had be gripped from the start and chilled me to the core in place
Amazing ending also. Fully recommended

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

As our society proceeds and science advances, we hear more and more about things like cryogenics. So, as I read this book, I kept wondering how far from the truth this book might be. Dr Burman, an anaesthesiologist obsessed with cryogenic freezing, tries to convince his long suffering wife, to agree to being cryogenically frozen when she finally gives in to her disease, she will not consent and he then descends into madness and tries to create his own cryogenic chamber. What Dr, Burman needs most as he tries to recreate the process is test subjects. Meanwhile, Alisha, his wife, strikes up a hidden friendship with the woman next door, Emily, who is more and more curious about what Dr Burman is up to, will she find out before it is too late?

It was a creepy take, filled with madness and intrigue; but creepiest of all is the wondering of how far away this medical breakthrough could be.

What a thriller!! The Doctor was a fascinating "How well do you really know your neighbors?" but elevated with multi-faceted characters and a thought- provoking plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great read. This was a real page turner. However, the best part is the last few chapters. I didn't see that coming. I highly recommend. Thank you NetGalley, Avon Book UK, and Lisa Stone for the ARC to review..

It’s a good un! All the ingredients for a delicious thriller that has you cringing with fear and desperate to read more! A fab read thank you!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC for my honest review.

This book draws you in immediately! It has everything a good Thriller should have, creepy characters, some very disturbing activities and a good twist in the end!

I definitely recommend this book if you enjoy being creeped out!

What can I say? This was as good as I'd hoped. In fact, the opening chapters drew me right in and held me captive until the end. If my neighbours ever block out their windows, then I'm off!

Emily (Em) has extended her maternity leave to stay at home with her new baby, and while she's a busy mum for the most part, there are times when she craves an adult conversation ... with anyone. Ben's job has placed extra demands on his time, and since she is currently unpaid, his job is what's keeping them afloat financially.

So, in her search for an adult conversation, her interest falls upon the couple next. Not an unusual move by any means, but then again she's not met the wife, and the husband (aka the doctor) seems to spend hour upon hour in his "man cave" at the bottom of the garden. Em makes endless offers to him, inviting his wife around for coffee, but nothing ever happens. Undaunted, Em takes matters into her own hands and knocks on their door when she knows the husband is at work.

Alisha is more nervous than Emily had imagined, and seems more than reluctant to leave the house as a result of her being unwell. When Em finally persuades Alisha to go over for coffee, the visit barely lasts fifteen minutes. Unsurprisingly, Emily now has all sorts of suspicions running through her mind, and her dislike for the doctor only fuels her imagination.

And rightly so.

Amit Burman is a doctor at their local hospital; he's an anaesthetist who is struggling to make his parents proud (since they don't consider him to be a proper doctor!) But he has a plan - and it involves cryonics. He wishes to "preserve" his wife until a cure can be found for her illness.

Trouble is, his wife has said no. She doesn't want to be frozen in perpetuity awaiting a cure.

Amit, though, doesn't like her answer. His time in the "man cave" is spent in pursuit of his plan ... and the blacked-out windows, tall hedges and general gloominess of their house allows him to continue his endeavours cloaked in darkness.

You can only imagine what he's up to ... but you'll need to stretch your imagination way further than that to learn exactly how far he will go to achieve his goals. He will go to any length to make a name for himself ... oops, sorry, I meant to say he'll do whatever it takes to cure his wife. Then again, I think I was right first time.

When Emily's curiosity throws a spanner in the works, little does she know the danger in store for her.

Without spoiling it for anyone, I'll just say that the panic switch is turned up full from early on and it never lets up. It's a tense thriller with twists aplenty that will leave you open-mouthed and turning the pages in a frenzy. I can't say anymore that that. Enjoy!

Lisa Stone is the author ‘Cathy Glass’ and the books published under that Pseudonym are probably more recognisable. However her foray into the world of psychological thrillers is not one to be ignored. The Doctor is the first of her three books published under Lisa Stone that I have read and it won’t be the last.

Dr. Burman has a very sick wife, a medical degree, a bad attitude, a secret shed and an unnatural interest in cryogenics. He also has another secret – but let’s not spoil the book. Ben and Emily live next door with their young son – and Emily in particular is curious about the strangeness next door. First, her cat goes missing…then Dr Burman’s wife reaches out…then…well, you’ll have to read to find out.

Don’t read this alone, in your house, if you have a creepy neighbour next door (thankfully, I don’t!) The nights are getting darker earlier now though, and Stone paints such a good scene that it will feel quite realistic at times. Added to that, the story behind cryonic suspension if a little sickening (personal opinion), is fascinating. At the end of this book I had two questions… Do I really know my neighbours? Is this the future…?

I never could get into the characters in this book! It is slow going, like being at a party with people who you do not like, whose opinions make you want to fly off in a rage, yet, you have to stay, or lose your job! The Doctor is creepy, I had no respect for his values, or his wife! The woman next door, should have stayed away from her lunatic neighbors next door, and taken care of her new baby! Ben was a nice guy, too much of a wimp for me! Who wants to befriend a Doctor who lives like Boo Radley? The house is grown over, basically blacked out windows everywhere, enough cameras for a milita compound! What Doctor do you know who lives like that? I live in a well off neighborhood, where everyone has yard workers, maids, tree service, you name it, it's done! I cannot imagine any of this going down, without the police getting involved. This book is not for me, I kept thinking, how ridiculous is this?
I don't recommend! Thank you, Netgalley!
carolintallahassee.com

I took me a really long time to get into this book and actually, to be honest, I'm not sure I ever really did.

I had a hard time with the characters, as I didn't like any of them, and it all felt a little over the top, like a bad soap opera. It was really, really slow and something about the writing just didn't sit right with me - I don't know what it was. I really wanted to like it and was excited when I got it but it was a struggle from start to end, unfortunately. Even some of Amits dialogue was just so bad villain from an 80s movie I felt a cringe.

Just not for mee. :/

Well. This one is hard to write without giving away the incredible twists that will definitely make readers look back into the book to see where they missed the clues! Lisa Stone does this to us quite often, giving readers much more than a thriller. The Doctor is the next door neighbor to a family who have recently moved into the neighborhood. He is not your typical next door neighbor...that's really an understatement. The community Ms Stone has built is a sampling of neighborhoods everywhere. The good, the bad, and the creepy. Layers of tension and suspense make the unexpected ending super good!

Having read Lisa Stone’s “ The Stalker” and loved it I was so excited to start this book.

Emily, Ben and their son Robbie move into a new house. Their neighbours seem a little odd, Dr Birman looks after his sick wife Alisha who never leaves the house and at night he is always at the bottom of the garden in his workshop.

Dr Birman is obsessed with cryogenic research, freezing a body until a cure can be found for them. His workshop is his own theatre all ready for him. He may be an anaesthetist at the hospital but at home he is more like Dr Frankenstein!!

Emily tries to make friends with Alisha and slowly they become closer keeping it secret from the creepy Dr who has cameras everywhere. The Dr is not a fan of Emily and he wants to keep her away from his fragile wife.

When Emily goes missing, is it because she has ran off with another man? Or is it something more sinister involving Dr creepy (that’s my nickname for him)

I really enjoyed this chilling thriller. It is refreshing when you read so many psychological thrillers to stumble upon a storyline that is different!!

I was totally hooked throughout this book, there are plenty of twists and surprises that will keep you turning the pages.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

Living next to a doctor should have it’s benefits except this couple behaves strangely according to Emily, the next door neighbor. The neighbors house was dark and inhospitable, almost creepy. The opaque film covering the windows didn’t help, neither did the tall shrubs and trees at the front that hid the street lamp. A doctor and his wife lived in the dark creepy house, yet Emily only saw the husband. She was curious about the wife wanting to invite her over for coffee. She relied on being the nosy neighbor to gauge what took place around this house.

Overall:
The book description said Amit’s wife’s name was Anita, yet the book stated her name was Alisha. I’m confused. I noticed right away the name of the wife in the book didn’t match the name in the book description. I had to wonder if this was intentional or a mistake.

I’m not quite sure how to categorize this book. It’s not mysterious. It’s quite obvious what Amit plans to do as a doctor. At the same time it’s hauntingly scary to fathom how easy his mind conjures up these ideas in order to pursue his scientific experiment. It’s unsettling to think how unstable individuals become when circumstances don’t go their way. When Amit is dealt a crappy hand in life he tries to dabble in scientific discovery to get recognition and praise. Instead this doctor finds his unsettling life is a constant losing streak of failure.

The best moments were from the 80% mark. This is where the story held my interest. I wish the story had this same sense of urgency to read. The pace began slow and slowly built to the increasingly intense read.

Well, that was different. I was expecting a domestic thriller and so it begins with a regular young middle class family living next door to a Dr Frankenstein type anesthesiologist with a cryogenics experiment going full force in the garden shed with closed circuit tv, all windows blacked out and a very sick and secretive wife not allowed to leave the house.... even though the next door neighbor is friendly and welcoming. ....totally messed up and then our friendly hero next door go missing. This actually was good, much better than I thought and thoroughly fun to read.

I really, really enjoyed this book. It was creepy and kept me reading way past my bedtime! Now it’s finished I’m going to miss it.
Thanks to Netgalley!

Emily is on maternity leave after giving birth to her little boy Robbie. She keeps an eye on the suspicious actions of her next door neighbor Amit an anesthetist at the local hospital. Amit's wife Alisha has an incurable illness and is never seen outside the house.
One day Emily meets Alisha and they appear to become friends. Emily will learn who is really her friend when she discovers Amit's terrible secret and what is hidden inside their house.
Amit is the creepiest doctor and he made my skin crawl. Cryonic preservation actually occurs and who knows what would happen in the wrong hands!
I dont think I really warmed to this book until the last quarter and had trouble putting it down. For some reason I feel a little surprised I became so caught up in events. I loved how the author kept the twists coming right up to the end. Well done!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I did not like the characters much, except Ben maybe. Emily is nosy, Alisha is to scared to defend herself and Eva, Amit is a bastard and poor Eva is the victim here. I'm a pediatric doctor and I have seen patients with rare genetic disorders. It's not easy for them or the family. But here, Amit is the father of one and a doctor too, and he hates her. Disappointed by this idea.
The writing style is too simple.
Thank you Netgalley for this book.