Jasper DeWitt has crafted a quick and creepy read. This story chronicles a new psych doc's interactions and treatment of a long term patient at an old and crumbling facility. As this story is super short and quickly paced, and the books description is readily available, I won't rehash it here. But I will say that I think its a book definitely worth your time if you're looking for a fast spine-chiller. I will definitely be waiting for DeWitt's future works!
I cannot wait for the official release so I can discuss that ending with other readers. Intriguing...

3.5

The format and narrator were compelling enough that I basically read it in one sitting. I love psychological thrillers but this went in the direction of horror/fantasy which was a bit creepy.

I read a sneak peek of this book and was hooked from the first chapter. This book was excellent throughout. There were a few predictable things in the plot but they didn't ruin the story at all. I enjoyed the way that the book was set up as a sort of blog. The ending though was what really made me enjoy this book.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐️

I thought this was a psychological thriller but turned out it was in horror genre. But that’s totally fine with me because I like horror stories as well.

It was creepy enough for me to go on reading but I found the near-ending to be somewhat too “fantastical” that wasted the good beginning.

But I think the author is good. And I might read more books by him.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing me an advance copy of this book.

A psychiatrist is unable to help his own mother, so he volunteers to help a patient even though no colleague has been able to help so far. It always ends badly for the clinician. Part psychological thriller, part horror, 100% engrossing!.

The Patient (Jasper DeWitt) is written as a memoir, as a doctor telling his story in installments. To me The Patient started a little slow but as it pulls you into the story it gets more and more difficult to put down. I want to thank Net Galley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for an early copy to review.

To me, this was more of a novella (think Gillian Flynn’s The Grown Up) and I could not put it down - I read it in one sitting! Though marketed as a medical thriller, this definitely had an element of horror. The plot was fast-paced and utterly engrossing, but the writing was, in my view, a bit subpar. It was almost like I was reading a report of what happened rather than experiencing it alongside the characters. I’m an extremely empathetic reader but I found it hard to connect emotionally with any of the characters. I think the story would have been more compelling if it had been fleshed out more! That said, it was a quick and entertaining read.

I was 1/4 in to this book and did not finish. While thriller and mystery is my favorite genre, this novel bordered on horror. It was difficult to read.

***4.5 stars***

Holy shit I don’t even know where to start with this book. I would have gone 5 stars except it began with what I felt like was more of a horror book and I literally only felt comfortable reading this during broad daylight. I felt like a kitty cat. But IT WAS SO GOOD!!!!

You have this patient named Joe with so much mystery around him. Is he crazy, is he normal, and there’s a conspiracy about him, is it supernatural?! All you know is people who try and help him or deal with him end up getting hurt or going nuts. Enter Parker a young eager doctor who wants to get to the bottom of his case. And boy does he.

The story is told as if Parker is posting this on Reddit and letting the world read his findings. He doesn’t use “real” dr names and keeps it clinical but enthralling. I really loved this book surprisingly since I absolutely hate anything scary. Psychological thrillers are my favorite on the thriller who what when side of it. I would love to read more by this author it was truly brilliant.

A creepy psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the end. You will not see the ending coming!

Parker H. is a young psychiatrist, ready to change the world of psychiatry. His story is told through a series of online posts. He retells the story of 40-year-old Joe who has been a patient since he was six years old. With no known diagnosis, and an ever changing list of symptoms, Joe remains a mystery. Eerily enough, everyone who encounters Joe is driven to madness. Parker becomes convinced he can treat Joe only to be met with more questions.

Jasper DeWitt’s debut novel is creepy and suspenseful, building up to a shocking ending.

Initially, I thought the pacing a little slow at the beginning of the book. However, I think it played in nicely to build up tension for the reader. The book is written in the first person as if the main character is retelling the story via an internet blog. This perspective was extremely descriptive and well done, giving the reader just enough information to keep you hanging on every word to see what happens next.

I liked the tense and suspenseful plot line. Every time Parker would meet with the patient, I was practically cringing, waiting for something to happen. Like any good horror movie, this book’s ending was unexpected and left the reader wondering if they could trust what they just read. Is that it, or is there something scarier waiting yet for Parker?

I wouldn’t classify this as a “don’t look under the bed” scary book, so much as a twisted and creepy thriller. For lovers of these things, this book is a must read.

I thought this might be a lite version of The Silent Patient, and boy was I glad to be wrong. An awesome ride that doesn't stop until the last page.

I was given an arc uncorrected proof in exchange for an honest review. The patient had me hooked within the first 10 pages. I couldn't read fast enough. Parker is a psychiatrist who has a desire to help those like his mother who passed early in his childhood from her own mental health issues. When he requests to work with the most dangerous patient named Joe. Little did he know why he was considered the most dangerous patient. This is a quick and super suspenseful must read. Thank you #NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the opportunity to read #thepatient

This was a thrilling and exciting mystery. It was an edge of your seat nail biter. I look forward to reading more from this author

Creepy and unputdownable. Every page had me unable to cook dinner for my family. Loved this book! Twists and turns galore.
I love psychological thrillers and this delivered.

When I think of horror books, the thought always crosses my mind that they must be really, really scary. That isn’t the kind of book I’d enjoy reading, but I didn’t particularly feel fearful at any point in this book.

The author, Jasper Dewitt, did a nice job of telling the story. Little bits and pieces about the patient with mental health issues was revealed a bit at a time. For a while there, the patient seemed rather normal, but small cracks appear here and there.

The ending fit well with the book, and Dewitt even offers a bit of a zinger as he wraps things up.

There is a good bit cursing, and mentions of sexual acts.

The Patient is told in a series of first person posts to an online medical forum, detailing the events that took place in the late 1990s when Parker, a psychologist, accepts a position at an asylum in Connecticut. Parker is immediately intrigued by a patient named Joe, who has been a resident at the asylum since he was six years old, whose medical file is mysteriously incomplete, who the staff tell unsettling tales about.

Compulsively readable in a way that reminded me of scary stories we told at sleepovers and campfires in the summer. This book kept me turning the pages and I finished it in one sitting. Recommended for fans of The Pen Pal.

Holy crap! What did I just read!?!

If you are looking for a creepy page-turner where you will NOT be able to guess the ending, this is it! This one was engrossing from the first page to the last. I couldn’t put it down and I devoured it!!

Written as a series of posts in an online forum (I think this book was actually a Reddit post?), this novel tells the tale of a psychiatrist and his special project patient. It’s one you won’t forget- that’s for sure. I don’t get creeped out easily, but this one got to me a little bit!

I am really hoping for a sequel (because I need more Joe - or a patient like him) and a movie!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This book is a quick read. However, I kind of feel like the book may suffer from how it's marketed. I am not a horror reader and this is horror. I requested it because I thought it would be a psychological thriller, which I love.

The writing is kind of juvenile, which may be what the author was going for, but I kind of suspect not. Anyway, the story is intriguing but ultimately I just wasn't a huge fan.

Also, there's no way that "Jasper DeWitt" is someone's real name, is it?

The premise of this one alone hooked me: I absolutely had to know more about this mysterious patient and just what is going on at this hospital.

Parker is a freshly minted psychiatrist, with very personal reasons for not only joining the field, but taking a position at a hospital that is, let's say, not up to par. Overworked, underfunded, all that jazz (it really is the cliche of the horror-set mental institution), this place has one more strike against it: a patient named Joe who has been there for forty years. He's undiagnosable and has led several staff members to madness and suicide.

But overconfident Parker thinks he can cure and save this man. Told through a series of message board posts, Parker shares his ordeal with the world and uncovers something more terrifying than he originally expected.

I don't quite know what to do with this book. It was a fast read, but much of that is because this book is so short. But I admit to being hooked enough to read it to the end. Unfortunately, I ended up feeling a bit short-changed and searching for more pages to fill in a lot of missing holes.

Don't get me wrong, sometimes shorter is better and I've read enough books where the length is nothing more than filler material that doesn't add to the story. But The Patient left me with so many questions! It's frustrating when a book raises more questions than it answers. And Parker's voice is a little more than pretentious, which didn't help me connect to him.

I'm trying not to give away the plot, but I need more: Jocelyn is clearly Parker's salve, and yet she's so incredibly in the background. Same with Joe's parents (and come on, he's got a sister out there somewhere? WHERE IS SHE). Same with Joe! I need much more backstory there for any of this to feel satisfying. Again, it's difficult to expand upon that without entering spoiler territory. And the lead up to the climax is so drawn out, that when that climax finally happens, the unraveling is so quick that you almost miss it. This is the most interesting part of the whole book, and the reader is left grasping at it, clinging in a desperate attempt to have more meat (of the story, that is, not the gore, which is admittedly brief for horror).

I'm sure this worked beautifully as the reddit story it began as. As a book, it just needs a little more flesh.

The branding of this also seems to be a little off. It's billed here as a mystery/thriller, but it really belongs in the supernatural horror realm.

Thank you to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for this review copy. It was entertaining enough, though I wouldn't read it again, but I'm sure it will find a good home among horror fans.

I’m not sure what I expected, but this wasn’t it.

The said... I am SO pleasantly shocked and blown away! What a wild ride. This story was such a great change of pace for me. Stephen King lite is the only way to describe it. I was captivated by the narrative and read the entire book in one setting. It was chilling, scary, and over the top in the best way. I will recommend this to everyone. I hope this author writes many more stories!