Book blurb…
My child has been taken. And I’ve been given a choice…
Kill a patient on the operating table. Or never see my son again.

The man lies on the table in front of me.
As a surgeon, it’s my job to save him.
As a mother, I know I must kill him.
You might think that I’m a monster.
But there really is only one choice.
I must get away with murder.
Or I will never see my son again.

I’VE SAVED MANY LIVES.
WOULD YOU TRUST ME WITH YOURS?

DON'T MISS THE HEART-STOPPING THRILLER OF 2022
#DONOHARM

My Thoughts…
This story had me intrigued from the opening page. Even though I have seen this plotline in movies, the writing compelled me to read.

This is a story about a mother that will do anything, like most mothers, to save her child. As a surgeon, however, she is torn.

Does she save him and get away with murder?

You will need to read this story to find out just what lengths this mother will go to.
A true page-turner.

'My child has been taken. And i've been given a choice... Kill a patient or never see my son again'.

The story follows Anna, a highly regarded surgeon who's eight year old son has been abducted and she has been ordered to kill the man on her operating table in order to save her son.

From the first page I was absolutely hooked on this mystery thriller. I could not put the book down and finished it in one sitting! I LOVED it!

There is a lot going on in Do No Harm which I felt makes it a bit more ordinary than if it had been sharper and more focused. We have three women all involved in one way or another with the main kidnapping story, all with their own personalities, histories and points of view being explored in detail.

I didn’t like any of the characters and I couldn’t relate to them so ultimately I ended up not really caring what happened to any of them. Regardless, the concept behind the main plot was enough to keep me reading.

Without spoiling too much, there are two endings to Do No Harm. There is the initial ending to the chaos then the ending of “what happens after”. I felt the first ending was quite strong but the second ending felt too forced to have a last dig at the readers.

I loved the idea of Do No Harm but the execution was, for me, just so-so. Give it a go if you like the concept and are not too fussed about character building or having your thrillers tightly written.

Do No Harm by Jack Jordan follows the story of Anna Jones. Anna is a renowned cardiothoracic surgeon who gets the opportunity to do surgery on a very prominent political figure only problem is some very bad people have taken her son Zach hostage and want her to kill the political figure. The book is full of drama and suspense. We are left trying to think of Anna's next move.

This is my first Jack Jordan book and I doubt it will be my last. The story was well written and insightful in to the life of a surgeon. It has all the right amount of twists to keep you 100% invested in the book.

Thank you Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for the copy for an honest book review

This is a a new author to me and I shall keep a lookout for more.
In this book, Anna Jones is a renowned cardiothoracic surgeon who is about to perform surgery on a very prominent up and coming political figure. However, there is a group who want this surgery to fail and they will stop at nothing to hold a virtual gun to Anna's head.
The dilemma, give these people what they want and commit career suicide or face what to her is a worse alternative?
Then there is Margot, a theatre nurse with a recreational drug habit, who makes ends meet by petty theft from her colleagues lockers. She believes that she can see through Anna and use that to her advantage.
Will these two desperate women take each other down or will they save each other?
A book that deals with the technicalities of complex surgery and hospital dynamics well. A gripping plot that will hook you in and a train wreck unfolding that you cannot look away from. Happy to recommend this suspense thriller.
Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Do No Harm is the sixth novel by British author, Jack Jordan.
“Your neighbour is dead, and we have your son.
You must kill Ahmed Shabir on the operating table in two days’ time.
If you repeat this to anyone, your son will die. If you are at any point discovered during your assignment, your son will die. If you fail to kill the patient, your son will die in his place.”
This is what cardiothoracic surgeon Anna Jones is told when she returns home from Redwood Hospital expecting to find her son Zack in the care of her neighbour. From the many surveillance measures in place to ensure she complies, as well as the timing (her son’s school on Easter break and he due to be away with his uncle, her ex-husband in Amsterdam) she understands this is a meticulously planned operation.

The fact of Shabir’s surgery has been kept very confidential: he is the Labour MP for Redwood, with a very strong anti-drug trafficking stance, and rumoured to be the next Labour leader. It goes against everything Anna believes, but the threat to her son’s life is real. Can she actually kill this man with half a dozen witnesses present and get away with it?

Over the last few months, cardiac nurse Margot Barnes‘s financial situation has become increasingly precarious: she owes money to her weed dealer and her landlady, has sold every item of value in her flat and is resorting to theft from her colleagues’ lockers. And she’s nine weeks pregnant. She is one of those present when Shabir receives his triple bypass.

DI Rachel Conaty is called to the discovery of a woman’s body in a well. She has clearly been murdered, quite recently, but just doesn’t fit the usual profile for such a violent death. Despite identification from fingerprints or dental records not being possible, she is recognised by locals as Paula Williams, and seen on CCTV walking Zack Jones home from school immediately before both disappear from view.

Rachel immediately fixates on the boy’s whereabouts, even though the manner of death fits with recent hits by local drug traffickers. Is her own history, the disappearance of her son, affecting her judgement?

Much more cannot be revealed without spoilers, and while some aspects of the story may require the reader to don their disbelief suspenders, the best advice is to strap them on and enjoy the ride right through to the nail-biting climax, and the chilling final chapters. And even if astute readers predict some of threads, watching how it all plays out is, nonetheless, so fascinating that this novel is unputdownable.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Australia.

In this novel, a high-flying surgeon, Anna, arrives home after work to find her life in chaos; her home is full of strangers who have kidnapped her son, and have one demand: if you want to see your son alive again, you must kill a popular politician when he goes under for routine surgery (funnily enough, she is the surgeon) – and it must look like an accident. The book is told from 3 character perspectives: Anna, Margot (a fellow nurse who works with Anna and has an unfortunate sticky-finger tendency) and Rachel (a detective inspector with the local police department). The story follows Anna as she comes to terms with loss of her son, agonises over the task set by the kidnappers, and the consequences of her subsequent decisions.

This book was a struggle for me. The first quarter is okay – the plot ticks along (albeit slowly) but the remaining 75% descends into a mess. There are 3 primary issues I had with this book:

1. The plot, from start to finish, is unbelievable and at the end is simply dumb. The overall premise is believable, but the execution is not. For instance, the opening scenes when Anna arrives home and there are “strange men” casually wiring her house up for surveillance who cooly and calmly do so as she desperately runs around; it just stretches belief. Then the end – I won’t spoil it here, but the twists were just strange, predictable and to be honest, plain clumsy.

2. The character development was shallow. I didn’t feel any engagement or affinity to any of the characters. Anna – her son is lost, you want her to find him – I really didn’t care. Margot – a tough upbringing, a scrappy underdog story – nope, again, couldn’t engage and relate. And Rachel, who you want to find the bad guy and get justice – nothing. This might stem from how little I cared for the plot, but I rarely have such little affinity for characters in the books I read – it was quite profound from my perspective.

3. The book is long – too long. 80% of the action happens in 20% of the pages. Many words are lost with what I feel is almost page-filling fluff. The book could have lost 100 pages and still got everything in.

In all, a challenging book and one of the few I have reviewed which I would actually not recommend. 2/5 stars. The book is due out in June 2022. Many thanks to Simon and Schuster Australia and NetGalley for the ARC.

They've taken your son. In order to get him back, you have to kill a high profile politician while performing heart surgery on him. Welcome to Anna's predicament. Will she do it? Can she do it? Will she see her son again?

You know it's going to be a good month when your first June book is a 5 star read and you finish it in under 24 hours! I honestly could not put this book down. Told from multiple POV's, there were a few different character storylines but they all tied in together. If you enjoy a fast paced thriller, this one has to be on your list.

You guys! Why have I never read anything by Jack Jordan before?! After devouring Do No Harm, I am so excited to read his back titles!! Any recommendations on which one to start with?

#netgalley #donoharm publication date 01 June 2022
I read this late into the night and it's a good thing I'm not easily sqemish. A page turning physcological thriller and will have you glued to the pages. Overall I enjoyed this book but didn't like any of the characters 4/5 stars

There is alot of hype around Do No Harm by Jack Jordan and I was dying to get my hands on a copy. A bug thank you to Simon and Schuster Australia for approving my request on Netgalley... I was so excited! I have read most of Jack's previous books and they have all been exciting reads that I powered through. Do No Harm was no different. I really had to know how these characters were going to get themselves out of these situations.

Anna is a heart surgeon and a mother. What would you do in her shoes - to save her son who has been kidnapped, she must kill her patient, a high profile MP. If she wants to see her son again she has to do the unthinkable and break her oath as a medical professional. How far will she go to save her son.

There really isn't anymore you need to know about the story, that was enough to suck me in. There is alot more going on and it will have you turning pages until late in the night. Another fantastic read Jack Jordan.

Do No Harm is published in Australia on June 1st

This was definitely a book with a lot of twists! I really liked how the story was told through the different perspectives of Anna, Margot & Rachel, and how they intersected. However, I felt it dragged a lot in the middle while we were waiting for the final showdown. This was made more noticeable as I felt the start & finish were very thrilling. The thrills had me turning the pages to see what was going to happen, but it left me wanting more.

It is your job as a surgeon to save the man on the table, it is also your job as a mother to ensure no harm comes to your child. How do you choose between one man’s life and your own child’s …an impossible choice… or is it? You must get away with murder or never see your son again…

What would you do if your child had been taken and you were given an ultimatum … Kill one of your patients on the operating table or your child dies? Do you, Do No Harm?

The story is told from three main POV first there is Anna who is the revered (although considered uppity) cardiac surgeon she has the perfect life… or does she. One day she comes home to her giant McMansion to find strangers inside, she thinks her, cheating ex-husband has organised for the place to be cleaned out but as she takes a closer look she realises with horror there is something more sinister going on. Anna’s son has been kidnapped and the kidnappers demand that she kill her upcoming high profile patient. A Labor MP who will be running for reelection - not knowing what to do but not being given much choice Anna’s life is sent into turmoil.

We also meet Margot, a scrub nurse who is trying to make her way but failing through every step, she is a petty thief at work to try and make the ends meet of her broke life that is falling apart. She is in debt, doesn’t want to rely on her deadbeat family and has no where to turn… when pushed to the brink of no return what is Margot willing to do and how far is she willing to go to get what she ‘deserves’.

The last POV is Detective Inspector Rachel Conaty, haunted by the past and her own son’s disappearance many years earlier she is like a dog with a bone trying to find the truth. In all honesty I found very little to connect with about this character that, this is all I will say.

This book sounded GREAT from the outset I was hooked I love a medical drama/thriller. The first 20% was going along alright but then it took a massive nosedive. The story is convoluted and contrived, the characters were unlikable which is normally not a deal breaker but in the case of the story beginning to wane and become boring you really want to connect with someone. Especially someone who has had their child stolen, or someone so down on their luck you want to root for them or even the police inspector you want her to catch the bad guys or girls… no one … literally no one I cared enough about.

Something that continued to irk me throughout the story was the amount of times I had to read about how sweaty someone was. This is a running theme for me at the moment because in the books I am reading I have to read how a characters back was ‘damp’, or they stank of sweat or they were dripping with sweat - NO - that is enough. I get it people are nervous and people sweat but I do not want to read line after line about the dripping, damp, pooling sweat. Gross.

The ending - too much - way too much. It got stupid and then there was a little sinister turning point where we were supposed to be creeped out but by that stage I was just so glad to close my kindle and turn the light out. I wanted to like it, but I didn’t and I realise I am the outlier but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster (Australia), NetGalley and the Author for the opportunity to read this book ahead of the publishing date, in exchange for an honest review.

It’s hard to review this without giving too much away but suffice to say there are many surprises. I loved that the author was brave enough to take this book in unexpected directions. So many characters to loathe here, but somehow I remained invested in all of them. It’s also got some odd “Easter Eggs” in it - not just a thriller but also dips into the psychology of people who compulsively pluck their hair. Really interesting book.