The Beautiful You clinic is advertising to do what every woman wishes- enter your old drab self and leave as a beautiful, younger and thinner version. Dr. Cavendish promises this and more once you enroll in her 4 week clinic. The clinic is an old asylum, refreshed and repurposed, with no evidence of the terrors that occurred these years earlier, or so everyone thinks.

Jenny is a previous patient of the asylum, working with her landlord to help shut Dr Cavendish down to avoid being evicted, while being forced to process and revisit all the terrors that happened to her as a patient.

As the patients of the clinic start to realize, something isn’t right here. Can they stop Dr Cavendish or will they fall victims as women before them have?

This book addresses the very important topic of toxic diet culture. Skinny is not always the answer. It shows that women will literally do anything to lose weight- and how some prey on that.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Can a building have a memory? That's the question I found myself asking at regular intervals while reading Sally-Anne Martyn's twisty debut, The Clinic. Because terrible things happened at the Pine End Asylum in the past. Today, it's been given a glossy makeover and has opened its doors as a weight-loss clinic. But behind those doors, some seriously dubious things are happening all over again.
Martyn's novel centre's on society's obsession with skinniness and how this traps women, in much the same way as they were trapped and locked up in the past. Her villain is Dr Carmichael, creepy as hell from her squeaky plimsoles to her sharp nails. Move over, Nurse Ratched is all I can say.
We follow Jenny, who was incarcerated in the 1980s, and Amy, who has just unwittingly entered the clinic, in a plot that ramps up the tension and keeps you guessing until past and present meet in a truly dramatic way.

I love books set in asylums or old asylums that have been converted so I was keen to read and review this book. It kept me engaged all the way through, I really enjoyed it.

The clinic by sally-Anne martyn releasing October 27 2022. This book seemed to drag out for me. When an old insane asylum is turned into a beauty spa by a crazy doctor. Things are going on inside this place with the women. This book didn’t hold my attention

Old asylum converted partially into a luxury, high-end wellness clinic. What could possibly go wrong? Everything you might imagine and some you won't. Memories of a past life as a patient combined with a group of characters who have desire to be beautiful/thin and will do anything for that - live on pills, accept injections, pretend to do SAS style exercises whilst being encouraged by a very creepy doctor. Weakly drawn characters I'm afraid but there is a lot of good descriptive writing. Didn't especially grab me but I liked the cook. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

An old asylum with a nasty history
A new beauty clinic on site
The links to the old and new
A feisty bunch of characters
Explores our obsession with perfection
A good read

Well this was quite the adventure down weight loss lane!

Anyone that’s ever been told they could stand to lose a few pounds can probably relate to the lengths that a person is willing to go to be “skinny”. Many want to be the society standard size just so others will stop judging. I know I’ve been there.

So a weight loss retreat - extremely exclusive, expensive and hard to get into with a ridiculous application to start. At the end of the program you’re guaranteed to hit all the goals you set when you applied. Sounds perfect, like an adventure even. A group of women enter The Beautiful You Clinic with the hopes of losing weight, brightening their skin and all those fun things in a month (or so, depending). The meals are barely there, there are extensive amounts of vitamins (both oral and injections) as well as a grueling exercise regime - weekly weigh ins in front of everyone are also a fun part of the program.

Then stuff starts happening. One of the women has been taken to the hospital, but another woman (Amy) is convinced she hears her calling for help through the vents, but that’s crazy right? How could she be hearing the voice of someone who isn’t even there? Must be all those stories about the clinic’s former inhabitants still hanging around - you know, because of course patients of an asylum would still be hanging around, at the very least as local legends.

We follow Amy (a client of the Clinic), Jenny (a former patient of the asylum) and get glimpses into the patient files from the asylum days as well. It’s really interesting and I found myself pretty invested in it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pretty terrible, but readable. Definitely pulpy. Shades of Nine Perfect Strangers. I did finish it, and I thought the ending really redeemed the book.

The Clinic. Is it a high end, luxury weight loss spa or is it a rigorous course of food denial and fat shaming? Is the former mental asylum really transformed? And what secrets and horrors lurk in the walls, the dark, dank, basement corridors? And what’s really in the pills and injections, the alleged nutritional and mental supplements?

I won’t tell. If you really want to give yourself the creeps, read this book. I found the poor, unwitting, souls who signed up for something and didn’t get what they expected endearing, as was the cook. The evil spirits who run this place are also deliciously hateful.

Good, spooky, thriller with a lot of twists and turns.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

This didn't do much for me. I liked the premise but the writing style just felt so slow and detached that I couldn't get into it and felt bored throughout. There were some twists thrown in but they didn't do much to rectify the writing issues so it wasn't for me. That said, if you like more of a character driven/ ridiculously detailed and descriptive novel then give it a bash

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Joffe Books and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Dark, twisted, thrills, twists and turns.

A dark thriller about a wellness clinic in an old asylum, this book has plenty of twists to keep you pulled in. My only issue was the writing style - I found it a bit too descriptive and slow, which didn't really resonate with me.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Many thanks for the advance copy, I was delighted to finally read this, after seeing so much about it online.

The Clinic is a wonderful, dark thriller (perfect for my tastes) that has a great tension filled build up that leads to a break-neck finale. While I did spot the odd twist coming, there were still a couple that came along that genuinely surprised me.
The characterisation was absolutley spot on, it's clear who you are meant to root for and who you aren't.
Each character was described exceptionally well, with very clear differences in personality.

The author obviously has a genuine talent for descriptiveness, word play, world building and a terrific dark sense of humour that pops up along the journey.

I can honestly say this is my favourite book I've read all year and I can't wait to read more of the authors output.

Congratulations all round. 5/5

I loved the premise of a shady clinic housed in an old asylum, but admittedly, I didn't get too far in this book. The writing felt choppy, which normally I can get past. What really stuck out to me (and, honestly, what creeped me out), was the way the author described Dr. Cavendish. Within a few pages, her physical description was framed in a way that borderline objectified her. It was off-putting and enough reason to make this a rare DNF for me.

This book grabbed me from the first page and didn’t let go until I had devoured the whole thing. Very creepy and highly recommended!

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review

a great, engaging read! I can't wait to read the other books by this author

It's a little over-written and overly descriptive (although this settles as the plot unfolds). I found it entertaining despite the tendency to tell not show. A decent read for a dark winter's evening.

The Clinic by Sally-Anne Martyn was a great read for September, just in time for spooky season!

The weight loss clinic set in the old abandoned asylum with a sinister underbelly was fantastic setting, the characters were well-rounded and fun to read/get to know, the story-telling was thorough and the world building was great. Overall, one of my favorite reads of the year!

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this eARC!

This might’ve been one of my favourites I’ve read all year! This book is set in a “wellness/weight loss retreat” in an abandoned asylum. How far will the women go to reach their goals, and who is the mysterious doctor who runs the clinic?

If you’re a fan of Freida McFadden, this book was very reminiscent of hers in terms of the medical aspect, writing style and the crazy twist at the end. This is a must read for any of her fans, or anyone else who loves unputdownable thrillers. Because of the plot, this could be triggering to those with a history of eating disorders, so be warned if that’s a trigger for you.

5/5 stars ⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and Joffe books for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

4 stars

This was such a delicious and thought provoking read! I had a great time reading it. The setting was perfect and the plot seems so unique and fresh (at least to me). I can’t wait to see more from this author.