I don’t read meant thrillers but this one appealed to me. So many secrets and strange goings on. Lots of suspects and unkind people. This was a book I was desperately trying to finish to see who would survive.

The Doctor is a book that had a decent storyline it just lacked any connection with the characters for me to care about them.
Dr Alison Wilson has uprooted her life from London to a small village in England. Her husband has been having an affair and she now wants a divorce. Due to his affair it made life difficult for her in her last position at a hospital in London and agreed to leave. Her new position in this hospital is one where she needs to find tge failings of it and fast but the more she digs the more she finds. From substandard equipment, drug thefts and too higher death rate are just a few things she’s found out but this has got someone’s back up and things start to happen to her making her feel afraid and isolated.
The storyline was there in this medical thriller, there wasn’t much in the line of thriller and this is where it lost a star for me as a little more character development and a few twists would have had this at a higher rating from me. Unfortunately I didn’t care about the characters and found Alison quite abrupt. The knowledge of hospitals was good and I did enjoy this, I just feel a few weeks could have made this better.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I used to read medical thrillers regularly but I haven’t read one for a long while, having read this, I shouldn’t have stopped. A fairly slow paced psychological thriller with added extras; the author obviously has inside knowledge of hospitals.

Dr Alison Wilson is appointed the new medical director at St Margaret’s hospital. She has moved from London, seeking a new start professionally & personally. The hospital is failing & despite her grand plans, she finds herself battling computer hacking, vandalism & a few murdered patients too. Is she in danger?

A taut read with some clever twists. Recommended.

Hi and welcome to my review of The Doctor! A.k.a. another episode in my ongoing series: “going in with the wrong expectations can and will severely impact your reading pleasure”.

Yes, dear reader, I managed to go in with the wrong expectations again. Especially with that tagline, and that cover, I expected a medical thriller, most likely with a bit of an angel of mercy angle. This is not that. This is a psychological thriller set in a hospital. Which, to my mind, are two very different things.

Recent examples of medical thrillers might be Jack Jordan’s Do No Harm, or Sometimes People Die by Simon Stephenson. These are books in which the medical aspect and the fact that the main characters are medical professionals, are so inextricably woven into the plot, the setting, the whole book, that the whole thing would just fall apart without that medical aspect.

That is not the case with The Doctor, which, to me, felt a lot like any other psychological thriller, only it just happens to be set in a hospital. Don’t get me wrong, I did like the setting. The author is a former NHS nurse and it does show, she clearly knows what she’s writing about and the setting felt very authentic.

However, the main plot line is our protagonist Alison Wilson, sorting out an administrative mess and trying to figure out who wants her gone so badly that they are messing with her head, her computer, her car, and yes, her cat. Oh, and Alison happens to be a doctor. Even with the suspicious deaths, this plot would have worked just as well in an office building with Alison as the CFO. The cold-blooded killer-who-is-actually-a-caregiver angle seemed like a bit of an afterthought to me.

When you go in expecting a medical thriller like the ones mentioned above, The Doctor falls just a little bit flat. It did not help that I had the killer pegged from the moment they first appeared. For me it was all very predictable and rather stereotyped. Maybe I’ve just read too many thrillers but this one felt mediocre at best, for me there was nothing to make it stand out amongst its peers.

The Doctor is a quick and easy read, and if you’re looking for a psychological thriller with an authentic setting, and you go in with the right expectations, who knows, you may well enjoy it more than I did.

I do love a book with a medical theme but this one didn't quite hit the mark for me. I didn't feel there was much of a storyline and I didn't take to any of the characters. I did finish the book however.and enjoyed the ending

I was keen to read this after being hooked by the blurb, unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations.
I thought the story had a lot of potential but It was just so unbelievable at times.

I really wanted to enjoy this one but there were just many points where I found myself shaking my head thinking ‘there’s just no way’. The characters were shallow in that I didn’t get under the skin of any of them, the writing felt stilted and forced and the motive was weak to say the least. Disappointed as thrillers are usually my favourite - this one fell very short of the mark.

A good medical thriller, the author knows how to keep the reading engaged and in suspense. I found the pace a little slower than I normally like however it still kept me reading. Alison Wilson is the new Medical Officer is a strong character with a background

Ready for a clean break, Dr Alison Wilson has moved from London to a small seaside town to take up a new a post as Medical Director at failing hospital, St Margaret’s.

With a higher-than-average fatality rate Alison is tasked to turn things around – a challenge she is keen to get her teeth into- but the odds are not in her favour and some of those factors are far darker than she could have even possibly imagined.

The Doctor is a fast-paced medical thriller. The hospital setting made it different to many other thrillers I have read before, and it was evident the author knew what she was talking about (having worked in the NHS herself) and therefore the details were spot on. I found the start slightly slow but once the suspense started building, I couldn’t get through the pages fast enough as I was so eager to find out who was behind everything.

Th characters in the book were very well developed--from the main protagonist herself right to the extras in the story- I could imagine each and everyone of them and emphasise with the emotions they were feeling.

One thing I found confusing was that the narrative of the suspect was added at the end of some chapters and there was a lack of differentiation which meant I sometimes had to go back and re-read it in the correct context. This may be clearer in a printed version but on Kindle it was just a new paragraph in the same font.

Overall four stars. A great medical mystery.

I enjoyed The Doctor, I read through most of it in one go, but towards the end I felt it lost me a little, but that didn’t detract from the fact it was a good read.

This medical-themed suspense story is atmospheric and has a distinctly chilling ethos. I like Alison, the main protagonist. While she has some characteristics of an unreliable narrator, it is clear her motivations are for good. This is a suspenseful medical drama but would be more so if the second voice in the story was darker and less distinct. The cast of characters adds to the story, and the hospital setting is intrinsic to the suspense.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

The Doctor is a suspenseful medical thriller.

Dr. Alison Wilson is starting a new job at St. Margaret's Hospital as the new medical officer. Because of low ratings she is tasked to make changes with quick results. All most from day one things are a struggle for Alison. People keep dying and faulty equipment is only partially to blame. Alison's emails and appointments are removed and are unable to be explained at how this keeps happening. Reports she submits are changed without her knowledge. Something isn't quite right at Saint Margarets, but no one seems to notice or want to find out what is wrong.

Alison gets permission to hire another doctor, a retired former colleague, to help her discover where the problems lie. As she starts to dig into the hospital’s past, Alison gradually discovers a much deeper and darker problem than she could have ever imagined. The attacks on Alison escalate and her life is in danger. Will she be able to find the person responsible for everything before it is too late.

This was a slow burning mystery. There are many twists and turns that kept me turning the pages until the final reveal. There are many red herrings that had me changing my mind as to who might be responsible. The ending was riveting I found myself holding my breath.

Alison is running away from her past and has moved jobs to a new hospital where she is taking over as Medical Director. The hospital is failing on so many levels and it's her job to turn things around.

With staff shortages, faulty equipment and more lies than she could ever imagine, Alison really does have an uphill battle and when she becomes a target it's clear that somebody will do anything to stop her discovering the truth.

Written from the point of view of Alison, with some paragraphs from 'the killer'.

It's clear that the author has great knowledge of medical terminology.

Kept me guessing and I changed my mind so many times.

Really enjoyable read with great believable characters.

Dr Alison Wilson is the new medical officer of a small seaside hospital moving from a busy London hospital but some people don`t want her there and strange things start happening to her and people are making her job difficult for her to cope.
Lots of suspects and twists, you know who it might be but keeps you guessing.
A bit slow in places and sometimes confusing who it is who is speaking

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC

Posted to Goodreads

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Avon Books for the gifted e-book ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Multiple POVs, whodunit, small towns

This started off incredibly slow. The first chapter was amazing but then it crept by. Once it hit midway it was more engaging. It's an easy read that is a bit predictable. I liked it enough.

I can’t think of any other medical thriller I’ve read so I wasn’t completely sure what to expect. The first chapter is told from the POV of the killer and set the scene well. It is clear the author has first hand knowledge of hospitals and hospital procedures, there was a lot of it in the book, which I was fine with. The main character was, I thought, not as strong as she would have been having attained this level in her career, but she was still a good protagonist.

Briefly, Dr Alison Wilson is the new medical director at St Margaret’s hospital. Recently divorced, she resigned from a similar post in London looking for a new start. Needing to turn the failing hospital around she has great plans but very quickly finds herself simply trying to keep her head above water. Her computer is hacked, property vandalised and she is being stalked but what she doesn’t yet know is that there is someone deliberately murdering patients and Alison is a threat.

Fairly slow paced this was a good psychological thriller with a tense plot. There are a number of clever twists as Alison fights against time to discover the truth. The story felt very authentic and it was an enjoyable read.

Alison Wilson is the new Medical Officer in the hospital. As she adjusts to her new position, she finds that things are truly amiss and sets about to make some big changes, which some of the staff are not happy about. Some of the Starr aren’t happy about her even being there-they liked the former colleague who held the position, and don’t understand why she replaced him. As strange things keep happening, Alison chocks it up to being the newbie, but slowly she uncovers the secrets of her colleagues and realizes that something dark is happening at the hospital.
I liked the premise-always a fan of a hospital or clinical setting and anytime a character is placed in an isolated new environment and left to sort things out is usually going to be a good time for me. However, this felt a little too “clinical “ sadly and not enough “thriller “ I needed a little more action and a little less hospital.
That being said, I will for sure check out the authors future work.
Thanks to Avon Books Uk and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

At the beginning of the story it is such a quick read and interesting as it’s from a medical perspective which I thoroughly enjoyed however the story did get a bit predictable which made me lose a bit of interest.

I like the fact that the Dr Alison Wilson came from a big shot city to a small town to help out another practice with her years of experience.

Right... I was already afraid this was going to happen to be honest. There have been a lot of negative reviews about The Doctor since I requested a copy, and it kind of made me regret the decision to do so... Especially since the reviews all mentioned valid issues that would greatly bother me as well. Since I already had a copy hanging out on my kindle, I decided to just jump in with low expectations and try to make the best of the situation. Who knows, I might have another unpopular opinion popping up and actually love the story? But of course those kind of books are rarer to find than a talking unicorn.

I was initially pleasantly surprised, because the beginning of The Doctor wasn't all bad. The first chapter from the killer's POV makes for a great opening, and I was ready to sit down and enjoy this medical thriller. But the fact is: whatever The Doctor is, don't expect for anything exciting to happen or for it to focus on the actual crime. Instead, this story reads like one of those over the top medical drama series you see on TV, and not in a good way. The plot basically consists of telling us in great detail how the hospital is run, then strange stuff happening to the main character, but her thinking she is just paranoid and drinking yet ANOTHER glass of wine to end the day. Repeat that a kazillion times, and that was just about what I read in the first 36%. Could things have become better later on? Maybe, but considering I read quite a few reviews and they all complain about the same, I don't think so.

There was just something about the writing style and tone that simply didn't work for me at all. There was quite a lot of repetition, and I just never felt the suspense. I also hated that some of the chapters suddenly had a POV jump at the end to the killer's POV without any warning at all. I do normally love a good POV from the killer, but the tone was just way off and it made the killer almost sound immature. The pace was considerably slow as well, and I struggled to keep reading. Add the fact that the reviews promised that it was only getting worse and more over the top, and I decided that life was too short to continue reading a book I already knew would never work for me. DNF number five of the year it is! Oh well, we can't like them all...

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

So I have never read a book quite like this and I really enjoyed it! It was definitely different than the typical thrillers that you come across because it is more targeted as a medical thriller. You could definitely tell that the author has been around the hospitals because she definitely knew what she was talking about and I feel like that helped with the suspense of the story. This book was gripping, kept the readers attention, and there were definitely parts that I did not expect. I will say that the description of the MC was definitely frustrating at times. As a reader, I really wanted to support the MC who is a female doctor who moved to become a head of the hospital that she is now working at. However, the writing just kind of made her into this defenseless women who can’t really take care of herself and that just became frustrating at times. Overall, I still enjoyed reading the book and think this would be a perfect beach read going into the summertime!