I enjoyed this thriller and liked Alison, a well rounded and strong characters.
The plot kept me guessing even if some parts required a bit of suspension of belief.
I liked the solution and the style of writing.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

I requested this as I liked the blurb. Alison has moved to the seaside to work at the local hospital. She’s moved from London after her relationship fell apart. But as she starts her new job it’s clear that there’s something sinister going on. The death rates are high, lots of the staff are against her and there’s something going on with the finances.

As it is written from someone with experience, the medical references will appeal to those who understand them.

There were a lot of good parts set up by the writer but many of them left me frustrated.
Alison left after meeting with senior members of staff but the true reason for this was never made clear.
There’s clearly someone messing with her but I found the relentlessness of this unnecessary.

However, the real reason that the locals seem to hate her was a good representation of the small town syndrome that you typically see. The positive relationships that she did manage to forge were good and believable.

It’s an enjoyable story just not one that is going to blow you away.

When you go into hospital, you do so trusting the Doctors and Nurses that work there to keep you safe from harm. That they have your best interests at heart and that their very purpose is to nurse you back to health, not rip that health away from you. It is very clear from the opening scene's of The Doctor, that someone at St Margaret's has a very different view on life - and death. And yet this is not the reason that stroke specialist, Alison Turner, is brought in as the new Medical Director. It is just one, well disguised, tragedy in a series of failings and issues that require her urgent attention. Issues that could end up costing her far more than her career.

I found that I grew to like Alison quite quickly. There are aspects to her character and her past that we don't know initially, ones that add a layer of mystery to an already twisted story but, in spite of that, I found I trusted her. The author builds that trust with the reader really quickly, making you invested in both her fate and that of the hospital and its patients. It's obvious from the beginning that she can't be behind the nefarious act that is leading to loss of life, and the more we learn of her predecessor, the easier it is to form an opinion of what is really going on around the hospital. Whether that is the correct opinion, remains to be seen.

It's fair to say that Alison faces no small amount of animosity and jealousy from her new colleagues, with very few seeming to be on her side. Whether it is professional jealousy, hatred of the person who has stepped into some very large, but ultimately dishonest shoes, or something far more sinister is unclear, but it was hard to get to like any of the other characters, with Alison left with few allies and suspicion cast on many of them as a possible source of the ill fate that befell her. She does find one very unlikely ally in local mechanic and one time emergency room patient, Mike Jenkins, who has his own reasons for hating the hospital staff and being distrustful of everyone who works there, and a its a pairing rich in chemistry, even if the course of their friendship is not entirely plain sailing.

There is a lot of tension throughout the book and a kind of unease that follows Alison around. I did guess some of the aspects of the story, and wonder at just why no-one else jumped to the more obvious conclusions that were there to be reached. But there there are a few moments of misdirection, and scenes that make you stop and reassess what is happening. I certainly wouldn't want to be a patient at St Margarets, and the constant battle between the hard working care givers (mostly) and penny pinching executive committee, had a sense of all to believable authenticity about it, Thankfully this is all a work fiction, St Margarets is not a real hospital and, with a few notable and notorious exceptions, hospitals and those who work in them are all wonderful, caring, and dedicated professionals.

But for a story with mystery, suspense, misdirection and just a touch of blossoming romance mixed in, this is a fab read that held my attention right to the end. I wanted Alison to succeed, loved the heightening of tension towards the end, and found the conclusion satisfying, if over a touch quicker and more dramatically that I expected. Had I guessed whodunnit? Honestly, yes. Was I bothered? Not at all - I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more by the author.

Alison a consultant takes up a new post as a Medical Director with plans and hopes to turn around an ailing hospital. There is a lot of suspense around her role, the predecessor and strange things happening. A great novel and an easy read which kept me wanting to find out what the outcome would be. I look forward to the author’s next book.

A really good whodunnit. Set in an underperforming hospital Allison is new employee with the task if turning it around. Someone is out to get her. A very good read and would thoroughly recommend to others.

This is my first book from this author. As an ER provider, I understood the medical side of the story and that seemed to add to the suspense and enjoyment.

Alison Wilson, a hospital doctor from a large London hospital moved to a small seaside town as a means of starting over. As the Medical Director at a failing hospital, she had her work cut out for her. Upon arrival, strange things started happening immediately. She often felt like she was being followed, defibrillators were malfunctioning causing unexpected deaths, controlled substances were disappearing, reports were being changed, and scheduled meetings were being cancelled,
The more she investigated into the mysterious happenings, the worse things became. Who was to blame?

This was a fast-paced medical thriller that held my attention cover to cover. The storyline kept me on the edge of my seat as there were many twists and turns. Who was the killer? The suspected culprit changed from chapter to chapter.

The characters and plot were well developed. I felt like I was right there with Alison, feeling her fear and frustration, and need to solve the mystery unfolding in her hospital. I enjoyed this book immensely and look forward to reading anything else that Annie writes. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves psychological thrillers or mysteries.

I am grateful to Author Annie Payne, Harper Collin Publishers, and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to review this Advanced Reader’s Copy. This is a voluntary review, and all comments and opinions are entirely my own.

Dr. Alison Wilson has relocated to a new hospital to fulfill the position of chief Medical Officer at a recently downtrodden hospital. While she is eager to fulfill this role and make positive changes in order to make the hospital more successful, not everyone that is currently there wants to see her succeed, for a multitude of reasons. She has no idea what she is up against as she starts this new position. I liked the following about this novel: the characters, the description of the hospital politics and the unsuspecting events throughout the story that kept me guessing. However, I also felt that the novel was slow at times, and I found my thoughts wandering. Thank you the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Doctor by Annie Payne has an intriguing premise. Medical director comes into a hospital with a high mortality rate and uncovers some things that just aren’t right. Will she uncover the truth? This was a quick and easy read however it was far too predicable and the story didn’t develop enough for it to have much of a shock factor.

Alison moved to a small town after a life-altering event for a fresh start at a new job and a new life. As medical director for the area hospital, she is tasked with lowering the mortality rate and increasing client satisfaction. Very quickly she realizes that something bad is happening and she works to uncover it before it’s too late.

This was a quick read and for the most part an engaging medical thriller. I appreciated it wasn’t too graphic, however I wished we got to delve into some of the plot points a little bit more. It just didn’t have enough character development or shock factor to be a winner.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited at the prospect of reading a medical thriller written by an author who had worked in the NHS. The Doctor revolves around Doctor Alison Wilson who escapes a scandal in London and becomes a Medical Director to a failing hospital with a worryingly high mortality rate.

I’ll start with the positives of this book as sadly, there are significantly less than the negatives! I liked the premise and it felt like it was written with a lot of lived in experience, but in a way that was easy enough to follow for someone who has very little experience of being in a hospital.

Sadly, I found the book to be both dull and frustrating - 70% of the book felt like build-up and could be easily summarised, and quickly became repetitive. Dr Wilson goes to work, finds meetings have disappeared from her calendar or figures in her reports have been changed, she goes home and drinks some wine, something creepy happens to her house (eg: vandalism or slashed tires), no-one believes her, and it starts all over again the next day. This not only got old fast but also became frustrating and unbelievable. I didn’t understand why it took so long for Dr Wilson to work out what was happening with her computer, even when it escalated to 4 meetings a day disappearing from her calendar. I also didn’t understand why no-one seemed to believe her, I know that she was new to the hospital but she could have easily gotten some proof of what was going on.

The book was also quite predictable and I easily guessed who the culprit was from very early on. The ending then spirals into madness with a character revealing themselves and then monologuing and confessing for no reason when they are on the verge of getting their way anyway. A lot of things seemed way too convenient and unrealistic – the killer keeping a diary for example, and the explanation of how they got her password from her computer was laughable – there’s no way they’d be able to see her type it from a camera, side on from another room!

There are some chapters which end with a paragraph from the killer’s perspective but these aren’t signposted or labelled in any way. It was incredibly jarring to suddenly have this switch of perspective and swearing midway through the narrative. The book also felt quite badly written in places which is very different from what I’d expect from a novel published by Avon.

Overall, The Doctor was not for me – quite frankly it’s poorly written, predictable and dull with too many convenient & unrealistic plot points. Thank you to NetGalley & Avon Books UK for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for a (very) honest review.

This book has a good premise. Allison moved to a small-town hospital to be medical director after her divorce from her cheating husband. But while there, is met with suspicion, menace, and a murderer. I wish I like this book more. I like a hospital setting. I wish I like the characters more. The plot could have been tightened more. Overall, an okay read.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!**

I read this one very quickly, I couldn’t put it down! I found the hospital setting very realistic and I could very much imagine all of the scenes in my head clearly. I really liked the development of Alison and her character arc throughout and found myself really rooting for her when things get flipped upside down! Whilst I did guess the protagonist slightly ahead of the reveal, this didn’t stop me racing through each chapter just to know what happens next. It was fast paced, gripping, filled with twists and turns and I loved it. Thank you to AVON for the review copy 💛

Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. Don’t get me wrong it was well written and at times I read large chunks because I needed to know who the killer was. However I never felt a need to pick this book up. I skim read quite a bit of it purely because there was a lot of unneeded information dumping that made it drag slightly. I did enjoy the romance part of this book and even though the book as a whole wasn’t for me I did find it quite easy to read and get through.

'The Doctor' by Annie Payne follows, Alison Wilson, the new Medical Officer in town. At first, she clocked it up to the fact that she's in a new environment and she's the newbie at work, but strange things keep happening around the hospital. As Alison begins to uncover the secrets of her other medical colleagues, she begins to realise that something very dark is happening at the hospital.

First of all, I love the premise– I am a huge fan of storylines where the main character is placed in a new environment, isolated, and begins to experience strange things. I think the plot could have been written a little bit better, as there were a few inconsistencies that I found. There is also a really good cast of characters but I wished could have been given a better set-up. As much as I wanted to care about these characters, I did not. I feel like if the characters were established a little better, I would have cared more about the mystery.

That being said, this is the first medical–related thriller I have read, and it only makes me want to read more.

2 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for giving me a copy of The Doctor by Annie Payne to read in exchange for an honest book review.

Thank you to Netgalley, Annie Payne and Avon publisher's for the advance copy to read and review.

I really wanted to love this but I'm sorry to say something just didn't click for me. I guessed the murderer very early on which is always disappointing. It felt like all Alison did was drink wine (and before a shift at work at some points) and think someone was causing her distress. It took Mike to force her to go to the police and report the strange goings on.

I just really didn't find any of it believable. It was a very easy read though.

Sorry just not my cup of tea, I have worked with doctors and nurses for a long time and usually enjoy stories of a medical nature but I didn't enjoy this one particularly. I found it a bit boring and it felt as if the storylines were mixed up. - However just my personal opinion.


thank you for the advance copy.

A quick fast paced read. Great characters, although the character change could be hilighted as was difficult to notice when the killer was speaking. A great read overall but easy to guess the killer. I actually wouldn't mind a sequel

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for aopy of The Doctor by Annie Payne.
After resigning from her job in London due to her husband having an affair Doctor Alison Wilson takes up a job as a local hospital in the beach town of Wayleigh as a Medical director for a Stroke unit. It’s a fresh start for her and she can’t wait to get started but things don’t go to plan. When going through the paperwork she finds out that there is drugs going missing and a high rate of fatalities. Some deaths due to dodgy equipment and someone at the hospital wants her gone. Not only that the local people take an instant dislike to her, and she hasn’t even done anything. Which she finds out that it has got to do with her predecessor Doctor Atkinson.
Thank you, Avon, and NetGalley for a copy of ‘The Doctor’. I have mixed feelings about this. Yes, this has an intriguing storyline and a great start for a debut author. But, I found a bit unrealistic at times due to the main characters excessive drinking habits and then seemed to her job effectively. But I would like to see how this author writing develops. 3.5 stars from me.

I usually enjoy a hospital based thriller, so the setting of this story was a good start for me - Dr Alice Wilson leaves London for a small English village and takes up a job running a hospital, but not is all as it seems and the mounting deaths leave her suspicious. Overall the story didn’t quite enthral me, and I felt the writing needed some work as it came across a bit cliche at times.

The Doctor by Annie Payne was a story about a doctor (Allison) who left her job in London because of the end of her marriage. The story was a bit slow. There was alot of description of where she worked and how the hospital is run. Allison wants to turn the small hospital around. There has been a number of mysterious deaths and the finances are in shambles. As she investigates the issues it seems as if someone is after her and making life really difficult.
In all the story was line was fine but was missing something...maybe more of her back story.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC.

The Doctor follows Alison as she begins a new role in a new hospital in a new town. The Doctor explores friendship, workplace relations and the fragility of our healthcare system.

I personally found that the book to be quite dull, it lacked drama and suspense and was in all, quite predictable. The sudden prospective shift with no warning or heading to inform you makes some parts of the writing unclear.

The premise of the book gets lost in the medical focus along with the author trying to run a romance storyline alongside the mystery means that neither really get developed to their full potential. I was a little confused as to the direction of the book at many stages as neither the mystery or the romance seem to be significant in the plot throughout the book.