Wow! Just wow! This book checked every box for me! The story offers a compelling (and often uncomfortable) look at trauma and the relationship between survivors and their narcissistic family. It's engaging, has good character development and a has ton of twists (YEEEEES)!

Without giving away too much, the plot takes you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions. You go from wondering what's going on to whether the narrator is reliable, to ghosts (seriously!) and back. It's everything you asked for in a thriller book. Get your hands on a copy and enjoy!

I would like to thank NetGalley for the chance to read this amazing book in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever read a book that made you look stupid? Well this is that book for me. I’ve had several if I’m being honest. I was talking to myself out loud arguing with the people in the book! People were looking at me like I was crazy! I couldn’t put it down and sometimes had headphones on having kindle read to me and of course people didn’t see that! I figured it out but even then the book had me questioning myself… did I?? Or is a twist coming?? This book was amazing! Even if I was asked several times while reading are you ok?? This was fun and embarrassing and great and twisted and I loved every bit of it!! Thank you Netgalley for allowing me access to this fantastic book by Cole Baxter who I really enjoy!

For me, this was just . . . OK. It had a great premise but it just fell flat. Which is a real shame because I was drawn in by the fact the MC, James, has schizophrenia and was admitted to a mental hospital after being accused of a crime he doesn't recall committing. The story takes place 10 years later, when he is released back in to society and back to his family home which hides many painful memories for him and his twin sister, Janet, many that he has repressed. The book had real promise but I felt like there was something missing to this story. In the beginning I couldn't put my finger on it. But what I think is missing is depth. It's lacking depth. The story, the way things within it were explained, it felt too brief. The writing was immature; James is an adult but the way in which he speaks makes him seem younger. Janet, his sister, was just insufferable and their dynamic had me so frustrated (which was actually a good thing because it made me feel something). James is such a doormat when it comes to Janet. On so many occasions he let her walk all over him. She was controlling, manipulative and gaslit him. I didn't like her the moment she was introduced. I didn't like her the moment it was said she was in his corner and had his back. And why on earth would you agree to let your sister have full access to your bank account simply to avoid arguments (she didnt think he could be trusted to control his own finances)? In reality, no lawyer would agree to setting up a second fake bank account to have the sister believe she has access to his real account. No lawyer would humour him and go along with her having access to his account. There were several occasions throughout the book that I felt weren't realistic.


I found it a little irksome when James revealed to Janet over the phone that he felt his meds weren't working as things around the house kept going missing. We, as a reader, had no idea this was happening! As a reader, this was our first time finding out about it and I'm not a fan of things happening off page. It just seemed a bit disjointed.


Although it's hinted at there being some attraction between James and his probation officer, Brianna; a few smiles here, brief touching of hands, clutching hands while he was having a panic attack . . . It just didn't make sense for her to appear in his bedroom when he got out of the shower and proclaim she missed him. It felt too sudden. Like things had developed too quickly. The sex scene was so unnecessary. For this to happen, there really needed to be more building of their relationship beforehand. It felt like it came out of nowhere. Not to mention the whole thing with them was unrealistic anyway becasue she was his probation officer.


In the epilogue it is 6 months later, after it had all concluded, but James is only just now being released from his probation. He was found innocent, so why was he still on probation? That doesn't make sense. Another hole is that when he finds out the truth about everything that happens when they were kids, he acts shocked when his sister implied she was sexually abused by their dad. Yet much earlier in the book, this had already been revealed. This book could have been great but it just needed delving in to a bit more, more research done on the law side of things. The real killer was very predictable. I'd figured it out from the start. Although this book wasn't for me, don't let that stop you from reading it to see what you think for yourself.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this book.

I am going to start out by saying that this isn't necessarily a bad book, it just wasn't for me. It felt like much of the book was just filler up until about the 75-80% mark of the book. The ending didn't make up for the filler in the first half of the book. I had to really push through this book to finish. The characters also weren't interesting enough to actually have a connection with them. The writing also seemed immature to me which was unexpected because the characters are supposed to be older (30s). Overall, I didn't think the ending was worth pushing through the book for.

I love these types of books and I was hooked on this one from the beginning. I couldn't put this book down. Would definitely recommend this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Patient! This book gives you an insight of what it is like to deal with a mental illness. People who do not have a mental illness (or any disability) don’t realize what they take for granted on a daily basis, whereas someone else could be struggling and find daily activities extremely difficult. This book also shows how even family can try to manipulate and take advantage of other family members. This was an exciting read that held my interest all the way to the end (and what an ending it was!) Thank you to Mr. Baxter and NetGalley.

The Patient had me in a chokehold and I couldn’t move until I had all the answers. It was totally worth all the stress!

Honestly, this book caught me completely off kilter. I’ve read a few of Cole Baxter’s books before but The Patient is in a league all its own. Not only did it grip me in only a few words, but my brain tried to come up with plausible connections all were wrong, of course. My tea went cold, the blanket was tossed to the side, and I had my kindle in a death grip. I sacked off the chores for the day because there was no way I was moving.

Mental health is a subject very close to my heart. I’m sure we’ve all been there, right? We’ve all gone through periods in our lives where things have just got too much. The stress of everyday life, financial woes, health worries, and genetic predispositions to anxiety and depression. I think if you haven’t experienced poor mental health then you’re an extremely lucky individual.

Cole Baxter has taken a many difficult themes and created a story that makes your heart plummet. The reader gets a story about an action that changed an entire life. The author served up a meal with all the extras – the gravy, the stuffing, the works.

This book made me feel it all. I had extreme feelings of anger, sadness, and fear. The author did his job well. The reader was given such an important starting point and it just careened like an avalanche you can’t stop; all you can do is jump out the way and hope for the best.

James Owens was committed to a mental hospital ten years ago after being convicted with the murder of his girlfriend. He was deemed incapable of coping with his actions, so he spent his time in hospital. I enjoyed the relationship between James and his probation officer. It was heartwarming to see someone in his corner. Someone who was willing to take a look at his case and see if everything added up or something fishy had gone on. In the meantime, James has his sister to stay to help him readjust to life on the outside and let me tell you, I have never come across a nastier piece of work than her. Some serious jealousy festering within her.

My brain went into overdrive as the story progressed. I had the best time coming up with the most far-fetched, unbelievable theories and still I got them completely wrong. Cole Baxter led me up a deserted path and jumped out at me. The blend of adrenaline and questions increase to a fever and pitch and by the end you feel emotionally wrung out.

This was giving Freida McFadden vibes.

James has Schizophrenia and was convicted for killing his highschool girlfriend. They plead that he was not in his right mind and has been in the hospital for 10yrs. Finally released he goes home and for some reason cannot trust himself.

The whole book is essentially him trying to decide what’s real and what’s a hallucination. He can’t trust anyone- not himself, his therapist, his sister Janet. Weird things keep going on in the house, laughter, banging loud noises. He keeps thinking to himself how paranoid am I?!

Things aren’t adding up, he thinks he’s going crazy… or so he thinks.. this book is so good. Super twisty. I was able to guess what happens it is really really obvious. But still a damn good novel. Really interesting to read and for sure fast paced.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Patient is,an interesting read. Though you find out the crime that James Owens supposedly committed, the punishment and the parole with its' stipulations seem weird - but this is fiction!

With the story itself, much of the story describes how anyone coning out of a psychiatric hospital for any reason might feel, experience, etc., especially when seemingly nothing is explained. Also, when we learn more history, some things to get some perspective. It's when we have dealings with James' sister Janet, that we find what truly is weird. And when the reader reads everything about Janet, we learn some new things and we find out that not all is as good as it appears. As the stogies on, things get weird and you do wonder if James is relapsing, but he's doing all of the appropriate things - and once again, Janet is in the house.

At this point, the story goes from relatively deep to "my gosh fantastic"! Yes - a satisfying conclusion that makes everything worthwhile - even some of the things that may seem mundane.

The first book I've read by this author, seeing a rave review from a friend plus my FOMO meant I had to try it.

The main character James has just been released from a mental institution, his home for the last ten years following a conviction for a murder he doesn't remember committing.

Moving back into the big old empty house that belonged to his deceased father, James must try to come to terms with his freedom, remember to take his meds and try not to freak out over his hallucinations and the unexplained goings in. The action is confined to the house, as James is on an ankle tag for his probation.

I loved James's fuzzy-headed internal dialogue, he's trying to do the right things but can't trust his own memories, thoughts and feelings - an unreliable narrator who is fully aware of his own unreliability. I found James a very compelling character to read about.

While it's big on character the plot is fairly straightforward and there wasn't too much to unravel come the finale.

Well worth reading for the character writing, but I would have liked a bit more with the plot.

Thanks to Netgalley and Inkubator Books

I'm afraid this book was not for me.

***SPOLER ALERT***

The premise was far-fetched and there were so many illogical situations - a skeleton is not in tact after many years - it is just a collection of bones. It is ridiculous to think a woman could carry another woman (drugged) down flights of stairs, through passages etc. Would a probation officer (who seems professional) really have a relationship with one of her court-appointed clients? Would a father who hated his son really leave all his money to him rather than the twin sister the father loved?

The list goes on.

Totally intrigued by this wild ride of a thriller 👀 I thought it was written in quite a genuine way re: mental health issues. I am definitely going to be reading more by this author! 👌🏻

I thought the ending had some interesting twists and turns (some of which I expected and others I did not), but overall I don't think this book was for me. I didn't enjoy the gaslighting / toxic relationship between James and Janet (James is the MC). I thought the book overall was a bit drawn out (especially the first half). I did keep reading to find out how it ended and was satisfied with how all of the loose ends were tied up overall. The premise was interesting, which was what drew me to the book (MC recently released from a mental hospital after being accused of committing a murder he did not recall and learning who was trustworthy now that he is back in society--on house arrest--including his own sister, Janet).

I didn't finish this book sadly. I read only 80 pages.
It was interesting to start with, and the plot had good potential. However, I found the book lacked action. James and his sister where just walking around the house, making cups of tea and moving old boxes. It lacked suspense, the characters were one dimensional and motive of childhood trauma was repeated on every other page.
This book just wasn't for me.

I did not enjoy this book and DNF at 48%. I got almost half way through and so far nothing has really happened. I can’t stand Janet and can predict how it ends. Everything I’ve read so far has seemed like filler.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for this ARC.

First, thank you for allowing me to read this amazing story! I enjoyed it. It was able to captivate my attention from the very beginning. It was very interesting and I felt like I was inside the schizophrenia brain for the very first time. Hearing his thoughts and his dreams really amplified the story for me differently than others are able to portray.

Whenever I see a Cole Baxter book I will always priortise it. I find them a great escape and get totally absorbed into the book.

This one was different to most - but no less good, just a different book by this author. I read this in one afternoon as I wanted to find out what happened. The first half dealt with mental health, the second more of a thriller both really good.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

Painfully obvious. Wasn't a bad story but it left nothing to the imagination. And it was very drawn out.

This book was great! It has the unreliable narrator trope that keeps you guessing. It also has mental illness as a central theme and keeps you wondering what is real and what's not. I enjoyed the story and was able to finish this book in one day! The ending was also very interesting, but did slightly remind me of another movie I've seen but it didn't ruin the story for me. Overall I give it 4 stars.

Recently released on parole, schizophrenic James, returns to his childhood home. Will he remember what happened there? Will he be able to differentiate between reality and his hallucinations? Is he crazy or is everyone else? Can he trust anyone? Only time will tell…


This is a well-written quick read. However, I feel like most of it is filler, and I didn't care about the characters at all. I knew pretty much the whole time who the culprit was. The relationship between the parole officer and James is unrealistic IMO. Truth be told I was ready to put it down.