Sharon Stevenson is a forensic psychiatrist. Her job is to decide whether a patient is of sound enough mind to stand trial, not whether they did or didn’t commit a crime. But Sharon is also a mother grieving the disappearance of her seventeen-year-old daughter, Maddie, who has never been found.
And what if the man sitting before her, who has been charged with the murders of several women, also claimed the life of her sweet girl? It’s time to find out the truth. An unputdownable psychological thriller about a dangerous cat-and-mouse game between a mother desperate for the truth and the killer she believes has the answers.
This was an awesome book. It held my interest all the way through until the surprise ending. The plot was excellent. Kevin was diagnosed with DID which is dissociative identity disorder. With the real killer in custody, Kevin is saved in the end and will be placed in a psychiatric hospital. If you like books about people with personality disorders then you will love this book. It's a great debut and I look forward to reading another book by this author.

Subject: Praise and Appreciation for "The Patient's Secret" with Note on Possible Grammatical Error

Dear S.A. Falk,

I hope this letter finds you well. I recently had the pleasure of reading your novel, "The Patient's Secret," and I felt compelled to reach out and express my sincere appreciation for your exceptional storytelling.Your ability to craft a gripping character plot, intertwined with a profound exploration of dissociative personality disorder, made for a truly compelling read. I was particularly intrigued by the skillful parallels drawn to the Hillside Strangler case, adding an extra layer of suspense to the narrative.Dr. Stevenson, as the psychiatrist for the accused Kevin Blackford, brought a captivating complexity to the story. Her unwavering belief in Blackford's innocence, combined with her personal struggles, including the mystery surrounding her missing daughter, added depth and emotional resonance to the narrative.The twist at the end of the book was the perfect culmination, subverting expectations and leaving a lasting impression. It's a testament to your storytelling prowess.

I also wanted to bring to your attention a potential grammatical error that I noticed on page 142. The sentence "Ever since he created me, I have been" seems to be incomplete or may require clarification. I wanted to mention this in case it was unintentional.Thank you for delivering a novel that kept me on the edge of my seat and for creating a world where characters and plot intricately dance together. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and I'm sure many other readers will too.

I will be leaving a review on my tiktok at some point this month, but I have submitted my review for this on www.amazon.co.uk

Wishing you continued success in your writing endeavors.

Warm regards,

Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book officially publishes on 2/5/24!

This book starts out with the ending. However, the author still managed to make the ending twist a surprising one! This book is one of the best depictions of a mental health disorder that I have seen in a book of this genre. Although this story is told mainly through one POV, the beginning chapter explaining the end is from another POV which I found to be unique to this book. I definitely recommend giving this one a read if you enjoy thrillers in general or crime-related tropes.

The Patient's Secret by S. A. Falk hit me like a brick with its wonderfully disturbing intensity and thorough mental illness exploration. Not only that but there is colleague angst, (in)justice and grief.

Dr. Sharon Stevenson is a Forensic Psychiatrist who is suffering personal anguish as her teen daughter has been missing for years. Her new client is accused of killing twenty eight people and is in prison. Sharon's job is to get inside the workings of Kevin's jigsaw puzzle mind and determine his fitness to stand trial. His actions are bewildering to say the least. Is he the Blue River Strangler? Is he honest or deceitful?

The pages are taut with bone chilling suspense and tense dialogue. Talk about fascinating to learn more about the psychological aspects of a serial killer and the effects they have on those working with them. Do pick this up if you crave a unique reading experience. The writing is breathtaking.

My sincere thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this riveting novel.

Good and quick read. Some gaps in the plot and all the twists are very predictable. The main characters are very flat.

A renowned psychiatrist, Dr Stevenson is perplexed by an accused serial killer's response to her questions. The killer, Kevin Blackford,does not look intelligent enough to so cleverly elude the police for his heinous crimes.for so many years. Why did he confess to the murders? Did he have an accomplice. Dr Stevenson finds some strange anomalies in his behaviour and is determined to find the truth even at the cost of her reputation. A psychological thriller with an unexpected twist .and jaw dropping suspense

This book was SO good, I couldn’t put it down. It got my interest from the very beginning as it was told from the POV of a forensic psychiatrist who evaluates the worst of criminals. This kept me on the edge of my seat and had a shocking twist! Highly recommend this one!

I couldn't put this down. This book really makes you think. A real insight into the world of psychology and mental illness. We need more Sharon's in the world.

Thank you to Net.Galley and Storm Publishing for the ability to read this suspenseful book prior to its publication. I was hooked immediately with the scene from death row and the execution chamber.

Dr. Sharon Stevenson, the forensic psychiatrist was very thorough and humane in her evaluation of the infamous serial killer. Yet, after a bit I became tired of reading though the same old notes. Then the plot twists and twists again!!!! I certainly wasn't prepared for the ending of this book - a real stunner!

Being a debut thriller, I feel, this book was actually a great thriller that will keep you on the edge till the end.

Dr. Sharon Stevenson is a forensic psychiatrist. Her main job is to interview the prisoner and determine if he or she is of sound mind to stand in the trial. So when she was assigned to the infamous Blue River Strangler case in Wyoming, she meets Kevin Blackford, who is the convicted killer. While being with Kevin, Sharon realized that Kevin might be suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder and to prove her theory right, she enlists the help of another psychiatrist and ended up working with Arlo, the defense lawyer, as the prosecution is determined to put Blackford behind the bars.

This book is really fast paced and page turning. The first part of the book was what really made me get invested into the book--I simply couldn't put the book down and I was wondering--is Kevin pretending to be suffering from DID or he genuinely suffers from DID? The writing was clear and spot on and I like how the writer has highlighted her relationship with her own daughter Maddie in the book. The ending was not really great but regardless, this book was really great. It also talks about justice, mental illness and tragedy and I was saddened that how sometimes, this could be realistic in real life as well--the prosecutor was determined to put Blackford behind the bars so she can get the promotion and didn't really care if he does suffer from mental illness or not. I highly recommend this book and I am looking forward to read more books from this author. The book worth 4 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Storm for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Was a bit lost at some places but overall was a good read. Thanks for letting me read it early Net Galley.

A brilliant book with a dark tale to tell. Examining people with common disorders and how the criminal mind works makes for a different book from the psychological thrillers I am used to reading. S.A. Falk studied psychology and criminology at college which greatly adds to the content of the book examining the lives of Sharon and Kevin. Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A very intriguing story that had me constantly changing my mind about whether or not the psychiatrist was right in her suspicion. I certainly could not have predicted what unfolded!

Description sounded good but I just couldnt get into the story. Sorry but this one isnt for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an early ARC

Excellent! The story opens at end with the accused about to be administered the lethal injection following his conviction of over 30 murders of young women. We then follow Dr Stevenson as she tries to prove that Kevin has Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and is therefore not mentally competant to stand trial. For a while, she started to irritate me with her obsession with trying to prove Kevin has DID. But, like a dog with a bone, she doesn't give up and ends up uncovering a number of twists and turns which turns the whole story upside down. Really good and it was fascinating to learn more about psychology.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sharon finds herself in a cat and mouse game between truth and lies of a serial killer. When she has to do an investigation to the mental state of a person on death row, it’s not all as straight forward as it seems. Kevin comes to light to having multiple personalities, but is he faking it? It’s time to find out the truth, but what will be dragged up from the past?

This book is truly incredible, a true nail biting story that keeps you hooked from start to finish.

Oh. My!
This has to be the BEST plot twist thriller I have ever read!
The writing made this book such a breeze to read through which is great because I couldn't put it down. I loved how the author brought in true life stories and refernces, which made it so much easier to get lost in the story and feel as if you are there with the characters. Dont feel bad if you can't decide who's side to be on, the twist and turns will have you changing your mind as quickly as Kevin changes in the story

#NetGalley

How far would you go to save a potentially mentally ill serial killers life? Would you disxredit yourself as a doctor? In this book, we follow Sharon (a psychiatrist who works on the prisons) as she tries to determine if Kevin is actually insane or just pretending to be to avoid the death penalty.
A fast paced read. The character of Kevin is done very well. And the author gives a nice twisty finale. I would rate the book 4.2/5 if we could give partial stars.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Does everything it promises- from the twisted mind of a serial killer- with perhaps more to him than first thought to the troubled efforts of the psychiatrist trying to save him from the death penalty the psych evaluation opens a can of worms both for the initial case against the killer and also for Sharon, all the time wondering if her child might be one of the victims.

The book has a captivating flow, from the first paragraph from the killers perspective through the very end and although slow moving in places that actually helped build the tension for me.

Review posted to Goodreads on 30/01/24. Linked below.

Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for sending me an advanced readers copy. All opinions are my own.

That read was a whirlwind. The first chapter drew me into the book and made it an instant page-turner and I stayed up until 2am finishing because it was hard to put down. I really went into this book with high hopes, but honestly, it did not meet expectations.

The last 20% of the book felt so rushed compared to the first half. The first part of the book felt dragged out with little substance, it essentially went on for 150 pages without anything major happening. Although the start of the book was so slow, you didn’t get the opportunity to bond to any of the characters. It felt so surface level. By the end of the book where the plot is being rushed, I didn’t feel any excitement or anger or any emotion really; I didn’t care about the characters enough to have a reaction. They were quite literally just words on a page rather than feeling like complete people.

Towards the end I could kind of guess what was going to happen a couple of chapters before it was made obvious. The suspense was minimal but there was nice closure at the end.

Also, a major part of the book is focusing on the potential mental illnesses that Kevin (the main character) could have, to explain the crimes. I feel like this just adds to the stigma that already demonised mental health conditions have.

Overall, not the best book but not the worst book. I’ve given it an average rating of 3 stars. Although I don’t regret reading the book, I also doubt that I will be rereading it.