The Patient

A Net Galley Book Review

“I think one of my patients is a serial killer. I just don’t know which one.” That is the great setting against which this book opens. Danielle Rycroft is a therapist living in Cheshire, a town dedicated to Alice in Wonderland.

Wonderland is Danielle’s childhood comfort blanket and anchor, where she took refuge as a child when her parents argued. Now as an adult, she desires to help her three patients – Tyler, Ella, and Savannah, rebuild their lives and get past the issues that plague them.

When the town of Cheshire is rocked by violent murders, subtle signs from her patients lead Danielle to suspect that one of them may be responsible for the gruesome murders. She is worried that she has not been able to help them in the time that she has been seeing them. This leads her to seek support from her own therapist in order to get herself back on track.

This is my first time reading a book by Steena Holmes. I found this book well written and easy to follow. She uses different points of view which let us into the minds of the characters and also give us insight into the lead character’s backstory.  

The story is heartbreaking and tormenting. The plot is consuming and I had to pause at certain points when I pictured the events too keenly for my comfort.

Whereas I liked the book and found it interesting, I was able to figure out who the culprit was pretty early on in the book. It was almost like the author wanted us to know as there were very many red flags leading me to deduce what was going on. That removed most of the suspense and anticipation from the book for me. I continued to read as I still wanted to see how it would all unfold.

That said, I was intrigued by the ending. It felt like there was still more to the story than I was able to figure out, which I suppose is the best part of a psychological thriller.

I rate it 3 out of 5. It would definitely have rated much higher had I not figured out the story so soon. I recommend it to adults who enjoy reading psychological thrillers.

Thanks to the publishers and Net Galley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.