A therapist must face her own worst fear—one of her patients is a serial killer.Danielle Rycroft suspects someone close to her has a dark secret. In the confidential setting of therapy, her patients share their anxieties and fears. Now, with a string of murders in town putting her on edge, Danielle’s own worries come close to eclipsing her patients’. In each case, the pattern is the same: parents … the same: parents killed while their children sleep blissfully unaware in their beds. Her best friend, Detective Tami Sloan, is the only person she has confided in.
Danielle believes that there’s still a secret one patient has yet to share. But which one? Behind a familiar face is a stranger who’ll do anything to hide their worst compulsions. The anxiety brings Danielle to her own therapist’s office, seeking counsel and comfort. But what is she willing to risk, and how much closer must she get, to stop them?
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The Patient by author Steena Holmes is WOW…absolutely shockingly different than any other books I have read by this author!. This is a dark, psychological suspense novel…but oh, so interesting! I started reading The Patient: A Novel this morning and could not put it down until the very end. I won’t post spoilers.
Danielle Rycroft is a therapist who resides in the small town of Cheshire, where she feels she is needed. Danielle is new to this town where the theme of Alice in Wonderland is prominent in the shops, parks, and library. Since childhood, Danielle has used the Alice in Wonderland book as an escape and she has loved the characters in the story. As the reader progresses further in the story, you meet Danielle’s closest friends: Sabrina, owner of a tea shop and Tami, a detective with the local police. Soon Danielle is thrown into the midst of a mystery as she begins to suspect one of her three patients may be guilty of murder! I enjoyed how some chapters were primarily the documentation of her patients’ personal sessions. There are clues and insights among the therapy sessions as to the murderer.
A wonderful novel, Steena!
Publication Date: October 15, 2019
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Oh- My- Gosh!!
This is one psychological thriller that you just will not want to put down!
“We all wear masks, hide our true selves, present versions of ourselves that we need to be in order to be accepted.”
Who was killing parents of small children and leaving the “littles” to survive without their Mom and Dad?
That’s what people want to know and why in this small town are murders being committed?
Danielle is a therapist and she is sure that one of her patient’s is the murderer.
The dilemma is, what should she do?. She struggles with patient confidentiality and maintaining their trust while attempting to get what she needs to help the detectives. Her client’s are challenging and exhasting!
It is an intense book that had me dreaming of these characters and wondering which one “did it” as I turned each page!
I have read Steena’s other books and this is definitely a different Steena novel!
A dark psychological suspense tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Several times throughout the story I thought I knew who the killer was, and each time I was wrong. This is definitely a page-turner but be forewarned, it does deal with painful issues such as childhood abuse.
Definitely an I can’t put it down kind of read. I did have it figured out early on but kept turning page after page with a slight bit of doubt. I have always loved this authors books and she has taken on a new road with this one and it does not disappoint.
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC
Wow! This novel had a gripping, ominous tone but at the same time it had references to a playful, magical setting. There have been murders of parents in town where the children are left to live. Danielle is a therapist who has three current patients. Her patients are distant, troubled, and one has a dark past. As things get scarier in town, Danielle starts to fear that one of her patients is the killer. And then notes begin to appear for Danielle…
Steena Holmes has returned with another compelling page-turner. [A]n all-encompassing journey through the dark side of the human psyche, The Patient is a mind-bending psychological thriller that will leave readers on edge and gasping for breath right up to the final shocking twist. Brilliant
I got caught up in the character’s lives from the very first chapter. I love reading Steena Holmes books.
Danielle Rycroft is a therapist, new to her small town of Chesire – a town with statues in the park of characters from Alice in Wonderland. Danielle has 2 good friends who really try to take care of her and 3 patients. Someone in Chesire is trying to protect children by killing parents and allowing the child to live. After therapy sessions with her three patients, Danielle is convinced that one of them is the serial killer but has no idea which one it is. With the clues that we are given, it could be any of the three characters – they are all concerned with protecting children at any cost. Eventually the stress and worry about her patients, along with lack of sleep and debilitating headaches sends Danielle to find her own therapist. I must admit that at different times in the book, I was sure that I knew who the killer was only to get more hints a few pages later and realize that I was wrong. The ending was shocking but very satisfying.
I have read all of Steena’s books and this one is a step in a different direction. She is totally successful in writing a different kind of book which shows me that she is indeed a fantastic writer. I look forward to her future books.
An addictive page-turner with an original plot spin. I was totally entertained.
This is a great story that kept me guessing until the very end! I’ve never read anything by Steena Holmes before, but I can’t wait to read more. The chapters do jump from day to day and often focus on one of Dani’s patients-this can be a little choppy but after a few chapters I got used to it. Grab this book-it’s fun suspense at just the right time of year
A therapist with a serial-killer patient is at the heart of Steena Holmes’ latest, The Patient. Holmes starts with a bang, then builds the action steadily, a gradual unfolding of truths and secrets that will have you constantly rethinking who is the killer. A brilliant psychological thriller that will mess with your mind.
This was the first book I read by Steena Holmes. I usually do not read the Thriller genre much. I do step out my comfort zone sometimes. I heard about this book in a Facebook reader group and the plot was very interesting to me.
I found it difficult to get into this story. The point of view changes with almost every chapter. While I think that is a great tool to keep the reader on edge, it also makes it difficult to become absorbed in the plot line. Honestly, my mind kept drifting and I stopped reading quite a bit and picked it up again later. I was interested, but this book was not one that I could not put down.
I would estimate by the middle of the book I was more involved in it, and had several thoughts on the outcome, and the longer I read I was leaning to one outcome more than any other. My thought turned out to be true. I could state the reasons, but then I would give away too much and I do not want to do that.
Overall, I think the book was well written, perhaps not totally in a style I like, but the story flowed well enough and it did keep my interest to complete the book.
I want to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read the ARC of this book.
I’ve read a few Steena Holmes books, and this one is very good! Dr. Danielle Rycroft has three patients, Tyler, Savannah and Ella, that she sees regularly. All have mental health issues and each of these are described pretty in depth. All are different ages and have serious problems they discuss with her, as well as keeping journals of their thoughts. In the small town in which she lives, Dr. Rycroft also apparently has a friendship with a local police officer, Tami, who tells her some information about the ongoing investigation to catch a serial killer terrifying the town.. Dani Rycroft is very committed to helping her patients, and when she begins to fear one of of her patients is the serial killer, she shares this with her own therapist. Determining who the killer is, and why parents of children are being killed, is very well wriien and extremely interesting, although the ending is rather sad. The Patient is definitely a standalone book, but I would love to see a follow up book written that tells what happens in the future for Dr. Rycroft. Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review
Wow! What a story! This was certainly a page turner! Even tho I was pretty sure what was going on soon after starting the book, I still kept turning the pages quick! Definitely recommend, add it to your list!
Thanks to Netgalley for the early copy
WOW! This book made me feel like I was down the rabbit hole, running in search of someone, but sometimes trying to hide. I also felt drugged with so many questions circling around in my mind! NO, I’m not a drug addict and have never had anything stronger than a prescribed pain medication either! What a very different thriller, it had me guessing and second guessing who the murderer was! I did finally guess, but only near the end, with one small clue, but the ending still blew me away!
I have read several of this authors books and enjoyed all of them, however this story was so different from any of her others! I strongly recommend this book that deserves 5+ big stars! Congratulations to Steena Holmes on a new genre that you nailed perfectly. Also many thanks for allowing me to read an advanced readers copy. I feel truly blessed and thrilled to have been able to read it early.
Danielle Rycroft is a therapist that thinks one of her patients is a killer. Danielle lives in the small town of Cheshire, whose entire backdrop is Alice in Wonderland. I absolutely love the Alice in Wonderland theme. It works so perfectly with this story! Danielle has 3 patients and she is worried one of them is a murderer. Murders have rocked the small town as the parents are brutally murdered but their children remain asleep in their beds. Danielle has terrible headaches and can not sleep so she sees a therapist to help her sort out her feelings. This story has so many twists and turns and absolutely all of the characters are less than truthful. You the reader are taken on the ride and trust me is a great one! This book shocked me and I loved it!!! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.
I didn’t see it coming. Great book for anyone that likes a thriller.
This was a great mystery/thriller. Danielle’s story is sad and complicated. You learn bits and pieces a long the way as her story unravels throughout the book. I felt confident I had everything figured out and then some wonderful twists were thrown in. The ending left hope that there could be a sequel to hopefully answer questions I had at the end!
Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I give this book 4.5 stars, actually. It’s set in a town called Cheshire, who draws tourists to Alice In Wonderland themed places and events. Alice in Wonderland factors heavily in this book, and for me, as I began reading, I though the story took place in England. It took me a few minutes to adjust my mental setting to picture it in America. Alice in Wonderland is loved by people all over the world, but a town devoted to it seemed a natural fit for the English countryside. Not small town America. It was also fairly easy to figure out what was going on and who was behind the murders.
That being said, these factors did not detract from the overall enjoyment of the book. I actually couldn’t put it down. I was drawn in to Danielle’s world, her growing terror and suspicions, her physical symptoms and sleepwalking. It’s horrifying to wake up and realize your body carried on doing things without your mind knowing. It caused such a suffocating sense of unease and shifting reality and made Danielle convincing as an unreliable narrator.
A rare psychological disorder is a bold choice for a writer to use as the center of a novel. It can make a story read like a soap opera, or a bad horror movie. Especially since this particular disorder is highly controversial when murder is involved. But Steena Holmes keeps the narrative believable, never veering into that murky area of complex and competing personalities until the end. If you are like me, and know more than a little about psychology and psychoses, you can see where the book is headed. This does not, however, keep you from appreciating the journey!
One small, personal note. For a small town, Cheshire has an inordinate amount of child abuse. Especially overt abuse witnessed by strangers. While child abuse certainly happens in places of all sizes, people don’t smack their kids around in public. Especially in small towns where they may be seen by people who know them well. Abuse is usually hidden. This might not bother other readers but it was a bit harder for me to believe the way the murderer found victims.
I greatly enjoyed The Patient. I have added more books by this author to my reading list and I urge other readers to do the same!
Perhaps I have read too many psychological thrillers, but I knew what was going to happen in this book from very near the beginning of the novel. It was pretty obvious to me, as all the clues were there, but I didn’t know how it would be resolved.
There has been a lot of hype that I have read about this book, so I was very excited to read it. I do think it was written well, but the suspense just wasn’t there for me, as I thought it was too obvious. Quick read.
#ThePatient #SteenaHolmes