If you’re a fan of psychological thrillers, you’ll want to pick up The Patient by Canadian author, Steena Holmes. After a series of brutal murders plagues a small town, psychologist Dani Rycroft begins to suspect that one of her clients may be a serial killer. As the truth begins to surface, and the paranoia and fear of the small-town residents rise, readers are taken on a tension-filled ride that will leave them questioning the motives of multiple characters.

As an avid suspense reader, I did figure out 'whodunnit' fairly early on but I still enjoyed seeing how things panned out. This darker read is a departure for the Kincardine, Ontario native who typically writes lighter fare. But with her well-crafted plot and strong character development, Holmes proves she can hold her own in the popular thriller genre by providing her audience with a non-stop, deliciously chilling suspense novel that will keep them riveted until the shocking and satisfying ending.

Other Steena Holmes books I recommend: The Forgotten Ones

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to the publisher for providing me a digital copy, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

How does one review a book that has such an original story line without giving away details that will spoil it for the reader? I highly recommend this clever psychological thriller that takes you on a ride where nothing is as it seems until all is revealed.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

Therapist Danielle Rycroft receives some anonymous letters following several murders in her neighbourhood. Beginning to suspect one of her 3 clients she struggles with the knowledge one of them could be a murderer..
Steena weaves this story around the therapist, her clients and the murderer..
This book is very different from Steena’s usual style and whilst I did enjoy it I found I had guessed the murderer before the reveal but maybe this was intended. The clues were all there from the beginning.
I also felt like there could be more to come,

Thanks to Netgalley and Steena for the opportunity to read and review

Danielle is a therapist who has a serial killer as a patient. But which patient is it? The lien between reality and fiction is blurry as you are trying to figure out who is who and who is safe! The twists and turns are wildly crazy. It’s an edge of your seat thriller ride.

2.5 stars

I really wanted to love this book because it's gotten great reviews - unfortunately, for me, it was only okay. I figured out what was going on a quarter of the way in to the book so the rest of the book wasn't really intriguing or surprising to me. I didn't really like or connect with any of the characters. I do think the author did a good job with the setting - the town of Cheshire and it's quirky shops and statues that are all Alice In Wonderland themed.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.

An original concept in this fast flowing psychological thriller. Twists and turns that keep you guessing who submit.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.

I was interested in reading this book because of the psychological thriller aspect of it. After reading the first third of the book, I did figure out the entire plot. That does not happen often, at least that early in a story. Many clues were presented. The constant jumping from main character to clients to memories to the mind of the killer was distracting.

I found the constant references to the lack of sleep, exhaustion, and headaches to be boring. The dialogue was simplistic and not believable. “Why?” Is not a question a therapist would ask with regularity as it makes a client/patient defensive. The dialogue between this therapist and the clients mostly consisted of “whys?”.

Unless this book is the first in a series, the end of the book left many unanswered questions.

This book may be one that many would like. However, it wasn’t a good fit for me.

Odd book. I figured out what was going on very early in the book and read it to find out how the author would tie it all together. I found it to be rather tedious in parts. I tired of all the "therapy" sessions. I can't help but wonder what toll, if any, it took on Ms. Holmes to write this book.

Steena Holmes shows us her talents and gifts in creative writing once again in The Patient. Not only is it a gripping psychological thriller that keeps you completely engaged and on the edge of your seat, causing you to feel anxious and eager at the same time, it also makes you truly appreciate and wonder how on Earth Holmes came up with these warped dark thoughts and ideas and be able to write about them in such deep explicit detail!

This was an easy read, though disturbing, and one that I highly recommend. Whether you are able to figure out who the killer is, or determine the plot before you reach the end, it is still worth the read.

I love the Alice In Wonderland interweaving theme throughout. Nice touch and super creative!

Just wow! What clever writing! The Story is taunt and fast paced with an eeriness that had me looking over my shoulders! Psychological thriller at it's best!

What's going on in the town of Cheshire? Why the horrible murders of parents and who is the villain? Danielle is a therapist dealing with children and she's concerned, not only for the families in town but also for herself. How reliable is she as a narrator? The suspense ramps up as this moves along. While you might guess what's going to happen, Holmes is a good storyteller who will keep you reading because in the back of your mind, you're not sure about it. No spoilers for this one! The Alice in Wonderland thing was a bit much for me but likely not for others. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A fast paced read with good characters and an intriguing plot.

This had me quessing until close to the end. I couldn't put the book down as I had to get to the end to see who it was. I thought the killer was one of 6 characters. Nice twist at the end. The author did a great job stringing along several possible characters. I do enjoy this author's writing. This is very different topic than her other books so I highly recommend grabbing a copy. You won't be disappointed.

It starts off with a really interesting premise and has all the twists in the right places. However, the more you read the more predictable it became . It is a fast-paced psychological thriller that will work for some readers.

All the patients of Danielle who is a therapist are spot on for the suspect’s profile and at one point I really was thinking - What is even happening here with so many suspects? It gets even more confusing. Another interesting thing is that this therapist goes to another therapist for her health and all the therapy sessions are where all the clues to the plot lie. It definitely ends with another twist.

Thank you @netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this novel!

2.5 stars!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

The Patient, is a novel about Danielle Rycroft a psychiatrist living in a small town where a rash of murders begins to happen and she comes to believe that one of her patients is the culprit. The concept of this novel drew me in immediately and I was incredibly excited to see where the author would take it. Unfortunately it seems as though it went with the most generic outcome that could have been chosen for this set up.

The beginning was one of the weakest parts of the novel. I also figured out the end twist very early on about 20 percent of the way through. The novel hit its stride just over half way through when the plot threads started to come together and when it seemed like the author intended for the reader to start figuring out what was going on.

In terms of our main character: Danielle, she wasn’t a bad character, I didn’t feel overly positive or negative about her. The main bother I had with her character is she didn’t always feel authentic as a psychiatrist, we do find out reasons for this, however, it doesn’t necessarily feel intentional on the authors part. Similarly the mental illnesses touched upon in the novel don't feel as well researched and as authentically portrayed as they could’ve been.

Overall The Patient was a generic, fast paced, psychological thriller, that doesn’t necessarily live up to all its potential, but is nonetheless still entertaining!

Okay. I normally like Steena's work, but this one didn't really do it for me. It was readable, but not compulsively so. I found it very easy to put down in between chapters. Honestly I almost DNFd it a couple times, but I really wanted to know who did it. For me, the only part that was REALLY INTERESTING was the last 10% or so. But then, at the end, we've only gotten some answers with a kind of ambiguous ending, which I hate. So all in all, to me it was not her best book. I'm giving it a rating of 3 stars.

This was a very different type of book for the author. Very dark.

Danielle is a therapist who believes one of her patients is a serial killer.

A series of murders are being committed, parents are being killed in their homes while their child remains asleep and unharmed.

We are led to believe the parents are being killed because they are abusive to their children. By killing the parents the murderer believes he/she is protecting the child.

Danielle is under severe stress as she fears one of her patients is a killer and she in turn seeks therapy.

The murderer is not who you think it is and the real identity is a shocker.

Thank you to net galley for my free E copy of the patient. All opinions are my own.

This was a creative psychological thriller, it was fast-paced and enjoyable. I enjoyed trying to guess the ending and liked the clues and character build up that kept me always guessing. The writing is smooth and flowing, and also a little on the simple side but I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. It felt a little rudimentary at first, but then I got used to it.

Overall I think this is a solid debut thriller and I think the author has a lot of potential to grow on . I’m giving it 3.5 stars.

Steena Holmes’ latest novel, The Patient, is a thrilling roller coaster of a ride full of deceit, twists, and turns.

Danielle Rycroft is a therapist who begins to suspect that one of her patients is a serial killer. With each recent murders, parents are found with their throats slashed while their children are sleeping peacefully in their beds. Danielle’s best friend, Tami, is one of the lead detectives on the case. As Danielle struggles with whether to come forward and tell Tami everything she knows— potentially risking the progress she has made with her patients— her anxiety begins to get the best of her, leading her to start speaking to a therapist of her own to help her cope with her fears.

This was my first Steena Holmes novel, and I do know that she doesn’t normally write psychological thrillers. With that in mind, I think The Patient was a very strong first attempt that will not leave even the most avid suspense readers feeling disappointed. Although I was able to eventually work out the reveal, that was only after the clues began to overlap and cause confusion, leading me to rethink it all.

I’d happily recommend this book to readers of psychological suspense. I definitely plan on going back and reading some of Holmes’ older work myself!

"I think one of my patients is a serial killer. I just don't know which one."

I really wanted to like this book.

First of all, that cover is to die for! That, and the title, which is just so fitting, really intrigued me from the beginning.
Second, this book had so much potential. It's got a really interesting storyline, it reads like a movie and the transitions from one chapter to another were flawless.

However—and I believe I'm in the minority when I say this—I just wish it delivered.

It's one thing to come up with a good story, and it's another to figure out how to deliver it. I didn't feel the connection between the characters and it didn't help that they were annoying most of the time either. The therapy sessions, which I believe are of utmost importance in the story, felt superficial.

They revealed pretty much everything from the beginning so I wasn't really thrilled to reach the ending. With all that build up, I wish they'd focused more on the ending because it felt rushed and left me pretty disattisfied.

It's a book about people and what goes on their minds, so I think it's pretty fair to say that it needs more improvement in the character category and focus on giving them more dimension rather than creating paper cut-outs.


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An advance digital copy of this book was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book had one of those plots that made me not want to put it down. The tension of the story built slowly, making it interesting and intriguing. I felt it was a well written and believable.