Cover Image: Doctor Glass

Doctor Glass

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Member Reviews

I was excited to review Doctor Glass, because I really enjoyed the synopsis of the book and I'm also a huge fan of psychological thrillers. They are mostly what line my bookshelves and my kindle, so I was intrigued. As I read the book, although it was intriguing, I wasn't getting the psychological thriller aspect of the story as much as I was getting a mental health picture of the characters involved. I felt the grief, pain, and Stockholm Syndrome and it became a different book for me. The author was diligent in adding trigger warnings to the book as well, as I do have friends that would have a hard time reading it. I enjoyed the read, but it wasn't quite what I was expecting.

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Thank you to NetGalley and TCK Publishing for the arc of this book by Louise Worthington.

5 star read a sensational book, spooky, had me on edge of my seat read very fast highly recommend

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Think of the big names in thrillers--Tana French, Louise Penny, etc. and then get ready to add Louise Worthington to their ranks. That's how enjoyable this thriller was. I wouldn't recommend reading it while distracted because you WON"T BE ABLE TO PUT IT DOWN.

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This was an ok read for me. I felt that the writing style changed mid stream and it just didn’t flow the same. The plot was interesting.
Many thanks to TCK Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

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This book was a hard sell for me, largely because I am not very into reading about extremely distressing things unless there's some kind of historic aspect to it. With that in mind, the prologue of this book is rough - like REALLY rough. I see that a lot of other people have the same opinion on it, and to be honest it might be the most impressive thing about this book - the reaction it garnered. it involves a case of a mother murdering her child and killing herself that was done in such vivid detail that it immediately hangs over the book for a while. This is actually why I don't usually like shows about fictional serial killers, I'll just say it's not for me. I eventually picked this up again and made it past that point, and found something fairly akin to many contemporary thriller books involving a psychotherapist who has basically worked herself ragged and seems to come under great stress due to her opinions on the topic of maternal filicide. Doctor Glass has written a paper giving a slightly out of the norm opinion on it, as she feels that women who kill their children are altruistic in some way. She is seemingly appalled by the backlash this has garnered, and eventually starts receiving hate-mail that escalates into far more threatening letters. What follows is a roller-coaster of odd characters and crazy plotlines that don't really live up to the outrageous initial chapter.

My main issue with this book is that it starts out on such a HUGE emotional moment, then somewhat gets lost in subplots that don't really add anything to the story. Colorful characters show up that we get to learn about, and they all rely on some sort of weird hang-up like zoophilic sexual fetishes involving snakes, or obese sexual feeder/feedee relationships. I feel like some of these mental health issues should have been treated more seriously instead of being trotted out like a sideshow that the other characters scoff at and ridicule. The way issues like this are presented made me not like the actual characterization of Dr. Glass at all, and her friends like Lucy the fatphobic "nutritionist" are almost anger-inducing as well.

Overall, I feel like this had a lot of potential that was never really realized. The introduction was such a crazy moment that I figured would come back around at some point, but it's just kind of there to show an example of a mother killing her child. The book gets lost in side-stories and disjointed POV switches to the point that the second act seems like filler. The overall kidnapping plot was fairly underwhelming, and the resolution of the story seemed weird to me. Then again, I'm not the target audience for this in pretty much any way, and my quibbles on this likely are not representative of other readers that enjoy books like this. It will be interesting to see where Louise Worthington takes the story of Emma-Jane Glass after this, but I likely won't be reading more of this series. I do appreciate the opportunity to broaden my horizons.

NOTE: I received a free preliminary, and likely unedited copy of this book from Netgalley for the purposes of providing an honest, unbiased review of the material. Thank you to all involved.

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I'm so sorry but this was just not for me. I had a very hard time trying to get into it. Had to lay it down several times and come back to it but it just never grabbed me. I wasn't interested in any of the characters or subject matter. It was totally not the thriller I was anticipating or yearning for.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Loved it! Thank you for the opportunity to read an advanced copy!! Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and publishing company. This story held me until the end! I hope to read more like this.

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Drew becomes Emma Jane's patient, saying he needs help with depression after his wife and son left him. He also gets involved with her friend Lucy. Then he flips and sets about a chain of events, leading to Lucy searching for her friend.
Twisty thriller, with lots of menace and bad intentions, which keeps the reader guessing. Perfect for dark thriller fans.

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Drew Rogers has suffered depression after losing his wife and son. As a therapist, Dr. Emma-Jane Glass has been very helpful not just for him but for other patients too. Her article published in The Clinical Psychology and Counselling Review entitled 'Altruistic Violence in Maternal Filicide' has been taken personally by an anonymous who has a different point of view. She received a threat letter.

I don't think this is a psychological thriller novel from my ten-cent opinion. But I like to read about Stockholm syndrome and filicide. I give 3 ⭐️
Thanks to @netgalley and TCK Publishing for providing an earc.

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*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Great psychological thriller - the writing is a little uneven - but a great read regardless.

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Excellent psychological thriller from Louise Worthington. The main characters Dr Glass, Drew and Lucy are described so well. Both physically and mentally. The emotionally attachments that people make help make this such a captivating thriller.

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doctor glass makes more time for work then time for herself, she does whatever it takes to help her patients..
She publishes an article and someone is not liking it, who would send this letter? She is later kidnapped in the night from a dangerous sociopath. Doctor glass thinks she can help this sociopath, but it becomes a game of survival which mind can win? This book started off at good start but then slowed down a little could of been little more engaging, but otherwise a good book,
Thanks to TCK Publishing, Netgalley, and the author in exchange for review.
Publishing Date: April 11th, 2022.

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Words spoken have consequences. Psychologist Emma-Jane writes a article about mothers who commit maternal filicide. Shortly after, she begins receiving threatening letters delivered to her home and office. Could the letters be from someone she counsels or a threatening stranger? While counseling a man named Drew, Emma-Jane learns he has lost his wife and son and suggests that Drew hires a team of professionals to help find them. Drew is handsome, wealthy and very engaging and soon catch’s the eye of Lucy, who is Emma-Jane’s colleague and friend. Soon Lucy and Drew grow close and Lucy finds out more to Drew then meets the eye. Emma Jane soon discovers (quote) “ with trauma there is no one to run from”.

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Climax which you would not have expected..............................

An absolutely amazing book with some powerful characters. Doctor Glass, a psychological thriller turns out to be a wonderfully written book, a real page turner. At first, I thought that the book is some another thriller which is going to end with the same climax. But, to my surprise the climax was totally different which changes the whole assumption. Some events are so emotional and tear jerking and I even could not resist a tear in my eye.

I would, definitely, give the book 5 stars. Thanks to Louise Worthington for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book.

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Doctor Glass was psychological fiction that went deep into the disturbing motivations of the characters.

The author did a great job of capturing Dr. Emma-Jane Glass as a flawed character who is about to discover her own motivations might not be what she expected when she's met with a patient who challenges her professional stance on maternal filicide.

A heavy but thoughtful read.

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It took a while to get into this book, but once I did it was a roller coaster. I didn't enjoy some of the side characters but Emma Jane was a very complex woman and I could both feel sorry for and despise Drew at the same time. I am looking forward to more books from this author.

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I almost gave up reading the prologue and had to check the summary to make sure this was the same book I thought I had downloaded. It was.

Emma Jane Glass is a psychotherapist who has rented out part of her office to her best friend and nutritionist, Lucy who describes a case of a couple with a fat fetish in great detail; this thread is almost totally unrelated to the rest of the book, but I kept reading in hopes that there would be a tie in I didn't see coming. Its only purpose was to establish Lucy as a loyal friend to Dr. Glass (who are in fact the same age but seem years apart on the EQ scale).

Dr. Glass has a troublesome patient named Drew, who despite his resistance, keeps encouraging him to try hypnosis, long after he should even be considered a client. It's Dr. Glass's deep desire to not be a failure as a therapist, even while she conducts herself in unprofessional ways.

Worthington uses beautiful language, it's just that this story was too disjointed, went on with the abduction scene for a torturous amount of time, and then had a quick tidy up at the end.

I do appreciate the opportunity to read a new-to-me author, and thank NetGalley, TCK Publishing, and Hidden Gems Books for a review copy.

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The plot is good. In fact it is fantastic. But the characters in so many ways need work. I really wish I could rate it 5 but am going to have to rate 3 simply for the characters needing work.

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This was one of the more messed up books I have read in recent times. The book is promoted as a fusion of The Silent Patient (which was good) and Misery (which I loved). But I was sorely disappointed.

Dr Emma-Jane Glass is a psychologist who is often disturbed by her patients' problems. She regularly breaks down and comfort-eats to get out of the funk.

When she writes an article about matricidal filicide, stating that women who kill their children are altruistic, she is (gasp!) surprised that everyone is angry at her for her views!

Then she starts getting threatening letters (which she doesn't think necessary to report to the police).

And then she gets kidnapped.

Once she is with the kidnapper, instead of feeling angry, she wants to help them. Why?

Kat is a side character who "talks with her brother snake by flicking her tongue." Why was this detail important, I'll never know.

Lucy is Emma-Jane's friend and is a fatphobic nutritionist. There is a totally unnecessary plot with an overweight woman who is fond of detailing her sexual fantasies with her partner to Lucy (WHY???)

Drew is an idiotic MRA.

The prologue was so convoluted that I was confused just reading it. It didn't fit in with the rest of the story all that well, either. The first chapter begins with the death of a child (about which Emma-Jane writes later) and then everyone is caught up in their own worries. No mention of the child or the mother or anyone relevant.

P.S. I was confused by the whole AJ thing at the end. Why did he do what he did?

So, as you can see, I was asking myself "WHY?" quite a lot of times while reading the book. In fact, I also questioned myself as to why I was reading the book at all.

A redeeming feature about the book - it was short and quick.

1.5 stars rounded up to 2.

Thanks to Netgalley and TCK Publishing for the ARC.

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Thank you to NetGalley and TCK publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was a DNF at 30% for me.

For a book that compares itself to Misery and The Silent Patient on the cover (among my favorites), I expected much more Perhaps that was part of the reason I couldn't get through it.

Louise Worthington brings beautiful prose from the get go, and continues to weave it through the rest of the story. That said, at times I feel it is a bit disconnected from the meat of the story. I really wanted to like this book, but it just couldn't hold my attention.

Crossposted to goodreads at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4667834907

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