Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.
I love a good medical drama and thought this had potential in the 1st few chapters. However it soon became ridiculous, with almost every character becoming a possible suspect for the murders. I felt as though I was reading a cross between a soap opera and an episode of scooby doo. No one actually said "if it wasn't for those pesky kids" but the term, meddling was used. Really? The over acting by some of the characters was laughable and if the main character reached for yet another glass of wine, i thought I would scream!!!
Every cliché was used and based on that, I guessed the killer pretty quickly. I skim read it to the end to find out if I'd guessed correctly but wasn't engaged at all in any of the characters.
Not for me sadly.

I was interested to read a medical thriller as it's not a genre I've tried before. It started very well. There were clearly lots of people who had reason to resent the arrival of Dr Alison Wilson. but as time went on the actions of some of them were more convincing than the others. I could not understand why the IT and security people, for example, were not more willing to support her, but then I don't know a lot about hospital politics.

I'm afraid Alison was a bit of a cliched central character, drinking too much, getting romantically involved with a patient, and going out into the garden in the dark to see who was lurking in the bushes when she was feeling threatened.

The first half of the book felt like it was going to be a 5* read, but the ending brought the rating down considerably. Yes, I suspected the culprit, but it all happened too fast and with too much drama. I wanted more subtlety.

The Doctor is the debut thriller by Annie Payne and her experience working for the NHS has added a voice of authenticity to the hospital setting where our story is mostly set.

Dr. Alison Wilson is starting a new role as the Medical Director of a hospital that is failing. Alison is aware that she has a tough task ahead of her and on her first day, comes to realise that her new colleagues might now be supportive of her efforts.

And over the next few weeks, she learns that something far more sinister could be going on as she looks into the extraordinarily high number of deaths, and is the recipient of death threats.

Despite the number of incidents that occur, the story is slow to get really get moving and it is in the second part where the action and pace get moving. There are plenty of suspects but only a handful of characters are properly fleshed out so this allows the reader to easily eliminate some of the suspects.

The Doctor is a quick and fun read.

Dr Alison Wilson has run from her past in London to work at a small hospital in a seaside town. She is medical director at Saint Margarets, and has to improve performance at the hospital.
There are secrets and lies and a murderer within the walls of the hospital and Alison has to investigate, despite being the 'new girl' and being distrusted by her colleagues and the residents of the town. In the hospital her efforts were being ambushed at every turn.


I love medical thrillers, but there was a fair amount of repetition in this book, it dragged slightly. But the last quarter of the book seemed to have all the action and answers.
I enjoyed it thoroughly, but hope all the typos are sorted out.


Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Medical whodunit where the whole hospital is dirty! Lots of sudsy fun and a dedication to healthcare workers to boot. Very enjoyable thriller.

A new job in a new hospital in a new town is exactly what Dr Alison Wilson needs. A whole new start away from the disaster that was her life in London.

Wayleigh is a seaside town, a small place where everyone knows everyone so Alison is keen to make a good impression. Unfortunately she seems to have upset someone just by being there so she makes it her duty to do her job to the best of her ability. Not everyone will like the shake up but it’s what the hospital needs. So when Alison begins being terrorised by someone she wonders if it’s worth it. Is the backlash worth the fight for the safety of her patients and who is trying to stop her digging deeper?

The book is set in a hospital and written by someone who has spent years working for the NHS. This fact means that the storyline, although obviously fictional is accurate where necessary.

I was pulled in from the start and really enjoyed the plot. I have to admit I had figured out pretty early on who was up to no good but I still really enjoyed the book.

The Doctor by Annie Payne is a psychological thriller with a medical twist. Running away from a past she’d rather forget, Doctor Alison Wilson has moved to a new town to take up the role of Medical Officer at failing hospital St Margaret’s. As Alison digs into the hospital’s past, she gradually discovers a trail of lies that runs deeper and darker than she could have ever imagined.

The Doctor was a pretty good story. The medical setting felt authentic. The characters were developed well and were intriguing. It was hard to pick out which character was the "bad person" as there were many twists and good subplots.

The story kept me guessing and had good mystery and suspense. I would recommend this book. I look forward to reading more from this author. I would give this a solid 4 out of 5 stars, as there were a few slow parts.

#NetGalley @AvonBooksUK

This book will appeal to any medical thriller fans. I loved the medical setting which seemed authentic and although the first half of the book dragged a little, when I began to engage with the well written characters the story speeded up for me.

Dr Alison Wilson has moved to Saint Margarets a small seaside hospital from London as the new medical director. She has been tasked to improve the hospitals performance which has been plagued by poor performance and unexplained deaths . Alison faces so many obstacles as she is seems as the newcomer who can’t be trusted both in the hospital and the local community who all seem to know each other’s lives and business.

There are numerous shifty characters and I expected suspected each of them and turn. This added to the enjoyment for me and I I was not surprised that I had found the guilty party halfway through the book, I couldn’t wait until the culprit would be exposed and I was correct. I admired Alison’s character so much , she never gave up even when faced with surmountable obstacles, always putting the patients first.

This book oozes mystery and suspense but maybe it’s not the best choice if you’re going into hospital in the near future.

Another book where I identified the majou culprit almost immediately; but I think that was Anna Payne's intention. Our job as readers is to figure out what happens next and who else is involved.
A good read. Finished in one sitting.

As a long time greys anatomy fan, I always feel I am perfectly qualified to accurately judge medical thrillers so this was right in my wheelhouse! I was sucked into the quite quickly. The narration changes to the "killer" rather abruptly and without any signalling so that was a bit weird but otherwise I think the multiple povs worked well. I loved that basically everyone in the hospital was shady because aren't they always once they get to senior levels lol. I did think ot all felt very authentic though. It was technical enough to make yoh feel part of an active hospital and the issues they can face whilst not being so focused on the minute technicalities that the reader gets lost in trying to figure out what transduction is or other medical terminology! As for the plot, to me it felt like a variation on the case of Charles Cullen/ the good nurse on netflix so it's a bit unfortunate the timing of this book being release shortly after that series came out since they're quite similar..... that said, hasn't every story already been told before in some shape or form so whatever! This is still a really enjoyable medical thriller with a good wee cast. The characters are realistic and mainly horrible people but again that felt quite accurate lol. The ending was a bit "super villain takes 10 mins to explain their grand plan and take accountability for various crimes noone even knew had been committed and that they would have gotten away with if they'd just kept their mouth shout and not done an entire monologue on it followed by a power point to make sure everyone knew every crime they'd ever done in their life".... which I don't feel is ever terribly realistic and always makes me cringe a bit. It kept up a good pace though, there were a few wee twists and turns and you never were sure who behind what. And of.course had the main character just followed the rules then it'd all have been solved on her 2nd day but again, whatever! Let's not overanalyse and just enjoy it for the good wee quick read that it was. I actually really liked it. The writing style was engaging and I loved the hospital setting etc

Alison leaves London to start a career as a Medical Director in a failing hospital. While there she realises that something is seriously wrong and someone is not happy about her starting her job there. Who has secrets that they would be prepared to kill to keep?

I was really excited to be given the chance to read this as I love medical thrillers and liked the fact that the book had credibility with the author having worked in the NHS. The book itself was a book of two halves for me. I found it took a while for things to start happening and it felt quite repetitive. The second half seemed to pick up pace and I was constantly changing my mind about who the guilty party was. The scene towards the end, although adrenaline inducing, did seem slightly far fetched. I also found some chapters a bit disjointed, with the sudden change of voice within the chapters confusing and feel a section break would help to prepare for these. Overall, while I enjoyed certain parts of this book and found it mysterious it didn’t quite hit the mark for me, however, this would not stop me checking out the authors next book. Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early copy.

I like medical thrillers and have got back to them only recently. This one is a mixed bag – authentic hospital setting, a strong character in Dr Alison Wilson but a typical story.

Dr Alison Wilson, after her recent divorce, moves from London to St Margaret’s as the Medical Director. There are a lot of improvements which need to happen at the hospital, and she looks forward to the challenge. Brian Hargreaves, Chief Executive of the hospital trust, makes it very clear that he is expecting her to take accountability for improving the situation, but without ruffling too many feathers. His deputy Jonathan Selby starts scrutinizing her work, right from her first presentation. As she looks to make improvements, she runs into several issues – Dr Carrick who has been running her stroke ward resents her interference (she is a stroke consultant herself), some in the local community who liked her predecessor Dr Richard Atkinson are practically hostile, and above all she finds poorly maintained equipment and the possibility of corruption. Administrative assistant – Mary and Chief Nurse – Eliza, help her get around the system. There is also a local car workshop owner – Mike, who while initially hostile, later supports her.

I liked Dr Alison Wilson’s spunky character. The descriptions of the hospital settings feel very authentic. The plot is very standard and oft-repeated fare with very little to look forward to in terms of the plot, though the pace is good. The motivations of the villainous characters are extremely poorly explained and developed. The last sections where Dr Alison Wilson faces danger seems almost ridiculous and would feel silly even in a movie.

The book has its strengths but fell well short for me overall.

My rating: 3.25 / 5.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher, I enjoyed this book, great storyline, great characters and had me hooked from the beginning.

Wow, what a book i raced through this in a day as I didnt want to put it down.

Thanks to net galley and the publishers for my arc of The Doctor.

Alison leaves London and her broken marriage to take up a post in a seaside hospital as both a stroke consultant and medical officer. Trying to find out why the hospital is failing and what on earth is happening to all these patients that seem to have died for no apparent reason.

She finds herself biting off more than she can chew and is intimidated my a mysterious person who really doesnt want her doing her job.

So many twists and turns get me guessing, though i did guess who the protaganist was it didn't stop my enjoyment of this great book and I will be looking out for more books by Annie Payne in future to read.

5 stars from me

"The Doctor" by Annie Payne was an edge of your seat spine-chilling read for me, events had Alison second guessing her actions, who was upending her world and making crucial changes, that Alison was being blamed for. I liked the pace of the story, the characters, especially Mike, who was from a completely opposite world to the one Alison lived and worked in and yet entirely someone Alison could rely on and always had her back. Alison’s ex-husband on the other hand, annoyed me, he wasn’t being entirely honest with her and why did he mysteriously turn up out of the blue.

Something wasn’t quite right at Saint Margaret’s, why had the previous MD left in a shroud of mystery, why were there so many gaps in patient records, and why was there a cover-up, who was behind it.

I enjoyed Annie Payne’s book immensely, thank you so much Harper Collins Australia and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book, I can’t wait to read Annie Payne’s next book, hopefully a continuation of Alison’s story.

I do enjoy a good medical mystery. Alison Wilson, a physician, has left London for a job as Medical Director at a smaller hospital, albeit a troubled one. This is a fast-moving and compelling story, if a bit predictable. Recommended.

An edge of your seat medical thriller which introduces us to Dr Alison Wilson who moves to a town to take up the new job role as a medical officer at a hospital which isn’t doing too well.

I liked Alison, she was determined to keep going even though she knew something and/or someone didn’t like her digging up information they didn’t want being released. She was a headstrong character who keeps you guessing what secrets are being hidden and I myself rooted for her.

Many other characters I wasn’t sure how I felt about them.. I didn’t like nor dislike them. Alison was trying to make changes and improve the patient care which wasn’t going so well but when she tried to do this it was met with disdain and resistance from many others and this is why I thought the reason the hospital wasn’t doing very well.

As it goes along we are met with the suspense/thriller of the book where Alison has been digging up secrets somebody doesn’t want revealing and you wonder is she going to be next on the list, who is the person(s) who are have skeletons in their closets and will they kill to keep them from being exposed.

The Doctor by Annie Payne is an amazing suspenseful book that will keep you thoroughly engaged and keep you guessing what the secrets and who the person responsible for Alison’s nightmare. I really enjoyed this book and found Annie Payne did an amazing job on keeping you turning the pages and keep you guessing.. thoroughly suspenseful and mysterious which I loved.

I can’t wait to see what Annie Payne brings out in the near future.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Avon books UK for an ARC in exchange of an honest review.
I will be adding my reviews to amazon, goodreads, blogs and book retail sites on the Publishing date.

A riveting medical thriller that will have you up all night checking to see if your doors are all locked.. Alison came to the hospital to be the new medical director and was trying to improve patient care. The changes she was making were met with resistance from many who worked there. Alison soon discovered that someone working there wanted her gone and would stop at nothing to have that happen. Alison realized she had been digging up secrets that someone wanted to remain buried. The author had me guessing until the end at who was responsible for Alison’s nightmare. I enjoyed this book and I will read more by this author.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
This was a great medical thriller!
Allison takes the job of medical officer at St Margaret’s. She finds staff morale low, numerous patients dying, and faulty medical equipment. The more she digs- she finds herself targeted and set up. What is going on in this facility? There is a killer on the loose! Can she find the answers before someone else is killed?

I enjoy reading a mystery when there is an AHA moment…I thought to myself…I know who is guilty. This book was that. Oh, there were red herrings and secrets. I was thrown off course a few times. In the end, I just knew and could not wait for that person to get caught. This is a fun mystery to read. The characters are realistic, and the story moves quickly. There is one timeline, written in the third person…my favorite. Just like an Agatha Christie. Beginning, middle, end…no trying to discern in which time period the book is at any certain page. Thanks to this talented author and the publisher for this delightful book. Although the subject is trying, the ending is great. This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. I liked this book.