This one is an enthralling medical thriller that takes readers on a gripping journey through the complex world of hospitals and the lives of the characters within it. The story predominantly revolves around Chloe Woods, a recently graduated nurse practitioner who is ready to embark on a new chapter in her life alongside her fiancé, Elton, also a nurse. In a genre often dominated by tales centered on doctors, this novel provides a refreshing perspective by putting nurses, particularly nurse practitioners, at the center stage.
As a registered nurse herself, Jessica Payne brings an impressive level of authenticity to the narrative, intricately weaving medical expertise into the story's backdrop. The hospital setting feels remarkably realistic, immersing readers in the high-stakes world of patient care and procedures. However, be forewarned that the story explores some dark themes, including multiple murders and the sensitive topic of medical euthanasia, which may not be suitable for all readers.

The narrative structure, employing "Then" and "Now" segments, artfully reveals glimpses of Chloe's past with her ex-husband, Jameson, interspersed with present events. This technique adds depth to the storytelling and keeps readers eagerly turning the pages to unravel the mysteries surrounding the characters. The alternating perspectives between Chloe and Jameson also create an intriguing dynamic, leaving readers questioning the reliability of the protagonist's narration.

Chloe Woods emerges as a well-developed character, torn between her aspirations for a stable future with Elton and the unresolved issues from her past with Jameson. While some readers may find it challenging to fully connect with the relationship between Chloe and Jameson, the conflicts they face generate compelling drama and character growth.
One minor drawback lies in the early revelation of upcoming twists, which may reduce the element of surprise for astute readers. Nonetheless, the novel compensates with its well-crafted plot, maintaining a steady pace that keeps readers engaged throughout.

I said it before and I’ll say it again. This was an absolute TWISTY MCTWISTFACE of a book!!! 🤩🤩

This was my first book by Payne and I’ve already downloaded The Lucky One and Make Me Disappear free on KU… 🙌🏻

Anyway, where to begin with this one…? I blitzed it in less than two days. A twisty medical thriller with BRILLIANTLY written characters, great pacing, and suspense!

Now Jameson…. Jameson, Jameson, Jameson…. What a character… by far my favourite in the book - I may have crushed a tad 😳😂 So many red herrings, several jaw dropping moments, and did I mention the twists???!!! 😄

I’m not used to my thrillers being so neatly wrapped up at the end but dare I say my cold black heart felt a bit warm and fuzzy with the ending of this one…? 🫢

I have nothing more to say other than READ IT!!! An absolute gem 🖤🖤

Massive thanks to NetGalley Bookouture and Thriller Book Lovers Promotions for the e-ARC 🖤

🔸 The Good Doctor by Jessica Payne is a mystery thriller based on medical practitioners. Inspite being madly in love, Chloe Smith has divorced Jameson and just left a note behind when she left. She ran away from him since she is hiding a terrible secret. Both Chloe & Jameson worked at the same hospital in Seattle as nurse & doctor respectively. After absconding for 3 years, Chloe has settled in Portland and is soon going to marry Elton. She has got a degree of nurse practitioner and is excited about her new job. To her utter shock, she meets Jameson at orientation and comes to know that she has to work alongside him. Everything that is buried in her chest bubbles up and the secret she has been holding for so long will have to come out.

💖 Wows - This book was an addictive page turner. The thriller moments were great and it always felt that someone was going to pop around suddenly to give you those scares. I learnt a lot about medical facilities and vocabulary like code blue, code grey, mercy killing rules etc. I liked Jameson and at times sympathised with him.

💔 Ows - I rate down a book if it doesn’t stand true to its genre. Since this is termed as a mystery too and because I guessed the mystery at 20% into the book; I felt it was a letdown on that bit. I found the second half stretched; like truth was obvious to come out but all were beating around the bush. The editing could have been crispier. And I so did not like Chloe - like she was very attention seeking and at times behaved immaturely. Also, 2 POVs written in different persons confuse me. Chloe’s POV was in first person while Jameson was written as third person 😬. For all these reasons, it did not make it as a 4/4.5 stars for me.

💫 If you like reading about medical serial killers or want to learn a bit about that profession, this will be a good one. There are loads of good reviews for this book so maybe I was an exception here. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to @netgalley and @bookouture for sharing the review copy in exchange for honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really like this authors last two books, but was a little disappointed with this one. The concept of nurse or doctor as a serial killer is such a fun thing to play with, I was hoping she would go really dark with it. Unfortunately most of the book was reliving relationships, suspicions and paranoia.
I knew who the killer was really fast. And I wasn’t thrilled with who it was. Payne is very good at writing evil male characters, and could have gone so much darker with the men in this book. I didn’t find them likeable and I didn’t hate them. I also wasn’t a fan of the female protagonist. She seemed to innocent for this story.
While this one was a miss for me, I do like this writer and won’t give up on her!! I know she has creepy evil characters lurking in her brain, she just needs to write them down!!

This was my first read of Jessica Payne's and definitely won't be my last. (I literally just downloaded #makemedisappear and #theluckyone to my kindle.) The Good Doctor was such a fun and quick read!
I love that it was a medical serial killer thriller, not something you come across often. I also love that the author has a background in the medical field. The scenes were realistic but not over the top with medical jargon that would leave you clueless.
While I was able to guess the twist early on, I still found myself not wanting to put this book down. There was so much suspense I just had to know how everything was going to play out. I also love that there was a love triangle.
It also added to the drama and suspense.

Ok, when I previously featured this book, I mentioned it was said to be like Grey’s Anatomy with murder. That description is 100% on point and even with that, it’s twistier than I imagined! Someone is a medical serial killer and I had my finger pointed at every single person at one point!

This is a fast-paced popcorn thriller that you will not want to put down. I listened to it on @audible and put my family on pause until I was done. 😂. I’ve been listening to a lot of audiobooks lately and I’m so thankful all the narrators have been amazing! These two are no exception. @lisarostwelling and @joshwichard added to the tension with their performances and I can’t recommend this one highly enough!

Read this one if you’re a fan of:
- whodunnits
- medical setting
- serial killers
- awkward fiancé/ex-husband relationships
- badass female MC

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

THE GOOD DOCTOR by Jessica Payne is a roller-coaster from start to finish and WELL worth the ride!
When Nurse Practitioner, Chloe Woods and her fiancé Elton, finally decide to leave the world of travel nursing and settle in Portland, Oregon they feel so lucky that they both get a job at the same hospital. That is, until Chloe ends up working with her ex-husband,Jameson who she ran from on the last night of their marriage 3 years ago after she saw him perform an unspeakable act. She hasn’t seen him since that night. When she is asked to investigate the influx of suspicious deaths at the hospital she hears rumors that Dr. James Smith’s nickname is “Dr. Death”. Knowing how he feels about, let’s say, helping people to the other side, she begins to think he is up to his old practices.
Nothing feels right to Chloe. Someone is following her. Elton is acting very jealous of the time she has to spend with Jameson. And Jameson’s twin sister, Laura, who also works at the hospital, is getting just a bit too chummy.
This one had me hooked very early on and kept me entertained throughout. There was always some twist or turn coming up and I really enjoyed the writing style as the author was able to creep me out as we ran along the tunnels or rolled around this corner or that. I will be interested to see where this author takes me next. Great job!

THE GOOD DOCTOR is a mystery/ psychological thriller by Jessica Payne. Having read and liked her previous two novels, I was anxious to start this novel.

Her Novels Include:
Make Me Disappear (2022)
The Lucky One (2022)
The Good Doctor (2023)

This is my review of The Good Doctor.

“SHE NEVER SHOULD HAVE TRUSTED HIM…”

Chloe and her fiancé, Elton Woods make a cross-country move to start a new life together…a dream home and both new jobs in the ICU at Portland General hospital.

Chloe a certified nurse practitioner, helping people stay alive and live better. This involves having her own patients, writing prescriptions but not performing surgery.

But when Chloe walks in on the first day of her new job, she is shocked to see her ex, Dr. Jameson Smith, who should be in Seattle and not Portland... the reason she fled Seattle and started over. She hasn’t seen him in tree years after she left him, and disappeared from his life.

“She made it clear what he’d done_ what they had done was far to traumatic for her to ever speak to him again.”

Elton doesn’t know about her past…and she plans to keep it that way.

If Jameson tells Elton what she did, she could lose everything. Is her ex still a danger to the innocent patients all around them? How can she stop him?

The Good Doctor is a totally twisty, psychological thriller that will have you glued to the pages late into the night.

Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and Net Galley for my digital copy.

The book was an excellent read. It was hard to put down and kept me guessing. There are many twist and turns. You think Elton and Chloe are the perfect couple with a jealous ex-husband. Without spoilers, I was suggest anyone who like domestic thrillers to read this book. It will not disappoint but will keep you up late at night reading. Thank you #Netgalley#Bookouture.#TheGoodDoctor.

This was a really good medical thriller. I enjoyed it throughout and thought it was really suspenseful. Chloe is happy with her new fiance Elton. She is a nurse and is starting a new job at the hospital. On her first day, she is surprised to see her ex-husband Jameson who is a Dr there. He is one person who could destroy everything she has if he tells Elton what happened to a patient of hers and Jameson's in their care. Jameson has always had high patient mortality. How can this be? Is he killing his own patients? Chloe left him, she had to get away. What will Chloe do now to protect herself and her future? This was really twisty and I enjoyed the ride.

Out now.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own. My review will be posted on Instagram, Bookbub, Goodreads and Amazon.

So good! Chloe is torn between her ex-husband and fiancé - both she loves and one she believes to be a killer. Through twists and turns you are drawn into the drama and wonder who to trust. What do you believe? Who is telling the truth? Who is next to die?

Trigger warning: fatal illness and physician-assisted suicide

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley, Jessica Payne and Bookouture Books for hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

This is everything that you could want...old secrets that could ruin lives, murder, sexual tension, long lost loves, trying to start over. All kinds of shocks and twists and turns, action packed and fast. Totally a must read.

Chloe has it all the perfect house, her dream job as a doctor saving lives, and a wonderful caring Fiance in Elton. Everything is coming up roses.

That is until she starts her new job and who does she see on her first day? Non other than her ex husband Jameson. Jameson who knows all of the deepest, darkest secrets of Chloe and what they did together. Now Chloe is scarred that everything she has worked so hard for and the perfect life she has built is about to fall apart. What will she do to stop him? And save her perfect life?

A well written book for the most part, but drifted away a bit for me at about 60% where things got a bit repetitive. But otherwise a solid read.

I know this is only her 3rd book but I truly think Jessica Payne is one of the greatest writers out there right now! She could write about literally nothing and I would soak up every word. Her writing style is mesmerizing, her characters soooo well developed and her plot twists are jaw dropping!! Would give this more than 5 stars if I could!

The Good Doctor started out so strong, but started to fall off for me around 60%. A lot of it got repetitive and question’s introduced in the beginning of the book were still unanswered over halfway into the book. I started to lose my interest and skim to the end. That said, I still enjoy Jessica Payne’s writing and I’ll continue to auto read her books.

Medical thriller? Always count me in!
Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for my eARC of The Good Doctor!
This is the second book I've read of Jessica Payne's, and her third novel - she's a nurse turned author.
Chloe Woods is a nurse practitioner, starting her new career in Portland. What are the odds that her new job would pair her up with Dr. Jameson Smith, her ex-husband?
Jameson has always had a high number of patient mortalities in his care. Does he simply have the sickest patients, or something more sinister? Is he a medical serial killer?
Don't try to out-guess this one, just enjoy the travels - recommended!
Released on June 14.

I just love this author! “It’s like Grey’s Anatomy with murder”

Now, tell me who wouldn’t want to read that?! 👀

It’s about a Nurse Practitioner who left her Doctor ex-husband and their secrets behind.

She has started a new life, in a new city, in a new hospital with her new loving and supportive partner- he is a Nurse and will be working alongside her.

The problem is, when she arrives for her first day at work, her ex-husband is there

The Good Doctor by Jessica Payne

Published: June 14, 2023
Bookouture
Pages: 391
Genre: Medical Thriller
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Jessica Payne is the author of MAKE ME DISAPPEAR and THE LUCKY ONE. She lives in the Pacific Northwest where the mountains and Puget Sound are home. Beyond writing, she loves to run, rock climb, and explore the great outdoors with her daughter and husband. When holding still, which isn’t often, you’ll find a book in her hand and a cat or dog in her lap. Jessica writes suspense and thriller and is the host of #MomsWritersClub on Twitter and YouTube.

“This time will be perfect.”

Chloe is excited about her fresh start as a nurse practitioner. More so to be doing this with her amazing fiancé, Elton. They met as travel nurses, and despite Chloe having some baggage, they were in love. Until Chloe realizes she will be working under her ex-husband. And then patients start dying.

This was a wild ride. I enjoyed the alternating narrators and timelines. And the way this plot was layered. The twists and turns were so deceptive.

The characters were well thought out and had great story arcs. Chloe seemed like a nice woman with a tragic past who just wanted to be connected to someone. Elton seemed like the loving partner who wanted to support his fiancée in any way possible. Jamison seemed arrogant, but in the way good doctors can be.

The build-up for this was intense, and the way the story is told, you don’t know who to trust or what to believe. Jessica is so gifted in weaving a plot filled with chaos.

This was a fast-paced and intense read. It is impossible to find a safe place to pause, so there is a good chance this book will keep you up all night.

It’s a little more people focused, but this reminds me a little of Robin Cook’s thrillers. I liked the cat and mouse game between Chloe and her ex Jameson. I’m also a fan how we start in the middle of the story, not knowing how the characters got there and then slowly learned what happened. Slow enough that we fill in the gaps based upon the limited information given. Having of course some being incorrect. It’s the summer reason season and I’ve been reading a lot of mystery and thrillers and I kept wondering who was reliable.

I’d read for a while, start to piece things together and then recollect my thoughts after some new information. This isn’t your pulse pounding edge of your seat thriller, but one that makes you think as the information slowly reveals itself. There is a lot of time to think about what you know and guess on what happened to get the characters where they are and where they are heading. Mysteries in both directions. A bonus.

And did I mention the drama between the characters. The current fiancé, the ex-husband and the woman they have in common. What are their secrets and how high will the stakes go?

I did not want to put this one down. I needed to know what was going to happen and what everyone’s secrets were. If you like Gray’s Anatomy mixed with a little murder, you need this one.

#TheGoodDoctor:⁣
⁣
Thank you @thrillerbookloverspromotions @blondethrillerbooklover @bookouture @jessicapayne.writer for my gifted copy!⁣
⁣
You know a book is good when I miss the pub day by a day or two or three because I have to gather my thoughts of how wild or ridiculous (in a good way) it was. Say hello to (my little friend.. no I’m kidding) The Good Doctor!⁣
⁣
First, check your TWs. I think as always it’s important to do so. Second, I never realized I needed a medical thriller. There’s so much potential there and Jessica Payne tapped into ALL of it. Plus, I get a little love? We know I love a romantic suspense, so I’m gonna rock with this. ⁣
⁣
Buckle in an enjoy the ride, because once you start The Good Doctor, you will have a very hard time trying to put it down. It’s definitely a “read in one sitting type of book” and it’s out now! So snag it and enjoy it