The Patient by Jane Shemilt

It is 2017. Rachel Goodchild is 49, married to Nathan for over 25 years, has a daughter called Lizzie (24) and works as a doctor in Salisbury. One evening, a patient calls in to the health centre with mental health issues. He is Luc Lefevre, 40, an architect, married with a stepson. When he needs her help, she gives him it, but their relationship seems destined to continue beyond that of doctor and patient.

The novel flits between various months in 2017, so there is a “now” and the rest of the chapters provide the backstory. Something has happened, but you don’t find out what it is straight away, the gaps in the story are filled in by the other chapters. This is sometimes a bit frustrating, but of course it makes you want to read on to find out what has gone on! This makes the book one you want to read quickly.

It’s very well-paced and the characters are believable. I liked that Rachel was close to my age. As with the best books in this genre, everyone has secrets and as each one is revealed, the reader is pulled one way then another, competing theories popping up, only to be knocked down and replaced by others. I read it in a day, it was very tense!

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