Reviews

The Doctor by Annie Payne

what_deb_read_next's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

munchkim's review against another edition

5.0

This was quite a fast paced medical thriller where it was difficult to figure out who Alison could trust from the array of characters we were introduced to! All of the people she worked with seemed to have their own reasons for making life as difficult as possible for her. Some just resistant to change, some trying to cover their tracks, there were a lot of people standing in the way of Alison doing what she felt was necessary to improve the fate of her new hospital.
It was fascinating reading all that was being done to her and trying to work out from the vast array of suspects who it could be and if it was just one or maybe even a conspiracy of most of those putting up blocks in her way.
There were many clues and when they all unravelled it did make sense of everything that had happened but it wasn't quite the ending I had guessed at which was fun!
I really enjoyed this read and hope to read more by this author in future.

yvo_about_books's review

Finished reading: May 17th 2023
DNF at 36 % (138 pages)

"The hairs on the back of her neck were standing up, telling her something was wrong. But what?"

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Avon in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

Right... I was already afraid this was going to happen to be honest. There have been a lot of negative reviews about The Doctor since I requested a copy, and it kind of made me regret the decision to do so... Especially since the reviews all mentioned valid issues that would greatly bother me as well. Since I already had a copy hanging out on my kindle, I decided to just jump in with low expectations and try to make the best of the situation. Who knows, I might have another unpopular opinion popping up and actually love the story? But of course those kind of books are rarer to find than a talking unicorn.

I was initially pleasantly surprised, because the beginning of The Doctor wasn't all bad. The first chapter from the killer's POV makes for a great opening, and I was ready to sit down and enjoy this medical thriller. But the fact is: whatever The Doctor is, don't expect for anything exciting to happen or for it to focus on the actual crime. Instead, this story reads like one of those over the top medical drama series you see on TV, and not in a good way. The plot basically consists of telling us in great detail how the hospital is run, then strange stuff happening to the main character, but her thinking she is just paranoid and drinking yet ANOTHER glass of wine to end the day. Repeat that a kazillion times, and that was just about what I read in the first 36%. Could things have become better later on? Maybe, but considering I read quite a few reviews and they all complain about the same, I don't think so.

There was just something about the writing style and tone that simply didn't work for me at all. There was quite a lot of repetition, and I just never felt the suspense. I also hated that some of the chapters suddenly had a POV jump at the end to the killer's POV without any warning at all. I do normally love a good POV from the killer, but the tone was just way off and it made the killer almost sound immature. The pace was considerably slow as well, and I struggled to keep reading. Add the fact that the reviews promised that it was only getting worse and more over the top, and I decided that life was too short to continue reading a book I already knew would never work for me. DNF number five of the year it is! Oh well, we can't like them all... 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Bullying, Medical content, Murder, and Stalking

fiction_book_reviews's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

trinny's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A quick and easy read, Alison left her job in a London hospital under a bit of a cloud, relocating to a smaller hospital by the coast in a new role as Medical Director. But right from the start she picks up in many discrepancies and aims to improve the rating. But someone is against her all the way trying to make her look incompetent.
Although I guessed the protagonist from the start I did enjoy the book. I haven't read many books based in hospitals and this had the right amount of drama for me

mandylovestoread's review

Not a thriller, annoying and unbelievable MC

luby's review

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

michedea_books_'s review

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

After resigning from her job in London due to her husband having an affair Doctor Alison Wilson takes up a job as a local hospital in the beach town of Wayleigh as a Medical director for a Stroke unit. It’s a fresh start for her and she can’t wait to get started but things don’t go to plan. When going through the paperwork she finds out that there is drugs going missing and a high rate of fatalities.  Some deaths due to dodgy equipment and someone at the hospital wants her gone. Not only that the local people take an instant dislike to her, and she hasn’t even done anything. Which she finds out that it has got to do with her predecessor Doctor Atkinson. 

Thank you, Avon, and NetGalley for a copy of ‘The Doctor’. I have mixed feelings about this. Yes, this has an intriguing storyline and a great start for a debut author. But, I found a bit unrealistic at times due to the main characters excessive drinking habits and then seemed to her job effectively. But I would like to see how this author writing develops. 3.5 stars from me.  

librariangeorgia's review

DNF @ 23%

This reads more like a medical drama than a medical mystery which it not really my cup of tea. I felt like it jumped between scenes too quickly as well. It might've been the formating of the e-book version, but I also found that it wasn't obvious when it changed perspectives within a chapter.

hannahb12's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0