The Patient by Steena HolmesMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
So many thoughts about this book...
The premise was terrific, a therapist with several troubled patients and she believes one of them is a serial killer but isn't sure of which one.. Each of her sessions with her patients steadily builds the suspense towards her drive to try to sort this out without causing any mental breakdown of any of them. This writing was well done and thoughtful. I enjoyed the Alice in Wonderland setting and references, both with the attachment of various characters to the story and the town's park being a tribute to this. I could easily have seen this as an English, countryside mystery.
I thought the pacing of the book was mostly on track until the end. I don't think that any psychological situation is ever fleshed out in as much detail as this was in a setting like this. Without giving anything away, this would be such a complex situation that it would take a lifetime to unfold. I appreciate the effort in the writing and trying to wrap the conclusion up as well as is possible for a book.
My main negative issue with this thriller is that I figured a big piece of it out very early in the story, something I generally hate to do. In some respects, I'm not sure this was because I know more psychology than average or because the author intended it to be this way (probably the latter).. It did not detract much from my enjoyment of the story and there were certain details that remained hidden.
All in all, this is an entertaining read if you enjoy a psychological thriller that involves gruesome crimes without spending any additional time on the gore of the crime itself. This was far more about the characters and the plot than the crimes.
Definitely recommend.
#ThePatient #NetGalley #LakeUnionPublishing
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