Review: The Patient by Steena Holmes (audio)

Title: The Patient

Author: Steena Holmes

Narrator: Siiri Scott

Published: October 2019, Brilliance Audio

Length: 11 hours 28 minutes

Source: Publisher

Summary:

A therapist must face her own worst fear—one of her patients is a serial killer.

Danielle
Rycroft suspects someone close to her has a dark secret. In the
confidential setting of therapy, her patients share their anxieties and
fears. Now, with a string of murders in town putting her on edge,
Danielle’s own worries come close to eclipsing her patients’. In each
case, the pattern is the same: parents killed while their children sleep
blissfully

unaware in their beds. Her best friend, Detective Tami
Sloan, is the only person she has confided in.

Danielle believes
that there’s still a secret one patient has yet to share. But which one?
Behind a familiar face is a stranger who’ll do anything to hide their
worst compulsions. The anxiety brings Danielle to her own therapist’s
office, seeking counsel and comfort. But what is she willing to risk,
and how much closer must she get, to stop them?

My thoughts:  I’ve been a fan of Steena Holmes for quite some time but I love that she took a chance with this latest book and delved into the darker world of psychological suspense. As a big fan of this genre, I find it hard to be easily shocked, but this book totally took me by surprise in the best way…I loved it!

I love a book that makes me question everything and this book certainly had me doing that a lot! Dani Rycroft is a therapist in the small town of Cheshire. She see a few patients and is obsessed with Alice in Wonderland. There also happens to be a serial killer loose in town and she fears that it might be one of her patients – one of them has killed before. 

The way this story is told – alternating between Dani’s point of view, the killer’s and memories from long ago – really keeps you on your toes. While I do admit that I did start to wonder about halfway through who the killer might be (and yes, I was correct in the end), it in no way ruined the enjoyment of this book. I had to see how it all played out…and boy was it not what I was expecting at all! This really is a very cleverly crafted book and maybe it is just because I read so many books in this genre that I put it together, but still it was thrilling all the way through.

The theme of Alice in Wonderland was pure genius. I liked how it was carried out in multiple areas throughout the book – including the town name. This is definitely one book where you will find yourself falling down the rabbit hole (pun intended!) and not wanting to do anything else until you reach the conclusion. 

I hope Steena Holmes continues to write in this genre as I think this first venture was quite successful!

Audio thoughts: I listened to this book and thought Siiri Scott did a fantastic job with the narration. She really gave each character their own unique personality and brought this book to life. Her pacing and intonation were spot on and she infused just the right amount of emotion and stress into her voice as needed. This was a great book to listen to on audio!