The characters. None of the characters were likeable, which I think was the point.But they weren’t just unlikeable because they were either engaging in an affair or planning to murder + accuse their partners of murder, but they were also unlikeable because they were just boring. There was no character development or depth. They were incredibly static and had zero personality.

The Doctor’s Wife - Goodreads

From the city residing in Manchester, England now moving to a waterside home that overlooks Solway First, between England and Scotland. A quaint remote seaside village town, Arberness.

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But things are not as they seem. Fern is not as naive as she seems. They all have their secrets and especially Drew has a reason for the move. Anyone who has read a Daniel Hurst book knows from the first line to the last you are going to get a great thrilling story,’The Doctor’s Wife’ his latest,is no different…….as always the book thrives on the premise of ordinary people suddenly having something extraordinary happening to them and the consequences of this and their actions dealing with it Of course, Alice is unhappy when she discovers he has followed her there. The nerve to invade her space—appalled. So maybe Drew's plan was not the best idea...you think? But he is persistent. I initially felt sorry for Fern, until she started to reveal her true colours. I disliked Drew throughout. I could have felt sorry for Alice, but I don't. I do feel sorry for Rory. He was the true victim in all of this. He was easily manipulated by Fern, who is diabolically clever, and cold-hearted.

THE DOCTOR’S WIFE | Kirkus Reviews THE DOCTOR’S WIFE | Kirkus Reviews

THANK YOUs: A BIG Thank you to @netgalley and @bookouture for gifting me this ALC (Advanced Listening Copy)! I also enjoyed the audiobook narrated by Sarah Durham and David Wayman for an engaging performance for all voices. Wooden first novel about the trouble that ensues when the wife of an obstetrician who performs abortions has an affair with a local artist married to a deranged pro-lifer. Drew is the doctor in the story. As the novel opens Drew and his wife Fern are living in Manchester. Fern is a city girl and loves her house and neighborhood.What an entertaining story with some twists to keep you on edge. Although some of the twists were predictable and weren’t exactly mind-blowing, the journey to get there was both enjoyable and satisfying. Sometimes I like when a story is wrapped up in a pretty little bow and all loose ends seem to be covered, but there was just too much explaining going on. When Drew mentioned something in his chapter, Fern would explain the situation even further in her’s. It was repetitive and redundant.

Don't come into The Doctor's Wife looking for a mystery, or a 'whodunit' - you know who's doing what. The big question is, are they going to get away with it? An entertaining popcorn thriller, clever and disturbing—however, I wish it had a little more sarcastic dark humor. Even though I did not enjoy it quite as much as The Couple in the Cabin (his BEST, I have read thus far and Top books of 2022) and his recent holiday thriller, The New Year's Party; however, THE DOCTOR'S WIFE had no likable characters but was a fun, unpredictable twisty suspense. A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy. We've got another husband and wife story with secrets and betrayal and this one follows Fern & Drew. Some details and subplots just felt extraneous. Take, for example, the details that Drew cheated on his med school exams and partook in malpractice. I guess that there was some connection to his devious behaviors when he decided to not help Rory, but the link wasn’t strong enough.

A lifeless and overwritten (“Albany was a city that wept bitterly and did not apologize for its weeping,” etc.) exercise in stereotypes—the venal clergyman, the workaholic husband, the religious fanatic, the dissipated artist—that provides very little to convince or delight. First off I think both the blurb and the prologue gave away too much of the plot and the characters’ “secrets”. Dang I wish they wouldn’t do that! There are so many quotes about revenge that it’s obviously something humans think about a lot. I will leave you with this one that I think fits this story : I’ve been seeing author Daniel Hurst’s books making its way around social media these days, so you could just imagine my excitement when I received this ARC audiobook to one of his newest releases, “The Doctor’s Wife.”