The Doctor by Lisa Stone
Genre: Psychological thriller, domestic thriller
Read: 15th June 2019
Purchase: Amazon
(release date: 24th June 2019)
★★★★ 4.5 stars
This book is certainly not what I expected! I assumed it was going to be a domestic thriller with a creepy neighbour...and it was, but it was also much more than that. I was intrigued by the notion of a doctor as they swore an oath to preserve life...but THE DOCTOR, this doctor, takes that to the next level!!
It also poses the questions:
How well do you know your neighbours?
How can we know what really goes on behind closed doors?
And how far would you go to hide your darkest secret?
Emily and Ben have recently moved to a new house with their baby son Robbie. As a new mum, Emily is on extended maternity leave and becomes somewhat curious about their neighbours, Dr Amit Burman and his wife Alisha, who has an incurable genetic illness. She sees Dr Burman go into the shed or outbuilding at the bottom of his garden the same time every night and leave the same time every night. She comments to Ben about this curious behaviour but Ben dismisses it as none of their business. Although she agrees, Emily still can't help but feel it a bit strange. She has never warmed to Dr Burman, and has always found him to be unfriendly, arrogant and aloof.
Being of a friendly and sociable nature, Emily tries on more than one occasion to befriend Dr Burman's wife, Alisha - as you do with your neighbours. However, Alisha appears to be very withdrawn, does not leave the house and is scared of answering the door. But Emily is tenacious and her inquiring mind does not give in so easily. She begins to speculate that Alisha must feel incredibly isolated as Dr Burman certainly doesn't appear to spend much time with his wife, since he is always either at work or in his shed!
The very fact that Alisha is ill is reason enough for the woman to need support. Then in search for her missing cat Emily waits for the doctor to leave for work before knocking on their door, knowing Alisha would be inside as she never goes out. Reluctant at first, Alisha agrees to a cuppa at Emily's but no sooner is she there does she suddenly leave again without any explanation except "I have to go!" Emily is puzzled as to what made her leave so abruptly. Was it Robbie? As he had just approached her with a toy and a smile before she made her excuses and left. Alisha was certainly jumpy, nervy and very apparently frightened of something. But what? Emily is sure her husband has something to do it.
Refusing to give up, Emily continues to knock and break down the wall Alisha has around her. It isn't until one day when she knocks, after hearing what appeared to be a child's cry, that Alisha seems relieved to see her and ushers her quickly inside, exclaiming "Thank goodness you're here! I need your help!" Following Alisha upstairs, nothing could prepare Emily for what she would see. Shocked at first, she gives her assistance after which Alisha swears her to secrecy. No one must know! Not even Ben! It is this secret that binds the women together and they form a tentative friendship. But Alisha comes to look forward to Emily and Robbie's visits, which are kept secret and against Dr Burman's wishes.
But Emily soon becomes increasingly concerned for the welfare of her friend. She is extremely isolated and quite obviously under her husband's severe control. She begins to fear what would happen to her should he learn that Alisha has defied him. What would he do to her? One thing is for certain, Emily could not predict the chain of events that will begin to unfold once he does. Will her inquisitiveness and friendly nature be her downfall?
Dr Amit Burman is from a country not specified but possibly somewhere in the Middle East, and his culture demands success in the highest regard. His parents had mapped out his future for him to become a doctor, which he did not want to be. But almost failing his final exams, his results were not enough to become a doctor so he chose to be an anaesthetist. It does require some form of "God-like" superiority as he has the life of the patient in his hands. To appease his family of disappointment he has brought them, he is then forced into an arranged marriage to his cousin, Alisha. However, Amit continues to disappoint his family in not producing a healthy heir to their name, but rather a child with severe physical deformities resulting from a faulty gene causing the genetic illness Alisha now suffers. His family furious that they were not informed of this before the marriage.
Amit blames and shames Alisha for the medical issues and being the sole carrier of the gene. Why can't he have a healthy child? How can that nosy neighbour be allowed to have a healthy child and he cannot? He must be find a cure so that he can make his parents proud.
Amit refuses to allow Alisha to have any friends. She has long since lost contact with her family or anyone else. It is too dangerous. She might let something slip, and then they will let something slip. No one can know! He does not let her have a computer, laptop or phone and keeps her isolated and completely reliant on him. It has taken years to teach her to respect his wishes and if she ever defies him, he will punish her severely. By beatings, locking her in the cupboard or even where it will hurt her most. He must keep Alisha under control. For no one must know that secret - ever! That is one reason why he will not allow the friendship with that nosy neighbour, Emily - that and the fact she is far too nosy for her own good. Always asking questions. Always watching him from her window. But Amit has measures in place to stop his nosy neighbour - he has opaque film on the windows and CCTV cameras surrounding their house. He will know if she has been here.
But Amit has more than one secret. He is putting his medical training to good use and researching cryonic suspension animation with the idea of cryogenically freezing his wife for her to be resuscitated in the future when a cure for the genetic condition she carries is found. But Alisha flatly refuses to take part. As cryonic suspension requires the permission of the person to be suspended, Amit has taken it upon himself to research and test subjects - so he can undertake the task himself. Over the course of many months he has purchased and stored items in his shed, as well as discreetly stolen anaesthesia drugs from the hospital in which he works. All to contribute to his groundbreaking medical research which will see him ahead of his peers and at last make his parents proud.
Then Emily suddenly goes missing, leaving behind a note for Ben saying she had left him for another man. Ben refuses to believe it but soon begins to have doubts when he discovers a photo of Emily and someone named Greg with their respective children on Facebook. Who is Greg? And why has Emily never mentioned him before? Is this who she has left him for? He decides to message this Greg but days go by with no response, which only seems to confirm the fact that maybe they were together. The police are not much help. They, too, believe Emily has gone off with another man. It happens. So her missing persons case is marked as "non-urgent".
But then Ben starts to recall things he'd noticed and hadn't registered. Little things that didn't make sense is Emily had really left him. The kettle was still switched on (Emily always switched it off at the switch after a fire as a child). The mug on the sink (Emily always put it in the dishwasher). The remote on the coffee table (they always left the remotes next to the TV when not in use). The fact she didn't take any clothes, her handbag was still there with her purse and credit cards, their bank accounts were untouched, she had not been on social media and she had signed the note "Emily". Ben always called her "Em" and she always signed her notes and text as such. And she would never leave Robbie alone. EVER! Something was wrong.
Then a knock at the door reveals answers Ben never even knew. It seems Emily had confided a secret in someone who could tell them why Robbie was insistently repeating the words "Isha eve" when everyone had assumed he was saying "Christmas Eve", which had passed by a week ago. What had really happened to Emily?
THE DOCTOR is a sinister story with twists and turns, both atmospheric and claustrophobic which provides the reader with a chilling tale. The description for the book reads quite differently to how it actually plays out, which is probably why I thought I was delving into a domestic suspense with a creepy neighbour. It is misleading in the way the reader is lead to believe it is Emily and Ben's story, despite its title referencing otherwise.
The characters in this sinister tale are all strong, convincing and well-developed. I liked them all - well, except for Amit. Emily is a friendly well-meaning woman who is rather intuitive but very likable. Ben is the perfect partner, attentive, hardworking and loving. Alisha is very obviously a victim of an oppressive and domineering husband with a God-complex and self-inflated ego. But she is also dependent on him for everything.
THE DOCTOR himself is invariably creepy. Is he mad or bad? Or both? While he blames his wife for the faulty gene and we watch events unfold, we learn the truth quite differently revealing just how deranged he is and has become. The reader very definitely gets the strong sense of where the doctor is coming from and where his intentions lie.
I really liked how it mostly took place in one location which really gives that oppressive claustrophobic feeling of being trapped, adding to the drama and intrigue. While the reader knows throughout who "the bad guy" is, there are still many secrets to be revealed and twists along the way to keep you engaged. And still enough to keep you guessing.
The final chapters see the story climax at a rapid pace resulting in an epilogue with a last minute twist that will leave you thinking you cannot trust anyone. While some may dispute that it wasn't in keeping with the rest of the story and what had been a convincing portrayal throughout, I found it to be a delicious twist that was even better because I didn't see it coming!
A domestic thriller with a difference, THE DOCTOR is a compelling read that is also somewhat disturbing. It is not for the faint-hearted and comes with a TRIGGER WARNING for those sensitive to issues of domestic violence, child abuse, animal abuse and elder abuse, as THE DOCTOR touches on all of these.
Overall, an intriguing read I highly recommend. Particularly those who like their thrillers with a disturbing twist.
I would like to thank #LisaStone, #NetGalley and #AvonBooksUK for an ARC of #TheDoctor in exchange for an honest review.
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