The Doctor's Mistress (The Doctor's Wife #3) by Daniel Hurst
Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense
Read: 1st December 2023
Published: 6th December 2023
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
The wife. The mistress. Who will get their revenge?
I was the other woman. The mistress. Everyone blamed Doctor Drew Devlin’s death on me. And I’ve paid the price for loving the wrong man.
Now, I have dark circles under my eyes because I can’t sleep at night. I lost everything – friends, family, my home and even my freedom. Drew’s devious wife Fern tore my whole world apart. And she thinks she’s got away with murder.
But she’s wrong. It’s time for revenge. For myself… and for my baby.
Her new life on the windswept Cornish coast is about to come crashing down around her. I’m determined for everyone to find out the true story. Because now it’s not just my life in danger, I’ve got to protect the doctor’s daughter too.
I know Fern will expect me to come after her – I’m certain she will have her own plan in place to stop me. After all, she’s duped so many people before.
But then again, Fern always did underestimate me. And by the time she realises, it’ll be far too late for the doctor’s wife…
An absolutely addictive psychological thriller with twist after twist from the number one bestselling author of The Doctor’s Wife. If you loved Behind Closed Doors, Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train then The Doctor’s Mistress will keep you reading long into the night!
MY THOUGHTS:
The wife...the mistress...who will get their revenge?
One thing you know you're going to get when picking up a Daniel Hurst book is that it will be fast paced, entertaining and there is simply no chance you will fall asleep from boredom. Nor will you get what you would normally expect from this genre because Hurst will always outsmart his readers with an outlandish plot and a fiendish end to finish on. THE DOCTOR'S MISTRESS is the third in the Doctor's Wife series and I have to say I think it is probably the best of them all. Usually it's the first book that can't be outdone but in this case the first - "The Doctor's Wife" - was great, the second - "The Doctor's Widow" - dipped a little but was still a thrilling read, but this one...I don't know what it is but I really enjoyed this one. Maybe because we got closure with it. Either way, all three have been thrilling and entertaining reads from start to finish.
Those who have followed the exploits of Fern and journeyed with Alice will be familiar with their stories. Fern killed her husband Doctor Drew Devlin for cheating on her and then proceeded to frame Alice, the woman he was cheating on her with, with his murder. But not before she enlisted the help of Alice's husband and when he outlived his usefulness, she killed him too lest he reveal her part in the crime. All was going swimmingly for Fern until someone else had suspicions that she was not all she appeared to be and endeavoured to garner a confession from her about the part she played in the doctor's death. Unfortunately for Greg, who posed as boyfriend Roger, Fern got wind of what he was up to and killed him too. But not before, he'd managed to send the video of her confession to the police detective in charge of the case, thus freeing Alice from prison. (Note: these are not spoilers as these all took place in the first two books)
Which then brings us to book 3, leaving readers as well as Alice and the police, pondering where Fern is now.
Alice has been cleared of the crime for which she was tried, convicted and sentenced to prison for and has now given birth to Drew's child which was a surprise to say the least when she discovered she was pregnant. However, Alice is not finding motherhood at all easy. Evelyn is 8 months old and all she seems to do is scream...constantly. Alice is lucky to get 15 minutes shut-eye before she's wailing again. She is, however, thankful for the love and care of her boyfriend, Detective Tomlin, who does his best to ensure she gets at least some rest and reprieve while he tries to shoulder the load and see to Evelyn's demands. But this should be her job as Evelyn's mother but her whole life has been turned upside down, first by Drew and then by his murderous wife Fern. How is she supposed to relax and take care of a baby with that woman still out there somewhere? Despite her struggles, Alice's greatest desire to hunt down the woman who completely wrecked her life and seek revenge for doing so, thus bringing her to justice.
Meanwhile, Fern has undergone something of a transformation. While she fled to London to lose herself in the crowds at first, she then changed her identity and her appearance before moving to Cornwall where she now lives hand to mouth in a squalid bedsit flat with a three month old baby that came as something of a surprise whilst on the run. With her dwindling funds, Fern knows time is running out for her if she can't get her hands on some funds to keep them clothed and fed at least. She knows where she can get her hands on some money, but how much and how to access it is another problem. She's just lucky that baby Cecilia is such an easy contented baby, her smile lighting up her face and the room. But with time running out, Fern knows that life on the run can't last forever. But how long can she continue running?
This was a delightfully exceptional read and naturally I loved the setting in Cornwall, even if it was a squalid flat! I could picture the promenade and the seaside which made a lasting impression...particularly in the culmination to the climax.
While we know Fern is the baddie in this story and has been from the beginning. I didn't like her at all in the first two books but in this one we got a different Fern. Maybe she was mellowed by motherhood but I found myself actually rooting for her at times, reading on tenterhooks if she was going to escape the clutches of whoever may have been pursuing her at the time. This time it was Alice who irritated me and I could hear Evelyn's constant crying reverberate off the pages that even I found draining...lol I know Alice was the victim of circumstance and then the hormonal changes that come with having a baby, it was clear she wasn't coping. The only thing that seemed to brighten her mood was the promise of catching Fern...a new lead that gave her hope that soon this could all be over. But it didn't end quite the way you would expect...as you would naturally expect from a Hurst thriller. But I was quite satisfied with it even if you had to suspend belief a little.
I am never disappointed with a Daniel Hurst thriller and am always eagerly awaiting when I can pick up another. I have a backlog of many of his previous ones I have yet to devour, and some in between, because he is one prolific author who releases a new book before I can read the previous one!
Overall, an addictive read that I devoured in a day (it could have been one sitting if pesky real life didn't get in the way...lol) and I can't wait to pick up another because I know to always expect the unexpected and thensome. And above all, I will always be entertained!
I would like to thank #DanielHurst, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheDoctorsMistress in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
He has been employed in several glamorous roles in his lifetime, including bartending, shelf stacking and procurement administration, all while based in some of the most exotic places on the planet, like Bolton, Preston and South London.
Daniel writes psychological thrillers and loves to tell tales about unusual things happening to normal people. He has written all his life, making the progression from handing scribbled stories to his parents as a boy to writing full length novels in his thirties. He lives in the North West of England and when he isn’t writing, he is usually watching a game of football in a pub where his wife can’t find him.
Since following his lifelong passion for writing in 2020, he has amassed a loyal and devoted set of readers, and regularly has several books in the top 100 of the Psychological Thriller Charts on Amazon. His title The Passenger became the #1 selling psychological thriller in the UK in October 2021. The Doctor's Wife is his first publication with Bookouture.
A prolific writer, Daniel likes to keep readers on their toes by self publishing even more books in between those released through his publisher.
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