The Nurse's Lie (The Perfect Nurse #2) by Daniel Hurst
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 28th July 2024
Published: 1st August 2024
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Nurse. Mother. Wife. Killer…?
Only a few months ago, my life was simple. I spent most of my time caring for patients in brightly lit hospital wards. Then I’d pick up my son from kindergarten before cooking a meal for my husband. I’d drink in every precious moment with them. Now everything has changed…
I don’t recognise the woman I’ve become. I’m a liar. Nurses are supposed to save lives. Instead, I helped to take one.
I did it to protect my family. No one can find out what I’ve done because I’d lose everything: my marriage, my gorgeous baby boy – even my life.
Then one day I step through the front door to find a woman with long, blonde hair and perfect white teeth in my family home. My heart pounds in my chest. We used to work at the same hospital. She’s the only one who knows my biggest secret and my darkest lie.
It’s clear she’s back for revenge. But she’s underestimated me. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep my loved ones safe.
It’s time to finish what I started.
It’s my life or hers…
From the number one bestselling author of The Doctor’s Wife, this intense, nail-biting psychological thriller will have you gasping in shock! Perfect for fans of T.M. Logan, Freida McFadden and John Marrs.
MY THOUGHTS:
Nurse...mother...wife...killer...?
Now THIS is more like it! After struggling through the first book "The Perfect Nurse" (which was anything but perfect), I dived into this second book with higher hopes...and I'm thrilled to say I was not disappointed. This is more like the Daniel Hurst I've come to know and love. The fast pace, the thrill-ride-a-minute, the twists...I'm happy to say I thoroughly enjoyed this one that I easily finished it within a few hours.
A few chapters into this one, I then realised what was missing from the first book that found it lacking. Most of Hurst's thrillers (in fact all of those I've read I believe) have unfolded through various perspectives of those involved - sometimes two, sometimes many more. But it's that aspect that keeps the story fresh and the pace moving at a rapid rate. But the first book was told solely through Darcy's eyes which thus made it slow moving and uninteresting. Then in this one, Pippa's perspective is introduced, changing things up a bit and keeping the pace moving at a rapid rate. Thus, this second book was far better than the first.
Now, firstly I must add that you need to read book one before delving into this one as it throws a ton of spoilers from the first book your way throughout. Should you decide to read this one, then I really wouldn't bother with the first one as this one gives enough backstory and is far more interesting to keep you engaged.
The story picks up a few months after the first book left off, seeing Darcy in the sunnier climes of Florida. With her are a few meagre possessions, most importantly a notebook Pippa put together for her with photos of their parents and herself along with their names and their relationship to her, as well as a letter explaining everything with two very important instructions for her - never watch the news and never come home.
It has been three months since Darcy left Chicago, and with her retrograde amnesia, anything that happened beyond two weeks has been completely wiped from her memory unless she has constant reminders to keep those memories fresh and alive. Hence, the notebook Pippa put together for her instructing her to read it every day...so Darcy will remember them. But beyond that, she has no recollection of anything.
So when she's given the job of caring for a man with early dementia, Darcy feels like she was born for this role. Maybe that's why his son Parker chose her because he could see that in her as well. Her first introduction with Joe, Parker's father, is somewhat shaky when Joe comes across as brash and blunt. And it isn't long before he sees something in Darcy...that maybe she has a secret from which she's running. For someone with dementia, Joe is certainly very astute. But then he is only in the early stages so he hasn't completely lost his marbles yet.
And then Joe says something that gives Darcy reason to pause and wonder if she should really be here. Joe lets slip that she's not the only one with secrets here. And that she could be in danger if she doesn't leave...
Meanwhile, things are hotting up in Chicago when someone comes looking for Darcy. Pippa uses all her resources to dissuade the person from their mission...but it only ends in disaster. Now Pippa has an even bigger mess to clean up and her parents are demanding that Darcy return home. Pippa tries to put them off citing she doesn't know where she is but they don't believe her. She's a nurse, a mother, a wife...not a killer. How did her life become this?
The worlds between Darcy and Pippa's are on a collision course but will they collide with each other? Or something or someone else?
As I said at the beginning, this second book is so much better than the first (which is unusual because sequels usually aren't as good). So much so that you could not bother with the first one as this one gives you enough backstory anyway. Though the first one does give more of Darcy's story and how she came to have such a debilitating condition and why. If not for that, I would say don't bother with the first book and go straight to this one.
I much prefer the format of different perspectives. It keeps the pace moving and the story fresh, surprising the reader along the way. Sure, there are some eye-rolling moments in which you need to suspend belief but none of that matters in this one because the equilibrium that makes a Hurst thriller is back on track with the entertainment factor to keep us enthralled from the very first page.
I look forward to the third book "The Nurse's Mistake" coming in November, where we pick up Darcy and Pippa's story to see where it leads us. Let's hope that's not a mistake and is just as thrilling as this one has been.
I would like to thank #DanielHurst, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheNursesLie 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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