The Patient's Secret: A Novel

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 29,282 ratings

Price: 5.99

Last update: 12-22-2024


About this item

Secrets worth dying—and killing—for, in a novel of suspense inspired by a horrific true crime by Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author Loreth Anne White.

When the battered body of a female jogger is found beneath the cliffs of an idyllic coastal community, these perfect neighbors suddenly don’t seem so perfect…

Lily Bradley is a respected psychotherapist married to a distinguished professor. They live in a dream house with their two children in close-knit Story Cove. Lily lives a well-ordered life. Or so it seems. As a therapist, she knows everyone keeps things hidden. Even her.

Then sensual and free-spirited Arwen Harper rolls into town in her hand-painted VW van, her sixteen-year-old son riding shotgun. Overnight, Story Cove’s secrets are no longer safe. Because Arwen might know her new neighbors better than they know themselves.

Now someone is dead, and it looks like murder. Brutal and personal. The death invites the shrewd eye of Detective Rue Duval. Rue’s job is to expose secrets. But she’s also an expert at keeping them.

As the lives of three women become inexorably entwined, one thing is clear: when it comes to survival, ordinary people can do the most terrible things.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Rachael Ashak-Benson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal! Layering of mysteries…extremely satisfying & in-depth conclusions!
    Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2023
    This is my second read by author Loreth Anne White. I couldn’t imagine anything could top the first book of White’s that I read - but after finishing The Patient’s Secret - I have a strong feeling that ALL of White’s work is masterful!
    The layers of mysteries she constructs within each story is written brilliantly. And the conclusions … they are not at all like the majority of “twisty turny” books on the market currently. Wherein everything seems to come together, or is revealed, in one rapid blast at the end. Just a few pages, or a quick final chapter, to wrap up a mystery, or mysteries, which have evolved throughout the length of the entire book.
    Not within White’s work - her style of closure - however. It’s far more satisfying.
    She weaves the web of the story as we go. Yet even early on she begins to offer us threads to tug on & explore, to see if possibly, it is a clue or will somehow eventually be connected to the solution(s) in the end.
    And “the end” — the who’s, where’s, when’s, why’s, what’s, etc. — are doled out wonderfully slowly. At times including switchbacks or arounds, when you think we finally have a solution in hand … but then nope, that wasn’t it at all.
    Thus, White has a skillful style of writing overall, which is rich in detail (character development, world building..), & uses emotive language & mood superbly in her stories. Additionally, White’s mastery in layering mysteries - as well as the manner in which she reveals the “answers” to all the questions she’s woven into her tales - is brilliant & extraordinarily enjoyable.
    The best way to explain it might be — just as White layers her mysteries — the solutions are presented to us in the very same way. The unentanglement also occurs via overlaying. When answering all the questions she’s raised, this process, the “conclusion,” is a whole new “web” spun, attaching new threads to existing threads that’d been left dangling off the original web (just waiting for a connection to be made…). As opposed to, once again, the more common writing practice of a wrap up which only takes a few paragraphs, couple pages, or abbreviated final chapter, at most. (And is also commonly quite unsatisfying.)
    This story in particular, The Patient’s Secret, is soooo much more than I thought it would be when I first picked it up. On every level.
    Fans or those interested in true crime, philosophy, psychology, abnormal psychology, police/detective procedures, restorative justice, the Canadian judicial system, psychoanalysis/therapy, youth offenders, & marriage & relationships (the masks we all wear), will especially enjoy this book.
    There really is something here for everyone.
    I did pick up on a few themes which mirrored those found in the first story I read by White (The Maid’s Diary, also excellent!). I’ll be choosing another of her works for my next read & I’ll be interested to see if these topics are consistent for White, in all her writings.
    Overall, if you’re an existing Loreth Anne White fan, you already know this will be an outstanding & exciting read. If you are new to the author, as I still am, give it a go. I bet you will love it, for multiple reasons!
    LOTS to love here!
  • Nana2021
    4.0 out of 5 stars Grabs you from the start...
    Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2024
    My first book by this author and won't be my last. This was a very good book! Lots of twists and turns and moments of when you're sure who the guilty one us but it's not.
  • Jennifer alexander
    5.0 out of 5 stars BEST read of the year for me!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2024
    Amazing from the start! I read this in two days and didn’t want to put it down. I think this is my favorite book that I’ve read this year. Just love how the characters intertwine and how the author brings it all together. I was guessing the whole time and never did figure it out until the end. Loved the mystery and how the whole story line unfolded. First time reading from this author and I know I’ll definitely be reading more. Must read for sure!
  • MEA
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Patients Secret
    Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2024
    Absolutely gripping, you can never guess the ending. Suspenseful, intriguing and definitely my favourite author at the moment. Excellent writer
  • Natalya
    4.0 out of 5 stars So twisty!
    Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2024
    This one kept me guessing every page. Too many suspects, too many possibilities. Very good thriller mystery with few stories within a story.
  • Katherine Y
    5.0 out of 5 stars Utterly absorbing thriller about a psychotherapist and the secrets she keeps
    Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2022
    This thriller treats readers to a rocket ride, leaving their hearts in their throats. From the first page, when a woman runner is chased through the woods by an unknown man, to the final scene when a killer is revealed, the reader will turn pages in breathless anticipation of the solution. The novel's ties to a true crime make it even more compelling.
    Psychotherapist Lily spots her shirtless husband coming out of a shed in the backyard and hears him enter the house. Lily is conducting a session with a new client in her home office, and paying attention takes every bit of professional comportment. Her husband, Tom, had left her a note in the very early morning that he was going for a run. She was beginning to worry about him because he had been gone for hours, and they had had a terrific row the night before. She wants to know why he is just getting back. And why did he take his shirt off in the shed?
    Meanwhile, Tom and Lily's young son, Matthew, is upstairs in his room. He looks out the window when his father enters the shed and notices he has a large brown stain on his running shirt. Fascinated, Matthew watches as his father emerges from the shed without the shirt. He focuses on his camera and takes a picture. Matthew fancies himself a detective and takes pictures of everything with his new camera. He takes pictures of all the neighbors as they unknowingly go about their day. He takes pictures of one neighbor hiding alcohol bottles. Matthew really wants a shot of the man who stands across the street, hiding in the shadows. He sometimes sees him staring at his house at night, but he hasn't been lucky. Suddenly, his thoughts are interrupted when he hears sirens coming down his street and turning into his driveway. Why are the police coming to his house?
    Phoebe is Tom and Lily's preteen daughter. She has developed a new crush on an older boy, Joe, who goes to her school. She's 12, and he's 15. Phoebe knows she can pass for 16 when she wears makeup, so she does most of the time. Joe lives with his single mother on Phoebe's street behind a massive house in a small rental cottage behind it. Lily has found out about her crush on Joe, and they have had a big fight. Lily wants her daughter to have nothing to do with the older boy. Phoebe is not about to stop seeing Joe.
    Joe's mother, Arwen, works at a bar where Tom and his coworkers go every Friday night. The guys have become buddies with Arwen. Although Lily doesn't know, Tom helped Arwen get the rental cottage on their street. Arwen has begun to flirt with Tom, but she has an ulterior motive.
    Each of the characters is under tremendous stress. When Arwen's body is found at the bottom of a cliff near the running path Tom was taking, the pressure on the family, especially Lily, builds to a crescendo. Tom is arrested. Police think that Tom pushed Arwen over the cliff. Lily, who has retrieved the shirt she found in the shed and hidden it, begins to believe it too. After all, she's a psychotherapist who knows firsthand that seemingly upstanding people can hide terrible secrets.
    This story has twists and turns that will keep the most seasoned mystery reader guessing. The author, Loreth Anne White, has written a thriller that gripped me from beginning to end. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a complete diversion. Fans of Gillian Flynn and Ruth Ware will love it.
  • lusty22
    3.0 out of 5 stars good until the ending
    Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2024
    This was a definite five star book until it ended. It had so much suspense and build up and it wasn’t who the killer was that ruined it. It was Lily. What she did was NEVER EXPLAINED. Arwen alluded to what she saw happen in Sophia’s brothers bedroom when he was killed. From what I gathered it wasn’t the way Sophia said. It wasn’t the way her bf said. But yet we never hear it from Lily. She’s so freaking self righteous and arrogant. She talks a big game about his SHE did the work but honestly there’s no real evidence of remorse. I am just really disappointed here. I expected so much more. Answers especially. Then she uses some art and saying that Arwen did like she’s paying her respects to the woman that she destroyed. Weird ending

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