The Doctor
Dr. Drew Devlin is the perfect catch: rich, handsome, and my ticket out of a ruined life. I’m prepared to cross any line to become the Doctor’s wife. But the closer I get, the more I realize Drew isn't the perfect man he pretends to be. He’s hiding something dark. Fortunately, two can play at that game.
- Drew Devlin - Doctor
- Rose - Drew’s fiancée
- Fern - Protagonist
- Phil - Drew’s colleague
- Benjamin - Reporter
- Clyde - Went to medical school with Drew
- Lisa - Drew’s ex-girlfriend
- Prologue: Fern is in jail for murdering Drew and she’s ready to tell the story of how they met.
- Fern bumps into a stranger on the street who tells her if she wants to have a happy, easy life, she needs to become a doctor’s wife.
- Jimmy approaches Drew at his office and claims he sold Drew the answers to a medical school exam Drew cheated on.
- Jimmy says if Drew doesn’t give him his entire savings, he will expose Drew’s cheating and cost him his medical license.
- Fern goes to the doctor and she meets Phil who asks her on a date.
- Phil and Fern go to a hotel room, have sex and then Fern finds Phil’s wedding ring in his jacket.
- Jimmy comes to Drew’s office for the money, but Drew refuses to pay.
- Jimmy tells Drew he will regret his decision and leaves.
- At a multi-company Christmas party Fern meets Drew.
- Drew tells Fern he’s engaged so she leaves.
- Fern goes home but can’t stop thinking about Drew.
- The next day Drew texts Jimmy to meet at his office to settle things, but Jimmy doesn’t show.
- Drew goes home and finds Rose dead.
- Drew tells detectives about Jimmy’s blackmail and claims Jimmy must have killed Rose.
- A few months later, Jimmy is found dead in his home with a note confessing to Rose’s murder, despite having previously denied it.
- Fern and Drew begin dating.
- Fern killed Rose so she could be with Drew. When police begin suspecting Drew, she kills Jimmy and writes a suicide note to clear him.
- Part Two: One year later
- Fern and Drew get married.
- Benjamin approaches Drew, saying he’s writing a story about allegations of cheating in medical school, and that he has evidence.
- Drew tells Fern about Benjamin, and she discovers Clyde is the person supplying him with evidence.
- Fern and Drew track Clyde down and Drew begs him not to go forward with the story.
- Clyde isn’t swayed, so Fern and Drew move to plan B: Fern puts Clyde in a compromising hotel-room situation and threatens to show the evidence to his wife.
- Clyde agrees to keep Drew’s name out of the article and leaves.
- Drew prescribes sleeping pills to a patient he suspects is an alcoholic; she overdoses and dies.
- Drew has been texting with Lisa, a woman he was intimately involved with in medical school.
- Fern finds the messages from Lisa, confronts Drew and they get into a huge argument.
- Fern tracks down Lisa and threatens her into cutting off contact with Drew.
- Fern decides to stop being a jealous wife moving forward.
- Drew starts feeling old and when he meets a woman named Alice in a bar and feels a spark, he thinks an affair might be just what he needs to feel young again.
- Epilogue: Present day.
- Fern is writing a tell-all book about being the doctor’s wife.
I have to give credit to Daniel Hurst’s writing style; it is undeniably engaging and flows very well to keep you turning the pages. However, the technical skill couldn't quite mask this lackluster story. The narrative felt flat and overall the storyline was just boring.
The characters didn't help matters. Drew is meant to be the caring, beloved doctor but he comes across as pathetic and genuinely unlikable. Fern is slightly more interesting, but only because you can tell immediately that she is not exactly sane, removing any sense of mystery or suspense regarding her arc.
Ultimately, it’s a well-written book, and it did serve as a good prequel to The Doctor’s Wife so if that is a series you enjoy this book is worth the read to find out how it all began. However, if you are looking for mystery and thrills this is not the book for you.
#TheDoctor #NetGalley
- Rose - Dead - Stabbed by Fern
- Jimmy - Dead - Killed by Fern, staged as suicide
- Death
- Infidelity
Publisher: Bookouture
ISBN: 9781807220426
Publication Date: January 23, 2026
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
