The Other Patient
She possesses the life I was always meant to live. First, I took her name. Now, I’m taking the rest. I turn my head on the stiff hospital pillow, watching the woman in the bed beside me. Long brown hair. High cheekbones. Dark, vacant eyes. We look so alike it's terrifying—and entirely by design. Every step that brought us to this hospital room was meticulously orchestrated. By me. Freya has it all: boundless wealth, endless freedom, and a life most people would kill for. But she doesn't deserve a second of it. For months, I’ve scrubbed her pristine floors and swallowed her entitled demands, playing the invisible maid. She thought I was a nobody. She didn't realize I was watching, learning, and uncovering the dark, rotting secret she hides from the world. While she lay unconscious, the switch was made. I am Freya now. And she has no idea what kind of nightmare I have planned for her next…
- Freya - Iris’s boss, Jax’s ex-girlfriend
- Iris - Freya’s cleaner
- Isaac - Iris’s boyfriend
- Jax - Freya’s ex-boyfriend
- Alan - Freya’s grocery delivery man
- Freya wakes up in the hospital and a nurse tells her she was in a car accident.
- She tells the medical staff her name is Freya, not Iris, but they don’t believe her.
- Iris is discharged and returns to Freya’s home.
- Isaac drugs Freya and locks her in a room.
- He tells her she is in the psych ward of the hospital.
- Before: Freya begins dating Jax, whose parents are super wealthy.
- Present: Freya remembers the reason she got into the car accident - she received a text saying Jax was released from prison after serving his time for attempting to murder her by smothering her with a pillow.
- Freya steals Isaac’s key and gets out of the room.
- She realizes she is in the basement of Iris and Isaac’s house.
- When Isaac goes looking for her, she locks him in the room.
- Jax shows up at the house looking for Freya and Iris hides.
- Freya races to her house and finds Jax there.
- Jax found Freya because he became friends with Alan in prison
- When Alan was released, he tracked Freya down and told Jax where to find her.
- Iris stabs Jax in the neck, killing him.
- Iris tells Freya that protecting her from Jax was the only reason she pretended to be her. She knew Freya was hiding from an abusive ex and wanted to help.
- Before: Freya once stabbed and killed a man named Johnny who was abusing his partner.
- Present: Freya stabs Iris and thinks she is dead.
- Freya’s safe contains a man’s watch, a diamond necklace and an envelope of cash.
- She stole it all from Jax’s family before breaking up with him.
- The theft is why Jax tried to kill her.
- Freya buries Jax’s body in her garden.
- Iris escapes and manages to make it back to her and Isaac’s house.
- She finds Isaac locked in the basement room.
- Isaac wants to kill Freya before she can come after him and Iris again.
- Alan makes his usual grocery delivery to Freya, but it includes poisonous mushrooms.
- Alan helps Iris and Isaac because Jax was his friend and he believes Freya killed him.
- Iris goes to Freya’s house, takes the items from her safe and watches Freya die after eating the mushrooms.
- Epilogue: Iris and Isaac are expecting a baby.
- When they return the contents of the safe to Jax’s parents, Jax’s parents keep the jewelry but insist that Iris, Isaac and Alan keep the money.
- Alan quits his job to travel the world.
- Iris and Isaac buy a nice new house.
The Other Patient is built on short chapters, though the pacing runs quite slow. The story alternates between Freya and Iris's perspectives, with Iris quickly emerging as the more dominant narrator. She definitely comes off as suspicious throughout, while her boyfriend Isaac tries to keep her in check. Her edge grounds the book, which helps, since there are long stretches focused on describing the character’s thoughts and movements rather than dialogue and that drags the momentum down.
Despite the slow burn, the payoff salvaged the read. Hurst drops in some good twists just as the domestic details start to feel tedious, and the pacing finally snaps into high gear in the last ten chapters. The ending pulls everything together in a satisfying way, leaving me glad I stuck with it to the final page. It requires some patience to get through the middle, but the conclusion delivers exactly what the story needed. If you love unexpected twists and don’t mind a slow burn this book is for you.
- Jax - Dead - Stabbed by Iris
- Johnny - Dead - Stabbed by Iris with scissors
- Freya - Dead - Ate poisonous mushrooms given to her by Iris
- Alan - Alive - Traveling the world
- Iris - Alive - Pregnant with Isaac’s child
- Car accident
- Kidnapping
- Domestic violence
- Stalking
- Murder
ISBN: 9781805504900
Publication Date: July 20, 2026
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
