Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing this Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

“A surgeon loses a patient for the first time on the table and she admits that she didn’t want to save the patient” — this is the preface of “The Surgeon,” which intrigued me enough to read it. What motivates a surgeon to opt to not save her patient’s life? This was the burning question on my mind when I started reading the book.

“The Surgeon” by Leslie Wolfe is not a regular psychological thriller that contains countless twists that don’t add any value to the story but are there to shock the reader. It’s rather a study of the dark pockets residing inside a human mind. 

The story begins with senior surgeon Dr. Anne Wiley suddenly recognizing the patient on her operating table and deciding to stop resuscitation when his heart doesn’t start as it is supposed to. 

What made her do that? Who is the man? What are the consequences for her career-wise, after the first death on her operating table, despite the countless previously successful ones?

Wolfe has drafted a thrilling and chilling tale of intrigue, betrayal and hatred through Dr. Anne. She pulls the reader completely into Anne’s world where we despair, fear, hate and love along with her. The book’s many characters have their own agendas and a few of them are downright scary.

All of these put together make for a completely engrossing and at times disturbing read that you will not forget very soon. Having said that, I must say I did feel one character’s reasoning and thoughts didn’t add up for me. However, I still had the most thrilling experience reading this book and couldn’t get through it fast enough.

This book gets 5 out of 5 stars.