Book Reviews of The Doctor's Wife

From the back cover, "Abortion, local evangelism, marital disenchantment, and the rifts of social class: Brundage takes on the fault lines of our era with a deft hand. The Doctor's Wife is an accomplished, page-turning novel."

It took me two days to finish this novel...and two weeks later, I can't get the characters out of my head. This book will grip your heart and mind, and it will haunt you. Not for the faint of heart.

Fascinating book about so many different controversies: religion, abortion, adultery and it goes on. But handles all of this gracefully and a good book that kept me reading until the end. Would highly recommend.

a psychological thriller that is as riveting as it is replusive.i couldnt put it down

This book was a very slow read. I don't really care for books that start with the ENDING of a story. Kind of takes the fun out of the story. Not my cup of tea.

The usual evangelical-Christians-portrayed-as-psychotic-crazies storyline.

Interesting story about a stressed young family and the temptations and ambitions that threaten to ruin them. Very suspenseful dark tale.

It was a good read. Before I started it, I didn't think I would like the book, but it captured my attention and I enjoyed it. It didn't end the way I thought it would. A nice, easy read. We read it for our book club and it gave us a basis for some good discussion.

Excellent thriller. Starts out slow but soon into could not put it down.

Very interesting book. Little bit of Drama, Romance, Religion, quite a psycological thriller. Does have some adult language.

From the first words I was hooked. I could not put this book down wanting to know how it would all end. Well-crafted novel.

This was a really good book. I would tell anyone to read it. Little language, drugs, cheating, etc. But that only makes the story more exciting right?

It took me a good 50 pages to get into this book, but enjoyed the middle/end very much. Its fascinating how the four charachters become more and more entwined with each other. Good character development, current topics, made for a good read.

this book was a thriller, heart racing cant put down book. The title really throws you off as it was more of a physcological read. wish the author had more!

Don't let the title fool you. This is actually a mystery with good twist. Learn to expect the unexpected.

A gripping read.

I thought that this book was very well written. From the first page I was engaged and I couldn't put it down until the very end. Actually I read it in two days. The book deals with sensitive topics such as abortion and adultry but does so in a way that made me see both sides of the issue. This was one of my book club picks. I'm not sure that everyone will like the book as much as I did but I know that there will be plenty of discussion.

This book did not really impress me. The story is compelling enough to get you to finish the book, (took me two weeks but I did finish the book) but I had a great deal of trouble finding any sympathy whatsoever for the characters. I did not like the Doctor and his ego, I did not like the wife and her actions, the artist came off as a pompous jerk, and the artist's wife was a flaming nut job. I ended up feeling really bad for the clinic doctor, the kids and the dog. Everyone else got what they deserved.

Such a gripping thriller for a great read! The characters are so real and the emotions are swinging high and even higher to keep me intrigued until the last page. I was surprised by the ending and yet the story seems so plausible, and deep. I won't give much away on the story, but since you start at when the Doctor is kidnapped and then flash back to the beginning, it is rather convoluted, yet makes since. I recommend this book as it is fast paced and interesting.

Wow! Loved this book. The plot was well thought-out and kept me on the edge of my seat! Ms. Brundage brought the characters to life...I highly recommend this book to anyone! Enjoy!

Very predictable, no surprises, terribly boring.

I liked this book, it was a good psychological thriller. I felt the characters were multi-layered and complex. Lots of controversial issues. If you liked The Abstinence Teacher, you would enjoy this as it deals with controversial subjects with good character development. It also reminded me a little bit of Little Children, with issues surrounding infidelity and emotional upheaval.

Excellent!!! No ordinary novel. It's twisted, and complex, and yet feels stunningly real.

Wasn't sure I'd like this book due to the subject matter, but I found the author didn't "take sides" nor was she pedantic or preachy. Great writing, characterization, and above all, a fun thriller that kept you wanting to read late into the night.

A very good story of what it could be like to be a doctors wife. Lots of subject matter, marital difficulities, abortion, differences in social class etc. A page turner, but did not like the vulgar language in regards to sexual accounts. Why do these authors find it necessary to cheapen the book with dirty words! Other than this the book has real substance & was hard to put down.

I had such high expectations for this one. Every review I had read was glowing. But I just couldn't get into it. In the first few lines, we're told that the doctor's wife has committed a murder. The doctor's wife did it.....and she is one crazy woman. It starts with her telling us that she's killed her husband, and then splits off into a backstory I just didn't follow. I quit after 60 pages.....close the book on this one.

... this one was a quick read for me and very enjoyable. Worth the time...

I really enjoyed this book. The first couple of chapters - I thought I wasn't going to like it, but I stayed with it and then I couldn't put the book down.

I loved this book! It is disturbing, sexy, and suspensefull all at the same time.

Wow...this book was packed with moral issues, and approached them in all such a way that gave BOTH sides of the issues the gravity they deserved. I read the book with a feeling of dread, knowing that this could NOT end well. The teaser at the beginning did a very good job of setting up questions that sparked my interest, and kept me reading...I had to know who that man was, who the woman was, and why she had done such things.

It's not an easy read...definitely not a light and airy "beach book" kind of read...but it is a worthwhile read, one that deserves to be savored a chapter at a time.

This starts SLOW. In fact I almost gave up on it, my motto...life is too short to read bad books! In any case I thought I am going to give it another 20 pages or so and well, I was hooked. As another reviewer wrote, I am not a fan of starting with the ending, but the book got much better as it began telling the back story. It is not a book to pick up if you have a huge TBR, but it is an interesting story if you have some free time or nothing else to read.

It's interesting how she started with "the end" and intricately plots it from there. I didnt much care for the characters in the book, though. Touchy subject matter--abortion, adultery, drugs, you name it. I liked it but not one of my favorites.

I am almost halfway through this book, and have some thoughts:

* I agree with the reviewer who said it starts slow. It does, but after section 1 it seems to pick up a little.
* The author seems to have some pretty extreme political & religious (or non-religious) views, and that is very evident in the fact that her characters are more or less one-dimensional caricatures.
* The writing is engaging enough that I will finish, though I have some pretty serious issues with the political & religious platforms the author advocates.

I'll see what I think at the end...

Ok, I'm finished with the book. I thought it was a compelling read, regardless of my personal disagreement with the political & religious slant. Nonetheless, I did conclude that the characters were mostly unlikeable...I really felt the author could have done a better job of fleshing out the characters. It seems a shame to have what could have been a really good book diminished because of one dimensional character development. Hopefully this author improves in that regard with any future books.

Abortion, local evangelism,marital disenchantment,and the rifts of social class. enjoyed this one.

This was a good read - told from different character's points of views. The first chapter graps you and you stay interested until the end.

I loved this book; I thought it was well written and a great read.

Abortion, local evangelism, marital disenchantment and the rifts of social class are addressed in this book. This is a tense and compelling psychological thriller.

I loved this book! It was quite a page turner and it's her first novel too. It has everything....an affair, an anti abortion group, an abortion doctor but the characters are very strongly written and you quickly decide which are your favorites. I highly recommen this book and do hope she is at work on her next novel!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - couldn't put it down!

This book has the creepiest cover I've ever seen. Pretty creepy story too.

A kind of slow beginning but I found I couldn't put it down after awhile.

By Far... One of the best books i've ever read. Makes you want to race to the finish, but I had to make myself slow down to savor it!
Wonderful read, throughly engrossing. Can't wait till her next one!

Really good plot but I could not get with it for some reason.

This is described as the author's first book. I look forward to the next one she writes. This addresses the social issue of abortion clinics. Involved are a doctor who works at the clinic, his wife who objects to his participation and a group of religious zelots who object to the clinic. It is touted as a "psycholigical thriller" and it is. Good read.

The book is a real page turner with constant action. I coudn't put it down.

A very enjoyable read.....Loved the pyschological suspense...a real page turner!

This was a pretty good story. I never really cared for any of the characters though and I wish she hadn't given away the killers identity so early.

An already busy OB who begins to perform abortions in a friend's clinic; his neglected wife, a journalist teaching in a small college; her attractive artist colleague, an intense man in a strange, tortured marriage; and the secretive child-woman who was his muse and is now his wife. These four, living in a small town fishbowl complete with its own radical pro-life group, will find - as in a Greek tragedy - that their strengths as much as their weaknesses, lead to their downfall. Fairly graphic sex scenes, and no small measure of both psychological and physical violence.

Very good thriller. Keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout.

i did not like this book at all boring and could not really get into at all started out slow and had to force myself to read this book and did not like it . could not even finish it sorry to say and for me being the voracious reader that I am that is saying something about the book .

Really twisted story. Sick but that doesn't mean it isn't good or that I didn't like it. Could be hard for some to read.

Psychological thriller. Like new.

loved it

Awesome book. A real page turner.

A very compelling read..."abortion, local evangelism, marital disenchantment, and the rifts of social class" (from back cover). Very well written.

Really thought provoking and engrossing book.

this story makes you examine your own beliefs

Compelling..........

incredible book - very well imagined about a specific set of circumstances

A good read, hard to put down, but at times a little farfetched.

Mixed emotions about this book. Altho I really enjoyed it I felt at times like I had missed something...it does have a good plot and tells the story of two couples whose lives are explicitly intertwined.

Unbeleivable- Excellent plot and twist I could not put it down Was up till 3 am finishing it last night

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