"The Nurse" by Jenna Kernan

 

"The Nurse" by Jenna Kernan is a clever psychological thriller that poses some challenging moral questions and explores the choices that drive us to do the things we do.

The book follows Emily Lancing, a Licensed Practical Nurse with aspirations, who applies for a job at the residence of the Roth family. Dr. Henry Roth, a prominent psychiatrist, hires her to be the personal nurse for his troubled wife Sabrina. Emily's role extends beyond nursing; she is also expected to serve as a housekeeper, handle light household chores such as tidying up and doing laundry, and drive Sabrina around, among other tasks. Additionally, she must ensure that Sabrina takes all her medications. According to the husband, Sabrina suffers from delusions and other mental health issues that require consistent medication to prevent her condition from deteriorating

Pretty soon Emily fell into routine, spending her days at Sabrina’s side. When she begins to suspect that Dr. Roth is over-medicating his wife, she noses around to determine his trustworthiness. She seeks to discern whether he is a devoted husband or an unscrupulous one, controlling his wife for his own benefit. In either case, she finds herself treading on dangerous ground.

The book starts slowly, but the pace picks up in the second part of the book. The detailed descriptions of day-to-day activities were more than enough to maintain interest. The focus is primarily on the characters and their motivations, and I appreciated the dynamics between them.

The characters are complex and compelling, particularly Emily. I did feel she made some unwise choices and took unnecessary risks. While I understood her actions, I had mixed feelings about some of them.

Toward the end of the book, I guessed the impending twist, so it didn't come as a great shock. Nevertheless, I found it brilliantly executed. I did feel that the author spoon-fed us the solution to the puzzle in the last chapter, going into unnecessary detail to explain some aspects. However, I'm unsure if it could have been handled differently.

Overall, I enjoyed the read and found the concept interesting. I will definitely read more books by this author. I recommend the book to people who readers who relish delving into the mindset of characters. Just don't expect a fast-paced narrative and allow the story to develop slowly and creep up on you. It will be worth the wait!

* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc.  All opinions are my own.


* For more info about the book: ""The Nurse" by Jenna Kernan