The Patient's Secret: A Novel

Secrets worth dying--and killing--for, in a novel of suspense inspired by a horrific true crime by Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author Loreth Anne White.

When the battered body of a female jogger is found beneath the cliffs of an idyllic coastal community, these perfect neighbors suddenly don't seem so perfect...

Lily Bradley is a respected psychotherapist married to a distinguished professor. They live in a dream house with their two children in close-knit Story Cove. Lily lives a well-ordered life. Or so it seems. As a therapist, she knows everyone keeps things hidden. Even her.

Then sensual and free-spirited Arwen Harper rolls into town in her hand-painted VW van, her sixteen-year-old son riding shotgun. Overnight, Story Cove's secrets are no longer safe. Because Arwen might know her new neighbors better than they know themselves.

Now someone is dead, and it looks like murder. Brutal and personal. The death invites the shrewd eye of Detective Rue Duval. Rue's job is to expose secrets. But she's also an expert at keeping them.

As the lives of three women become inexorably entwined, one thing is clear: when it comes to survival, ordinary people can do the most terrible things.

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Published Mar 8, 2022

383 pages

Average rating: 8.01

105 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Bosky
Dec 30, 2025
8/10 stars
White is a great author. She knows how to spin a tale. I took one star off for the plot schema being done before and overdone... Starting with a murder then seeing how things play out. She is very good with character development. Read this through Kindle Unlimited, but would have paid more.
MiaMorton
Dec 12, 2024
10/10 stars
Keeps you guessing! I never expected the ending!
Lavender Loves
Aug 30, 2023
6/10 stars
I'm getting really burnt out on domestic thrillers.
BeckyPeterson
Jul 21, 2023
Delilah
Natlamm
Feb 16, 2023
8/10 stars
4.5 stars. There was a lot happening in this book almost too much…I definitely did not predict the ending-and that is how a whodunit is done.

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