Do No Harm and The Wife Upstairs

I'm not sure why I can't stop reading long enough to write reviews. I have some from NetGalley that I need to review. Trying to get back to everything.

Emma, a doctor in a local clinic, and Nate, a detective in the local police department, have a son, Josh, who has leukemia and needs a life saving treatment not covered by insurance. And with a local opioid ring causing havoc with overdoses, Nate's time is split between family and work. Now, suspend reality for a minute because Emma starts stealing and forging prescriptions for oxy to raise the money needed for the treatment.

I don't feel like this was as much of a thriller as it is a moral dilemma novel. I have a hard time believing that a doctor immediately goes to, "Let's steal some prescriptions to pay for everything" and risking their entire life and career in the process. Knowing how hospitals work, they don't generally need payment up front before starting any treatment and if you have limited income, they tend to write off part of the balances when you start paying or make a payment plan.

I guess with every novel, there is a sense of needing to suspend reality to an extent. There were a couple of twists that I didn't see coming. Overall a good story - told between Emma's and Nate's points of view and fast paced over the few weeks from diagnosis to treatment. Well written. A little hard to like any of the characters except the kid. Three stars for me.

Jane is a dog walker in a ritzy Alabama community and has secrets. She meets and begins dating Eddie Rochester who also has secrets. Jane is wildly out of place when she moves in with Eddie and they get engaged. And Bea, Eddie's dead wife, is a constant factor in everything that happens.

Another book where the characters are so unlikeable. Jane is hiding from a past that she wants to keep buried and she is broke and stealing small trinkets and jewelry from her clients. And when she moves in with Eddie, Bea is everywhere in the house. Eddie immediately adds Jane to his bank accounts so that she doesn't have to work. That's a little odd for someone you barely know.

There is a good build up of tension in the novel and bits and pieces of the back stories are added in to spice things up a bit and keep the story moving along. But with no one being outright evil and all of the characters just being so unlikeable, it's hard to get invested to give more than 3 stars.