Video review — tap to play
The Perfect Nurse: A totally addictive and unputdownable psychological thriller
'My name is Darcy, I'm your nurse. I'm here to help you.' I repeat the words I've said so many times. Except this time, I don't mean it... If you saw me, you'd think I was pretty ordinary - I…
- Release Date
- 2025
- Publisher
- Bookouture
We may earn a commission if you buy through these links, at no extra cost to you.
Our Review
About the book
Darcy is a hospital nurse who seems like the very picture of a caring professional. But she has broken the rules her job is built on, someone is dead, and she narrates the story while waiting to learn whether the truth will come out.
Our review
A confessional psychological thriller that asks how far a caregiver can drift from the oath she took.
The Perfect Nurse opens with a clever reversal: the narrator is not hunting a killer, she is one, or at least responsible for a death, and she wants us to understand why. Darcy’s voice is chatty and self-justifying, and the hospital setting gives the novel a creepy, everyday menace. Hurst knows how to end chapters on a hook, and the book reads quickly.
The trade-off is depth. The hospital never feels fully realized, the doctor at the center of Darcy’s troubles is more device than person, and the final twists strain plausibility. Some readers will also wish Hurst committed harder to the moral darkness of his premise. As a fast, twisty diversion it works; as a study of a compromised caregiver, it only scratches the surface.
What we loved
- An intriguing villain-narrator setup
- Brisk pacing with strong chapter endings
- A creepy, mundane hospital backdrop
Keep in mind
- Characters outside Darcy are thinly drawn
- Late twists stretch credibility
Read it if you like
Readers who like Freida McFadden’s The Teacher or Shari Lapena’s The Couple Next Door.
The verdict
A quick, entertaining psychological thriller with a strong hook and shallow follow-through.
