Doctor Jemma Sands is a doctor in A&E. Her life changes forever when a pregnant car crash victim, Toppy Mrazek is brought in. Jemma makes a decision that results in the loss of Toppy’s baby. When Toppy recovers she wreaks her revenge, first suing Jemma, then stealing her husband, Tony.

Toppy drowns in an accident on holiday with Tony, but when Jemma’s son, Matthew, goes missing Jemma is convinced it’s her nemesis – but the police don’t believe a dead woman can be responsible. How can she convince them and retrieve her child?

Part crime, part medical thriller, this is a pacy page-turner of a novel. It starts with a bang (well, a crash) and the pace barely lets up throughout. Jemma works too hard, she’s in what’s become a loveless marriage with Tony. The strain of Toppy’s legal challenge eventually splits them up. She goes from steady doctor and wife to a mess and back again.

Adler places an extra layer in Slow Bleed with the inclusion of shady pharmaceutical testing. Tony is taking backhanders from a large company to test a drug that has dubious side effects.

It’s a decent story overall, at times gripping, particularly when Matthew goes missing. I found myself being dragged along to the conclusion. The medical aspects are strong enough, well researched and plausible if the outcome is anything to go by. There is a requirement for a degree of suspension of belief at certain points, but if you’re okay with this then Slow Bleed will prove an enjoyable read. I’d certainly pick up Adler’s next book.

**Originally reviewed for Books and Pals blog. May have received free review copy.**

CW: the book describes (fairly pointlessly) Nazi experiments on Jewish victims.

I gave this two stars because it was so slow to get going. In the middle it got a bit confusing. The end gets absolutely frantic in pacing and there's *unnecessary Nazis.*

Not really sure why we needed to read about Nazis beheading French Jewish children, WTF. The bunkers could have been WW2 bomb shelters for a plot point.

Really gripping

Considering it was free,I was surprised by how good it was! Couldn't put it down! Love books that make you look forward to reading!

This is the first time I have read a book by the author Tim Adler, and how pleased I am that I have. His writing is professional, flawless and easy to follow and the story line is intriguing and truly well researched. Having never read a medical crime thriller before I didn't know what to expect but the opening pace of "Slow Bleed" is fast, compelling and relentless and has you in its grasp from the first page. The drama that unfolds is seamless and delves you into a world of medical emergencies and instant life or death decision making. One professional life saving decision throws Jemma the female protagonist into a downward spiral of disastrous consequences that just keep you hooked page after page till you just don't want to stop reading. I loved the suspense at the end of some of the chapters and found the ending totally befitting the story. Being a mother of 3 boys I completely sympathised with Jemma's emotions at her missing son. This is a terrific read and would highly recommend. I look forward to reading Tim's next book "Surrogate".
5 stars.

From its explosive opening chapter Slow Bleed grabs you by the throat and is entirely unwilling to relinquish its grip from that point on. Balancing the demands of both a thriller, and an exploration of the darker side of the medical profession and the lucrative world of the pharmaceutical business, Tim Adler produces a tense and gripping crime read, in his first foray into the crime fiction genre.

I would have to say that this a genuine easy reading thriller, that as the story ebbs and flows, leading the reader in unexpected directions, you will fair whip through this. With the central character of Doctor Jemma Sands, a professional and steady woman of good character and a seemingly settled home life, Adler seems to take a genuine delight into uprooting everything she holds to be true and most treasured, and turning her world upside down. From her initial interaction performing a life saving operation on the mysterious Toppy Mrazek, Jemma’s life goes into tailspin, as she discovers an emotional connection between her duplicitous husband and Toppy, but most tellingly that Toppy is in no way, shape, or form the woman she appears to be, and will prove to be Jemma’s arch nemesis. As Toppy begins to malevolently influence all corners of Jemma’s comfortable life, our intrepid doctor must draw on all her resources to outwit her opponent, particularly when her child’s life is threatened. For me, this was the most successful aspect of the book, as Adler really seemed to tap into the female mentality and the ‘lioness’ instinct, that is demonstrated by both women. Although it is quickly evident that Toppy possesses a singularly devious and self assured character, that shapes and dictates her less than honourable deeds, it is interesting to see how Jemma grows in stature and strength, as she is thrust into a whole host of dangerous situations, and how those around her seek to manipulate her. As she is led down blind alleys, and placed in danger- particularly by those she puts her trust in- she begins to think outside her own complacent reality, and proves herself a more than worthy adversary to the troublesome Toppy- but who will come out on top?

With my normal honesty, I won’t pretend that the plot was without flaws and there were certain incidents that did require a little leap of faith by the reader, particularly in relation to a brief sojourn across the Channel, and sometimes a little too much reliance on slightly clunky coincidences. However, such is the breathless pace of this thriller, any small kinks in the general story arc can be forgiven to keep the action moving forward. As the reader’s empathy is aroused by our emotionally bruised and battered heroine, you are quickly moved from chapter to chapter, to see the next twist in Jemma’s nightmare. A good page-turner overall.