Faith

by Peter James

Ross Ransom is at the top of his profession; one of the most successful, and certainly one of the richest, plastic surgeons in the business. Such a man would expect his wife to be perfect – and why not? After all he has spent enough hours in surgery to get her that way. But when his wife falls ill she turns her back on conventional medicine and her arid marriage to Ransom and seeks help from the world of alternative medicine and a charismatic therapist who promises not just medical salvation. For Ransom this is the ultimate betrayal. It defies logic and Ross Ransom is a profoundly logical man and, logically, he can see no reason why any man should have his wife if he can’t. Ross Ransom is about to embark on a very rational course of action, murderously rational. Peter James has written a terrifying thriller that shows what happens when our faith in medicine goes out of control.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Crime, Horror, Suspense, British Literature, Mystery

339 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Peter James is a global bestselling author, best known for writing crime and thriller novels, and the creator of the much-loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. With a total of 21 Sunday Times No. 1s under his belt, he has achieved global book sales of over 23 million copies to date and has been translated into 38 languages.

Synonymous with plot-twisting page-turners, Peter has garnered an army of loyal fans throughout his storytelling career – which also included stints writing for TV and producing films. He has won over 40 awards for his work, including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award, Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger and a BAFTA nomination for The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons for which he was an Executive Producer. Many of Peter’s novels have been adapted for film, TV and stage.

Reviews

[Danielle-Gemma💜 · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the brilliant things about Peter James is that even in a standalone novel you end up becoming enamoured with his characters and drawn into their world even if they aren’t likeable in the novel.

I kept saying to myself just one more chapter and then you just get on or go to bed but I just found it so hard to put down. This story is a similar premise to a lot of other novels that I have come across previously, but this was brilliant and very well written and I really enjoyed it though and it kept me on the edge of my seat. The ending felt really in line with the whole tone of the story which I loved!

I would definitely recommend, and I am looking forward to reading more of his standalone books in the coming months 📚📚📚

[Nigel · Rating 4 out of 5]

My partner read this and felt I might like it. I read the first few Roy Grace books and found them very good. Then to me they became very formulaic and I gave up. Reading this one reminded me that Peter James is a very good writer. Decent enough storyline however the characters were very good. Both the good and the bad ones felt well developed. Decent tension and pace made for an easy read. One or two of twists seemed a bit predictable but I enjoyed it.

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faith seemingly has it all, a lovely son, a big home, all the free time in the world and a loving doting husband, a world class cosmetic surgeon... and a sociopath-ic psychopath (is that even a term??).
.
Another solid stand alone from prime Crime Fiction writer Peter James as a husband who love too much is threatened when Faith finds someone who really cares about being a doctor, and about other people.
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A great rip roaring horror adventure in which you're screaming at Faith to "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM!"... there's just enough real surprises and dramatic moments to make it worth investing the time to read it. 7.5 out of 12 :)

[Keith Hillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit it - I an a litte biased when it comes to Peter James's books! Although originally a horror writer he is now best known for his remarkable Inspector Grace novels which are bases in and around where I live!. There are several revues of his books here including my favoutite Not Dead Enough, but in a departure from these stories he produced Faith, the story of a plastic surgeon and his wife Faith. In this book the characters are so clearly drawn and believable that James works your imagination for you. I am relluctant to give it five stars - I may find a book I enjoy more one day, but if I could give it 9.9 I would!

[Amy Manthey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Mark Tilbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

When it is discovered that Faith is terminally ill her husband, Ross, appears to move heaven and earth to find a cure. Not happy with clinical trials and low success rates Faith seeks help with alternative medicine, not realizing how life changing her decision will be.

This book had me hooked from the start. I enjoyed how some of the early chapters went back in time and explained the thoughts and actions of the antagonist (Ross). The relationships between Ross, his wife and son are complex and distorted due to the Ross’s opinions on family life.

I thought all the characters were well written and the plot moved along at a great pace. I did particularly enjoy the character of Ross, seeing how he had become the person he’d grown into and how the consequences of his actions impacted on those around him.

A brilliant book, full of suspense.

[Chloe · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a good holiday novel, but nothing that inspiring.
I'm not into the whole "My husband is controlling me" scenario.

[Nunyah Biznuss · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first Peter James book I've read. If the quality of the writing, the excellent characterisations, and gripping plot lines in 'Faith' are any indication of his other works, I'll be back for more.

This is a true descent into evil, where a fractured man tries to control his wife and will stop at nothing to keep her under his control. Having endured a relationship where I was controlled by a man who expected me to stay home, gave me a car and restricted where I could drive it, and banned me from going to uni (hah! I have a PhD now, so stick that in your bum), I could relate to Faith, the wife, and main protagonist. Whilst I am a staunch sceptic and the alternative medicine story lines bugged me, they weren't too flaky or woo-woo, and you could easily overlook them.

This is a faced-paced psychological thriller that you won't be disappointed with.

[Marina Horner · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining thriller.

[Rhian Eleri · Rating 3 out of 5]

**SPOILERS**
This took a while to get used to! For a good 30 chapters I couldn't catch the psychological thriller vibe! Instead it felt very much like an average family drama story. Faith hinted that her husband Ross was controlling and abusive but All I could see was how much he loved her!
(ok maybe this shows the talent of the author who tricked me for a while)
So for me, the story began when Ross hires a private detective to watch Faith. He's certain she's having an affair, and whats worse is that she's getting medical advice from her ‘lover'! And Ross is a highly experienced doctor who is admired by all! This attention is something he can do without.
A little over halfway through the book came the real nitty gritty of James' brilliant work. Faiths' diagnosis of a rare disease means he is truly devastated but also, finaly he can show her how much he loves her by using his popularity in the medical field to pull some strings for the best treatment possible.
How does Ross react to news of Faith discarding the medication and following a more alternative way of finding a cure? The answer: not good at all. And this is where we are introduced to Ross the psychotic monster. The chapters on the hallucinations really were great! Loved the way I was drawn in and felt a little bit away with the fairies myself! The first time with the ‘eye drop' saga really made me feel sick. What a horrendous thing to do! It just got worse and worse and I was even scared of this man by the end.
For me, a lot of the book could have been edited down to probably 300 pages. The action didn't happen for a long time, but when it did I loved it (despite feeling angry that Ross got away with so much)


Things I enjoyed;
The hallucinations. These were just creepy and believable. The chapters from the 70s giving us an insight to why Ross was such a creep.

Things I wasn't fussed on;
The extra quick romance that came out of nowhwere between Faith and Oliver. They declared their love at the second meeting Im sure! The hipnotising of Ross in the lift... although this was quote fun to read, it felt very unrealistic. Then again with little Alec in the Attik.

A good read for fans of thrillers. Might be frustrating to those used to James' other work (RoyGrace series) slow development of plot. But when it gets there its good.

3 stars.

[Dane Cobain · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another one of James’ lesser hits, which is kind of unsurprising because I’ve never found his standalones to be particularly strong. I guess I’m a Roy Grace fan more than a Peter James fan, although I am still slowly but surely working my way through everything he’s written. It’s just that this definitely isn’t at his best in this one.

Part of that is probably because of the characters. We’re mostly focusing on a manipulative plastic surgeon and his doormat wife, who he basically uses as a walking portfolio. Bad things start to happen to them, but really who cares? If anything, the fun in this story comes from watching their lives slowly fall apart.

Other than that, there’s not a great deal to say about this one. It’s a pretty competent thriller I guess, but I don’t really have much time for competent thrillers because there are so many of them out there and they’re all basically the same. In fact, by the time I was a third of the way through this, I was asking myself why I was still reading. But I’m a completionist and I’m trying to work my way through everything that Peter James ever wrote, and so I had to keep on keeping on anyway or my brain would have hated me.

And that brings us on to something of a problem for me, which is that I need to write another 200 words to finish off this review. But there’s just not much to say, to the point at which my favourite characters were some of the minor ones who didn’t really get as much air time as I think they deserved.

What more can I say? It was competent but not for me, and I feel as though even if you are going to read Peter James, you shouldn’t start with this one. Read some of the Roy Grace books instead, or if you’re not into crime then perhaps it’s worth checking out The House on Cold Hill. I think that one’s even been turned into a stage play, which could be worth checking out.

So would I recommend this one? Not really, I’m afraid. It was just a bit of a filler read for me, and I’m hoping that the next one that I pick up will be more memorable. I can’t say that this was awful or anything like that, but I do think that if you ask me about it in six months, I won’t remember a thing. That’s actually surprisingly common and it’s hardly the first time I’ll have read a book and immediately forgotten it. Shame it happened with an author that I actually quite like though, but eh.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lukukokemusta varjosti kirjan puoliväliin saakka se tosiasia, että viime vuonna (tai toissavuonna) luin selkeästi tästä teoksesta kopioidun kirjan. Onnekseni jatkoin lukemista, sillä tämä teos muuttui varsin kutkuttavaksi loppua kohden!

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, easy read even though it was lengthy and satisfying ending but found myself skim reading quite a few rambly paragraphs which is why it wasn’t a 5/5 x

[Mrs J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty predictable plot of abused wife and psychopath husband but enjoyable nonetheless.

[Celine · Rating 2 out of 5]

author discovers the word “slut” and proceeds to use it as much as possible. get this man a thesaurus

[Siiri Laurila · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,75⭐️

[Ronald Cartner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read

[Emily Bagg · Rating 1 out of 5]

So ridiculous. Absolutely not one sentence of this would happen in real life, it was almost laughable!

[Jim Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A backlist book from Peter James. I particularly like his Roy Grace series so inevitably this was slightly disappointing. However, on the whole an enjoyable read if not an entirely plausible plot in places

[Lynette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved this novel at the start, but as I got further through it I felt like it got more and more far fetched. Still enjoyed it and keen to see what would happen, just not as much as I originally anticipated.

[Rosie Roose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable & kept me reading to the end, but hard to believe in all of Faith's complacency & timidity: an old-fashioned attitude for 2000, when this was published. Also a little too predictable in some respects.

[Beth Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter James book again. What a great author. A Brit, he does not get much recognition in this country.

[Spinwallah · Rating 2 out of 5]

i found it deeply annoying. every "i love you" grated, and there were fucking millions

[Soho_Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having finally reached the end of Peter James’ pre-grace novels, I’ve finally hit a point at which it becomes abundantly clear that he was destined for a long and successful career. What has gone before has been of varied quality and has crossed genres along the way, but the last few in particular have felt like they were leading to this moment and the ones that followed.

The “Faith” is the title is Faith Ransome, who is married to a noted and successful plastic surgeon, Ross Ransome. This proves to be a mixed blessing, as whilst Ross is able to provide her with a large house, enough money to be very comfortable and a face and body which will never age, he also provides suspicion, controlling behaviour and verbal and physical abuse. Whilst their son, Alec, does not take sides, nearly everyone else she knows is part of Ross’ circle and so supports him blindly, to the exclusion and detriment of Faith’s life.

This is most clear when Faith comes back from Thailand with a case of Lendt’s disease, a bacterial infection which has a fatality rate of 80% within the first year. Her doctor discusses this with Ross long before Faith ever finds out and it takes a visit to an alternative medical practitioner, Dr Oliver Cabot, who she met at an event Ross had taken her to, before she can get some answers. However, Faith’s interest in Oliver isn’t merely medical, which angers Ross to the point at which he wouldn’t’ stop at anything.

“Faith” is by far Peter James’ best novel at this point and he’s been building up to this moment for a while. It feels as if all the skills he’s been gaining during his writing career so far have come together and this is the first novel where he seems to have put all the good things together at once. The plotting is detailed and intricate, but without there being anything wasted and whilst there are a couple of moments where it steps a little further away from reality and the life an average reader may understand, it doesn’t require you to suspend disbelief too often.

The characters are also well-written and the main protagonists are written well enough that it is quite clear who you are supposed to be supporting on their way through. The attitudes of Oliver and Ross are so clearly distinct that you don’t get them mixed up and even the brief scenes with Faith’s mother show how easily Ross can put people under his spell. There were a couple of minor characters who appeared only for plot points and the brief nod to his previous novel was a nice touch for existing readers, but seemed like a moment of vanity in terms of the plot.

It took Peter James a while to find himself, with themes appearing and being discarded through his previous novels. It had been clear that he had an interest in medical thrillers and that crime would be a factor, as horror and chillers hadn’t suited him. Then, after taking some time to work through occult themes and perfecting his characters and learning a touch of brevity in his plotting, we get here and it’s not a surprise to discover that his next novel after this was the first Roy Grace novel that really launched his career, as all the signs are in this novel that it could be possible.

[Tracy Fenton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to Faith on Audible as it was part of an audible special deal and didn't both reading the blurb because having read several of Peter James' books over the years I knew roughly what I would be getting.

Having said that, I wish I had listened to the narrator's voice as a sample because by the end of the 14 hours she was beginning to get on my nerves!

I also didn't realise the book was 20 years old, and had I read the book then I am sure my review and experience of the story would possibly have been more than 3 stars.

Faith Ransome is married to Ross Ransome - a high flying, successful plastic surgeon at the top of his game. With a young son and a beautiful home Faith appears to have it all. However after a family holiday to Thailand Faith falls ill and everything changes.

To say that Ross is a controlling husband is an understatement and when the family Dr tells him what Faith is suffering from he decides NOT to tell her and treat her himself, however Faith seeks alternative medical advice which results in turning everyone's life upside and putting everyone in danger.

Because medical practices and technology have advanced so dramatically over the past 20 years Faith is very dated and for those reasons it was less enjoyable for me personally.

[Thekirkiepirate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy reading Peter James and in particular, those novels outwith the Roy Grace series. Unfortunately, this one did not acale the heights of other books. However, as it was written more than 20 years ago, that may at least in part explian this.

I thought that the premise underpinning the novel was excellent - the conflict between established medical practice and more alternative approaches, especially those focussing on the mind of the patient. However, I felt that the execution did not come off. We were presented with a malleable patient with a horns and halo approach to her doctor husband and the alternative paratitioner. This approach was too simplistic for such a complex and involved subject. I also found it inconceivable that it took until the end of the novel for it to dawn on any character that the patient only became ill immediately after coming into contact with her husband!

However, he does write about a fascinating and thought-proviking subject.

[Joe Stamber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read most of the Roy Grace series, and a few of the standalone novels as well, so I know how much of a drama queen Peter James can be, and of his penchant for pantomime villains. However, he also knows how to spin a good yarn whilst entertaining his readers at the same time. This tale of a successful plastic surgeon who turns out to be an insane control freak, is another over-the-top drama with a matching baddie as a main character. Joining in the fun is his wife, newly diagnosed with a rare illness, and a more sympathetic doctor who specialises in alternative medicine. Entertaining as always, Faith is quite exciting in places, although has a few convenient coincidences and plot holes to satisfy the plot. A 5/10 that just about scrapes an upgrade to 3 stars.

[Cathy Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first two thirds of this are excellent. Faith is married to Ross. He is narcissistic and controlling. All you want for the first two thirds of this book is for Faith to get herself and her son away from Ross and to be safe. The premise is excellent and Faith and Ross are brilliantly detailed characters. In fact Ross is really menacing and makes the story quite chilling.
Unfortunately it falls apart a bit in the final third. I just wasn’t able to suspend my disbelief sufficiently to enjoy it. Part of this, I think, is because I struggled to relate to Oliver, Faiths purported saviour. I just didn’t quite believe in him and his theories enough. Overall a decent read though.

[Roz Radmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a terrifying thriller , showing that we cannot and should not control every aspects of our lives . Excellent read !
Faith is married to Ross Ransome . He is one of the most successful and richest plastic surgeons in Britain . His wife is perfect . He made her so . Nothing but the best for her .
Suddenly his life is not so perfect any more . His wife becomes ill and turns to alternative medicine for help . She meets a therapist who sees how unhappy she is with her controlling husband .
Ransome decides that if he can't have his wife then nobody else should . . .

[Christopher Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of faith who is married to Ross and control freak and possibly psychopathic doctor who works as a plastic surgeon. Written in a lively style with a number of good minor characters well drawn, Faith falls for another doctor, Oliver, who believes in alternative medicine.

You do wonder a little why Faith ever married Ross in the first place but the story accelerates to the conclusion and certainly grips you once you are hooked. This was published some years ago. Must have missed it at the time!