Doctor Perry

by Kirsten McKenzie

"Doctor Perry is a spine-tingling read and a slamming indictment on the blind trust we give to doctors."

Doctor Perry enjoys working at Florida's Rose Haven Retirement Home. His patients are old, lonely, unloved. And no one misses them when they disappear.

Hiding from a traumatic past, retiree Elijah Cone spends his days at the Rose Haven Retirement Home waiting for death to relieve him of his all-consuming guilt and the worsening pain of his arthritis. But Elijah isn't the only one with a secret. Rose Haven's resident doctor has a secret too, one involving the bodies of his elderly patients. A profitable secret. A deadly side hustle.

Forced into a fight for their lives, Elijah and the other residents of the retirement home soon learn that under Doctor Perry's care, death is a better option…

After reading Doctor Perry, you'll be left questioning how much you trust your doctor.

Doctor Perry is recommended for readers who devoured Stolen Thoughts by Tim Tigner, and enjoy reading thrillers tinged with a slight hint of the paranormal - think Stephen King with a medical degree. Doctor Perry is not your typical serial killer.

Both the paperback and ebook versions contain a page of discussion questions for your next bookclub meeting. The author of Doctor Perry, Kirsten McKenzie, is available to attend your bookclub meetings, either in person, or online, depending on where you are in the world.

Genres: Horror, Thriller

330 pages, Paperback

First published April 26, 2018

About the author

Kirsten McKenzie fought international crime for fourteen years as a Customs Officer in both England and New Zealand, before leaving to work in the family antique store. Now a full time author, she lives in New Zealand with her family and alternates between writing time travel trilogies and polishing her next thriller. Her spare time is spent organising author events and appearing on literary panels at festivals around the world.

Her work has appeared in anthologies in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, including the NHS fundraiser - Noir From The Bar. She has had non-fiction pieces appear in The Spinoff, and in other New Zealand publications.

In 2024, her short story "The Watchman," part of the anthology Remains To Be Told: Dark Tales of Aotearoa, was shortlisted for the 2024 Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Short Story. Remains To Be Told: Dark Tales of Aotearoa won the 2024 Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Collected Work. Kirsten’s time travel novel, Ithaca Bound, was shortlisted for the 2023 Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Novel. In 2021, her historical thriller, The Forger and the Thief, was longlisted for the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Novel. Her short story "Paperwork," part of the anthology Noir From The Bar, was also longlisted that same year for the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Short Story. Her paranormal thriller, Painted, was longlisted for the 2018 Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Novel.

Kirsten’s current project is a collaboration with best selling time travel author Shawn Inmon, where she is writing time travel stories in his Middle Falls world, but shifting the story over the pond to Northumberland, to the fictional town of Cheviot Hills. The first book in the series is The Deadly Life of Diana Penn. The second book in the collaboration, The Helpful Lives of Gris Morley, came out in February 2026. The 3rd book is underway.

You can sign up for her sporadic newsletter at: https://www.kirstenmckenzie.com/newsl...

You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok.

Reviews

[She's So Novel! ꧁꧂]

2.5★

Kirsten did a great little teaser for this book in the BLK group.

I loved the cover.

The start was intriguing. Doctor Perry was suitably villainous. The Rosehaven Rest Home was care for the aged at it's most depressing.

But a few things were missed in proofreading. And just too much was thrown at this story with too many characters to keep track of. The writing style was a little flat and there was some telling rather than showing.

The ending was a wildly confusing mish mash.

There is a good story in there - the book just needs to be pared down.

A copy of this book was given to me by the author in return for an honest review. Thanks Kirsten

[Berit☀️✨]

this book was unlike anything I’ve ever read before! A unique twist on a horror novel... in most ways this was much scarier than any book with ghosts, ghouls, and gore.... the evil that lies in Dr. Perry far surpasses that of any ghost....

Rose Haven nursing home was a very depressing place, just as the tone of much of this book was... but things are even more bleak than they appear with the likes of Dr. Perry and his medications in residence.... this book was in a word disturbing! I felt for the nursing home residents although we never really got to know them all that well(But perhaps that is for the best?) dr. Perry was unlike almost any other villain that I have read of before, he was sinister!

This is not my usual genre, but I would absolutely recommend to fans of all things horror....

*** many thanks to the author and Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for my copy of this book ***

[Kimberly]

3.5 stars.

DOCTOR PERRY is the second horror novel written by author Kirsten McKenzie.  In this tale, we have an infusion of visceral, emotional, and psychological horror, with some crime and thriller elements added to the blend.  At first glance, the residents of the Rose Haven Retirement Resort have it as bad as some of those understaffed, tightly budgeted nursing homes you hear about on the news. However, their reality is far worse . . .

"Doctor Perry assures his elderly patients at the Rose Haven Retirement Home he can offer warmth, sympathy, and understanding.  Doctor Perry is a liar."

Our main antagonist, Doctor Perry, is operating "behind the scenes" of a senior living facility.  The kind of medicine he peddles is unlike anything you've ever heard of--and if you had, you likely wouldn't be around to tell about it.

One resident, Elijah Cone--a former all-star coach--believes he deserves to be punished by spending his remaining years in a filthy, unhappy establishment like this.

". . . A shopping list of bad decisions had forced him into this waiting room of death . . . "

Even his views are going to come into question.

Despite the large cast of characters here--between the residents, orderlies, other staff, Dr. Perry's wife, and all his other patients--only a handful really stood out to me.  Of these, there were a few that I found myself looking forward to in various scenes.

The idea behind Dr. Perry's medicinal treatments was certainly unique.  McKenzie created some very vivid scenes of horror and pain, along with a villain who is truly devoid of any sort of empathy for his fellow man.  A more perfect character for this roll, I couldn't begin to imagine.

"Humans gravitate towards mayhem as a way of assuring themselves that they're still alive, a reminder that there is always someone worse off than them . . . "

The scenes from the Rose Haven Home are mostly full of sorrow, indignities, and a loss of any sort of hope.  A thoroughly depressing atmosphere, with the exception of a very few friendships.  The author uses these emotions to steer her readers--not to mention, characters--into a state where all hope is gone, and happy endings never seem to be in sight.  Even the most sympathetic of characters are not looking forward to another day of life here.

". . . a hellish reminder of the end of his life . . . A purgatory only death would release him from."

While we learn very early on what Doctor Perry's motives are, there are a couple of sub-plots woven in that kept me guessing until the very end.  Honestly, these were my favorite parts of the novel.  The smaller, insidious story-lines really captured my attention and made me sit back and think about the possible ramifications to come, even after I finished the story.

Overall, a unique concept with some excellent off-shoots from the main story.  I would have liked a little more insight into some of the characters, and background on a few others, but otherwise a solid novel.  There were some gruesome scenes with the doctor, and several discoveries that I didn't see coming.

Recommended!

[Sharon]

My first book by this author.  I have to admit, it wasn’t my usual choice of genre, but the cover looked tempting and I loved the sound of the synopsis so I thought I would give it a go!

What could be scarier than a doctor who isn’t all he says he is?  You should be able to trust your doctor, safe in the knowledge that he is there to do his best for you.  Doctor Perry unfortunately isn’t one of those doctors who you can put your trust in.  The beginning of the book set the scene nicely, introducing us to the Doctor and some of the patients at Rose Haven Retirement Home.  It had already began to build up a frightening and uncomfortable atmosphere and as the story moved on I began to feel the need to hide behind something whilst I was reading!

Rose Haven Retirement Home comes across as a depressing and sombre place.  The patients are equally as depressed and it shows that they would not one to spend another minute in the Retirement Home.  Elijah Cone’s story was probably the most upsetting as I really took to his character and I was just hoping that the inevitable wouldn’t happen.  The other characters I found just downright creepy and many of them set my teeth on edge!

Doctor Perry was definitely a gruesome and scary book, very reminiscent of Stephen King and James Herbert books I read many years ago.  I would say it isn’t a book for the faint hearted and certainly don’t read it without a light on!  Do I trust my doctor after reading this…..?  Possibly not!

[Nikki Crutchley]

Kirsten McKenzie's Doctor Perry had me hooked from beginning to end! So much so that I devoured the whole thing in a weekend. I loved the spooky Doctor Perry and his downright horrific medical experiments. I found myself squirming (in a good way!) on many occasions.
Characters make a book - whether it's crime, horror or romance - and Doctor Perry had a magnificent, eclectic group of people. My favourites were Elijah, an elderly man with a secret, living out his days at the Rose Haven Retirement Resort - which is as far removed from a resort as you can imagine. Sulia was another favourite, a massive personality and a curious back story that kept me turning the pages.
I liked the way the story was told from multiple points of view, and how I, the reader, was often privy to information that some of the characters weren't.
Last but not least, those twins! Two little boys who at the beginning seem innocent enough but begin to show their true (and psychotic) colours - for me, they were more nightmare-inducing than Doctor Perry! A great read, and looking forward to the next one!

[David Carter]

Nothing like I've ever seen!

Original, fast-paced, jaw-dropping, sadistic.
Dr Perry is one of the craziest fiction stories I've ever encountered. With a strong host of characters and an incredibly creepy plot, I devoured each and every word with great gusto.

Kirsten does horror in such a unique way, not the ghost & gore type of horror one would expect in this genre, but like her previous novel, Painted, it's the descriptions and tone of the settings and dastardly deeds of the characters that keep the pages rapidly turning.

I experienced many emotions while reading Dr Perry, as the characters hardships and experiences were blended well into the storyline. I really liked Elijah as one of the main characters. His pain I felt the most.

Kirsten has a brilliant story telling ability and is always on my radar when she announces a new novel release; I can't reccommend her novels enough!

5 stars.

[Nicole]

The Doctor will see you now.

Dr. Perry likes his patients to be elderly and/or infirm but most importantly alone. He can't afford family members asking questions. Initially, gaining trust by easing their pain they have no idea what the good doctor has in store for them.

Both horror and thriller Kirsten keeps her readers riveted to the last sentence. You will never sit easily in a doctor's waiting room again after reading this book.

[Felicia]

Thoughts of a mad doctor or evil scientist easily bring images to mind of a tall, balding character, wringing his hands with maniacal glee at the impending devastation he plans to inflict on the unassuming masses.

Not the fastidious, meticulous man-of-few-words Doctor Perry.

Which is what makes this tale all the more chilling and disturbing.

He doesn’t make life-ending threats… although he plans them in his mind.

He doesn’t yell or even raise his voice.

His methods are his own and so precise it’s eerie. He doesn’t use violence or physical force. He doesn’t need to. People trust their doctor. (Or I did before reading this book.)

Doctor Perry’s practice has gone undetected for decades which has allowed him to make a name for himself in a very lucrative, but illegal sideline—selling babies.

It’s how Doctor Perry comes by these infants that put the spotlight on his small office practice, unheard of home visits, and being an on-call physician for a nursing home that should be shut down.

Tracey Chappell, the bottle-blonde manager of Rose Haven Retirement Resort—fancy name for a low-end nursing home, has no issues with shortchanging nursing home residents and pocketing the difference. She’s more than willing to be a partner-in-crime with the doctor, supplying candidates for his shady dealings.

The mercenary manager rides roughshod over a motley staff that has less redeeming social value than a biker gang. Those who truly care—Tala, head nurse, Benson, an orderly, and Pauline, the cook—aren’t in a position to give much pushback against the intimidating manager and the indignities residents are subjected to, but in the end, it’s their concern which helps their elderly and infirmed clients.

The rest of the staff? OMG! They verbally and physically abuse residents, steal from them, and do whatever it takes to NOT do their jobs.

Meth-head—and Tracey’s nephew—Tricky Ricky Donovan takes it one step farther and steals medication. Ricky’s a gross lowlife. There’s a scene in his apartment where he’s smoking meth and seeing bugs, and then… I’m getting queasy just thinking about it. Just remember I warned you!

But as much as Ricky sickens me, I have to give him props for the part he played in the end. Even an addict has his uses. Just someone keep this man away from meth… and bugs.

Even more chilling than Doctor Perry though is Jesse and James, identical twins the doctor scoops into his ‘care’ when their mother and infant brother are killed in a car accident.

Had Doctor Perry known what these two little sociopaths were capable of, he would have left them where they were and not alone with his wife, Myra. Poor Myra.

Resident Elijah Cone, a former winning football coach, is living out his days in exile and shame after causing a horrible accident while driving drunk. Elijah walked away from the accident… no one else did.

Elijah doesn’t want any involvement with anyone at Rose Haven. He just wants to be left alone while he waits for death to take him and relieve him of his burden of guilt and the debilitating pain of arthritis.

But that doesn’t happen once new resident Sulia Patel blows into the nursing home, a force to be reckoned with. She has secrets and she knows a few… like who Doctor Perry is and what he does.

Clients of Doctor Perry’s private practice don’t fare any better as we first see with patient Don Jury. The description of his screams…*shudders* The fates of jogger Mary Louise Jackson and health nut, Sarah Miller are a puzzle and up to the reader to ponder.

Doctor Perry is a haunting read that shows what happens when you combine the avarice of a few, the apathy of many and the anonymity of victims. In some ways, it’s scarier than alien invasions and monster-filled stories. But there are monsters… the human kind and they are all connected to Doctor Perry and his milky-white, chalk-tasting, homemade tonic. Check out this read… and keep an eye on your doctor.

Enjoy!

[Olga Miret]

I write this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team and thank Rosie Amber (check here if you would like to have your book reviewed) and the author for providing me with an ARC copy of this novel, that I freely chose to review.
I read and reviewed Kirsten McKenzie’s book Painted a while back and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, so when I heard about her new novel, and after reading the description, I knew I should read it.
Although the topic is quite different, there are many similarities between this story and the author’s previous incursion into the horror genre. The setting is not quite as important as the old house was in Painted, but Rose Haven, the retirement home where much of the action takes place, plays a central role in the story. This home, which had previously been a motel, has not much to recommend it, other than being cheap. There are a few sympathetic members of staff, but mostly, from the director to the nursing and auxiliary staff, people are in it for what they can get, try to do as little as possible, and some are downright dangerous. Caring professionals they are not, that’s for sure. What comes across more than anything is how dehumanised and dehumanising a place it is, but there are also gothic elements to it, particularly the doctor’s lab, that seems to have come right out of Frankenstein or Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The novel also has a timeless feel, as there is talk about television and the news, but no mention of social media or modern technology, and the action is set in the recent past, or in a parallel time-frame, similar but not quite the same as our present. Even with the outdoors scenes and the many settings, the novel manages to create a sense of claustrophobia that makes readers feel uneasy as if they were also trapped and caught up in the conspiracy.
I found this novel much more plot-driven than the previous one. The cast of characters is much larger here (there is a list at the end, which is quite useful), and it is not always easy to keep them separate, as some of them don’t have major roles, and sometimes the only difference between them might be their degree of nastiness or their specific bad habits (drug use, thieving, violence…). Some characters we don’t know well enough to be able to make our minds up about, like the police officers or some of Dr Perry’s patients. There are not many truly sympathetic characters, and even those (like Elijah and Sulia) show a certain degree of moral ambiguity that makes the novel much more interesting and realistic in my opinion. The book is full of characters that show psychopathic tendencies, and its shining star is Doctor Perry. I’ll try not to reveal any spoilers, but from the cover of the book and the description, I think anybody reading the book will know who the main baddie is (as I said, he’s not alone, but he is in a league of his own). He is a fascinating character, and we learn more and more about him as we read, although there’s enough left to readers’ imagination to keep him alive in our minds for a long time. Oh, there are two other characters that are quite high up in the malevolent league, but I’ll let you discover them yourselves. (I love them!)
The author uses the same peculiar point of view she used in Painted to narrate the story. The novel is written in the third person, from the point of view of most of the characters, from the residents in the hospital to the receptionist, and of course, the doctor, while also having moments when we are told things from an outside observer’s perspective (it is not a third-person omniscient POV but it is not a third-person limited point of view either, but a combination of the two), and that increases the intrigue and adds to the novel rhythm and pacing. There is head-hopping, as a chapter can be experienced through several different characters, and I recommend paying attention to all the details, although the main characters are very distinct and their points of view easy to tell apart. The mystery, in this case, is not who the guilty party is (that is evident from the beginning) but what exactly is happening and who the next victim will be. And also, how it will all end. In case you’re wondering, and although I won’t give you any specifics, I enjoyed the ending.
There are great descriptions of places, characters’ thoughts, and their sensations (including those due to chronic illness, which are portrayed in a realistic and accurate way), and also of some of the ‘supernatural’ (I can’t be more precise not to ruin the surprise) processes that take place. There is more gore in this novel than in the previous one, and although it is not extreme, I would not recommend it to people who are hypersensitive and have a vivid imagination unless they like horror. If you can easily “feel the pain” of the characters, this could be torture.
Another fascinating novel by Kirsten McKenzie, and one that will make readers think beyond the plot to related subjects (elderly abuse, unethical behaviours by caring professionals…). Great evil characters and a very satisfying ending. I recommend it to readers of horror who enjoy a gothic touch, and to those who prefer their horror ambiguous, insidious, and disquieting.
(Don’t miss the mention of a real orphanage in Florida and the link to donate to their important cause).

[Brian O'Hare]

I have just completed reading Dr. Perry by Kirsten McKenzie and I am still shuddering. I liked this author’s writing style from the outset. It’s professional, pacy, and way more than competent. With this immediate impression, I knew that whatever the story was to be about, I would enjoy it.

However, I have to say that the early chapters in the Rose Haven Retirement Home were totally unexpected and difficult for me to read. Let me say they were well-written, underpinned with specific knowledge, and very obvious experience of such living conditions. But the descriptions of the miserly existence in that care home were seriously disturbing for a healthy senior person like me who would run leagues to escape such a void and friendless existence. And reading about it doesn’t make it any more appealing. The depictions of the very second-rate care home, its grubby minimalist living conditions, the brutal unfeeling manager and the corrupt employees, made this a nightmare to read about. The depression that hovered over the place like a miasma, the soul-destroying lack of any real hope ...God help any old people who have to end their days in a place like this. Don’t get me wrong. There was nothing wrong with the writing or the story. That was the problem for me. Both were just too real.

In fact, I was beginning to wonder precisely what the story was about when the creepy, self-deluded, utterly evil Dr. Perry appeared on the scene with his original but seriously spine-chilling experiments. When I read the first example of the guy waiting to be freed of arthritic pain only to suddenly go through the most sadistic torture as his body regresses to childhood .... wow! I was ready to scream myself.

And then come the questions, the fears, the doubts. Can the tired, arthritiic Elija Cone, with his secrets and solitariness, and the fat, garrulous Sulia Patel, even begin to mount any kind of challenge to the evil that Dr. Perry is visiting on their residence and its people? This is the totally uneven match that keeps the reader in panic throughout.

I was reminded to a degree of some the weird novels Stephen King has written when I read Dr. Perry. There was that strange imagination that would create unusual and unexpected scenes and conflicts, loads of well written characters from the likeable to the hateful, a plot with interesting sub-plots very skilfully handled ... all brilliantly designed to keep the reader glued to the pages (in a fingers-over-the-eyes kinda way!).

I hate giving away spoilers in my reviews and I won’t do that this time either. But if you are a fan of weird or psychological horror, or even of Stephen King, you will find that the couple of dollars this book costs will be well spent money. A very original, stomach-churning read.

[Bruce Perrin]

Can an Improbable Cast of Characters Stop Dr. Perry?

Doctor Perry by New Zealand-based author Kirsten McKenzie derives its suspense from the question, can the improbable cast of characters she has assembled stop the nefarious Dr. Perry? That Dr. Perry is evil is never in doubt – even the cover asks, ‘can you trust your doctor?’ But hanging in a delicate balance is whether the downtrodden and forgotten of the world can stop him? Can Elijah Cone, a once famous but now forgotten football coach nearly bed-ridden with arthritis put up a fight? Might Doctor Perry’s totally subservient wife rebel? Could the gregarious, plus-sized Indian woman, Sulia Patel, make any difference, even if she is one of the few willing to resist? And the police? If they are to make any difference, they’ll need to overcome their incredulity and do more than arrive at Dr. Perry’s location…soon after he has left. Whether this motley crew will succeed is definitely in question to the very end, to the author’s credit.

The pacing of the book was good, with a range of people coming and going. Many of them were grist for Dr. Perry’s malicious scheme, some were potential liberators, while still others seemed distractors added simply to build tension. Or perhaps they provide groundwork for a sequel. In any case, they did little to further the plot. Some of the characters were well-developed, Elijah Cone and to a degree, Sulia Patel, being in that category. But overall, the characters tended toward extreme stereotypes. If you think of a bottom-line-driven, totally heartless retirement home administrator, you have Tracey Chappell. Retirement home workers who looked the other way to keep their paycheck were in abundance. The drug addict who never met a pill he didn’t want to snort or smoke was also there. And several of these characterizations became well-worn by the end.

There was a small disconnect between the language of the author and the setting. The latter was Florida, while the former was definitely non-American, with words like ‘mould’ for ‘mold,’ and phrases that would be unfamiliar to the U.S. reader. But the dissonance is slight. More significant is the lack of a troubling technology at the heart of this book’s plot. Masters of the medical thriller use examples that seem so real, readers wonder if they missed an announcement in the news. The horror Dr. Perry wrought was a bit far-fetched, the suspense suffering as a result.

Overall, Doctor Perry is an entertaining book, although it requires some imagination to achieve thriller status.

[Jéssica]

This is the first book I read of Kristen McKenzie and I enjoyed it. It’s a Horror/Thriller novel about a doctor and his patients, and everyone and everything in between. It’s about trust and lies. About death and unexpected twists. With descriptions that gave me a vivid image, not only visual, but also sometimes even smells, that made the book slow down a bit which made the suspense linger.

Like I said, I liked the descriptions, and I also liked how different this book is. I haven’t read that many horror books, but the concept and the plot made it so much enjoyable. Well, it’s not a happy book, it’s a horror book and Dr. Perry is a scary man, but you know what I mean. The fact that the storyline and how things unfold kept me glued to my phone is fantastic. It means I’m enjoying the book and that I can’t put it down.

When we first start reading we met some characters, some important characters, and, for me, although I was curious to read the book, Kristen’s way with words made me step back a bit. It started to build up the tension and uncomfortable atmosphere that clearly said “There’s something wrong here.” Of course, from the blurb we already knew there was something wrong, but still the tension kept on building up.

I have said that Dr. Perry is scary, and I don’t want to spoil anything, but there was a weird feeling about him from the very first moment, even if you didn’t read the blurb you would feel it. It was layer after layer of craziness, mystery, scary truth and a touch of weirdness, lot of creeping feelings. And even though you know it’s fiction, you get at the edge of your seat, and can’t stop reading.

I found myself curious about all the characters and curious about the truths, and when I thought I had learned everything, another twist appeared or something happened that shocked me. That kept this interesting.

I do recommend this book. If you like horror you should check it out. I haven’t read a lot of horror/thriller novels (comparing to how many fantasy or PR books I have read), but I honestly quite enjoy the book and because I don’t want to spoil anything, just go read it and see for yourself and get your own opinion on this book. And seriously, just enjoy the thriller until the very end.
[So thank you Rachel, from Rachel's Random Resources, and Kirsten McKenzie for sending me an eCopy of this book and giving me a chance to read it and give my honest opinion about it. Free of spoilers like usual.]

[Octavius Blackburn]

When the highlight of your day is staring out the window, waiting for a young jogger to breeze by, you know that isolation has tightened its grip on your sanity.  Couple that with a haunting past, and arthritic limbs, and you have the trifecta of misery, which makes dying seem like a blessing.  But, you won’t die.  Instead, you get to spend your days at the Rose Haven Retirement Resort, where the elderly are ignored and neglected if they’re lucky.  There are no perks at this resort, where you’re fed the worst quality food, and treated more as an inmate than a guest.  Corruption corrodes this place from the inside out, all in the name of greed.  And then there’s the good doctor, who has his own motives for healing the aged, but only those useful to his cause.

I found “Doctor Perry” to be a compelling story, one which will twist you into emotional knots at times, but will have you laughing in others.  I was sucked in from page one, and found it to be an easy book to read when you don’t have a lot of time (the chapters are short), and the storyline is simple to follow.  That doesn’t mean there aren’t some exciting twists and turns along the way.  And interesting characters galore -- the most intriguing to me were the twins, who I hope will be featured in one of Kirsten’s future novels.

My only complaint, is that I felt the story was wrapped up too quickly.  I found myself wanting more finality, (and I wanted to know more about those doggone twins!)  But I highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a pageturner on the darker side, with some surprises along the journey.     

[Terry Tyler]

I reviewed this book via an ARC from the author, for Rosie Amber's Book Review Team

Doctor Perry is an evil medical man from the pages of an Edwardian horror story, complete with black leather doctor's bag and a curious potion he asks patients to drink. The crux of the plot is about what happens when you drink said potion; this came as a surprise to me, and the build-up to it was well done.

Much of the action takes pace in a retirement home, with an abundance of characters. Some are well-drawn and realistic (Elijah, the main man, was particularly good), others conforming to perceived stereotypes, which I felt was intentional, as this is not a 'serious' horror story. I changed my mindset about what I was reading once I saw that Perry is more a like a dastardly doctor you might see walking out of the mists on an old BBC drama. Patients drink a 'tonic' from Perry (rather than one obtained via a pharmacy) with little questioning about what it contains. Of course this is pure pantomime, in an era when many patients look up even prescribed medication on the internet to make sure it is safe.

The writing is generally good, with wit and understanding of human nature (always a plus) but it needs another go-through with a copy-editor/proofreader who knows how to punctuate/has more of an eagle eye. There was a fair bit of incorrect punctuation, mostly missing commas or commas that should have been semicolons, and many, many run-on sentences/comma splices. The sort of uncorrected punctuation errors present in the book are not of the type that would be noticed by everyone, perhaps only by those they call 'punctuation Nazis', but unfortunately I am one!

[Nina]

Interesting book not for the faint stomach.
Brilliant descriptions. I don't think I would have wanted to meet Dr. Perry. Staying young and beautiful I think I will continue to grow old gracefully. The twins are interesting characters too, made my children look like angels not that they are not children anymore.

[Helen]

This book is everyone's worst nightmare come true. An old people's home run by a tightfisted manager, rude staff who don't give any consideration to the elderly residents, and a mad doctor with a life-changing potion and a never-ending supply of patients to experiment on.
Add in a series of side characters, some of whom come to an unpleasant end, and you've got a great novel that will keep you turning the pages to the end. This is a book that will leave you uneasy while you're reading it, and hoping that you'll never have a GP like Doctor Perry. I definitely recommend this book!

[Donna Maguire]

https://donnasbookblog.wordpress.com/...

As soon as I saw the blurb for this book I knew it was one I wanted to read – I was intrigued and started to read the story as soon as it arrived on my Kindle.

The idea behind the story is excellent, it is an easy read and I really liked the characters and the writing style was spot on – very creepy!

It is a very dark story and a lend of horror and psychological thriller and I did find that quite unexpected as I had expected it to be a bit ‘milder’ but I think that style really suited the book well – It isn’t one for the faint-hearted!

Four stars from me for this one – highly recommended

[Andrew Kay]

I went to Dr Perry for a pain in the back. Little did I know that would be the least of my problems!.

A great read from a talented Author. I enjoy each book written by her and recommend her to my friends and family.

[Muriel Julian]

3.5 stars

Shaky start but overall a very intriguing read! I think this novel was very unoriginal in a good way & definitely enjoyed the read overall!

[John Smith]

Doctor Perry

I thought this story was well written and interesting. The horror was suggested rather than blood and violence. I would recommend this book to people who would not usually read horror stories. I found the story very interesting.

[Karen]

I don't read horror books, nor do I watch horror movies. Even the good old Hammer Horror movies passed me by, so I'm not the best judge of these sorts of books, which makes talking about DOCTOR PERRY a tad compromised. Because of that, take this as the type of review which is all about my responses and nothing about the overall quality of the book as it sits besides other's of the same type.

I will admit that I never imagined a kindly, sympathetic doctor type as the main villain of a horror piece, but the idea that the worst of the horror is occurring in a nursing home, worked. What with the deplorable state of our aged services these days...

But readers of this book will find this isn't a ghost, apparition, scary bumping in the night type story. Nope. Doctor Perry is up to something considerably more challenging, and weird, and unexpected. There are some elements that could be classed as thriller or even crime"y" in here as well, but ultimately DOCTOR PERRY is a 100%, scare your socks off horror story, set in all-too-believable scenario - a poorly maintained, unsympathetic, uncaring elderly person's home - with a medical service provided by Doctor Perry that's anything but believable.

It's a crowded little book, with lots of characters, lots of goings on and it doesn't muck about when it comes to getting into the horror elements. The setting really helps with a sort of "Abandon hope all ye who enter here" feeling, that makes everything depressing, and plays tricks with your head about "fates worse than death".

In terms of my personal reactions - DOCTOR PERRY did seem to be coming at horror from a particularly horrific angle. It's packaged up in a very readable fashion, provided you have the stomach for those horror aspects, and you can see the message underneath it all. To be honest, what stayed with this reader was not what old Doctor Perry is up to being horrific (in short, sharp bursts), but what greed, apathy and lack of human decency can do to people in supposed "care" for much longer periods of time.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...

[Johanna M Rae]

Fans of Stephen King will love this suspenseful sci-fi/horror. Dr Perry’s horrific medical experiments provide a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs for both his patients and the reader. He possesses no compassion, nor remorse, leading him down a very dark path. Elijah, an elderly man and patient of Dr Perry’s, cottons on to the fact there is something going on. He and another resident of his rest home – Sulia – are in the most danger of all, because they know too much.

There are a few edge-of-your-seat moments for the reader, as Elijah and Sulia figure out what they’re going to do about it. Meanwhile, in an equally dark and twisted subplot, twin boys find their way into Dr Perry’s life, after their mother is killed. The gruesome nature of these boys adds an extra twist to an already compelling story, with an ending that keeps the cogs turning in the brain long afterward.

The reader will appreciate being given an enriched view of this ‘world’ through the viewpoint of several different characters. Despite there being a lengthy cast, it is not difficult to keep up with the story, as all roads lead back to Dr Perry in some way or another. However, for anyone who needs it, the author has provided a handy ‘character list’ in the back of the book. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and would recommend to others.

[Cat B.]

This is the second book of this authors I have read but certainly not the last.
Dr. Perrys' public face is that of a kindly , caring , charismatic almost "country" doctor. Caring only for his patients health and well being. Taking extra time to get a complete medical and personal history so as to better care for his patients. However, behind closed doors is a sinister, cruel, uncaring monster who enjoys his abandoned and unloved patients, especially the elderly... because noone comes looking when they disappear.
Creepy, disturbing GREAT little read!

[Vanessa Evetts]

I read this book in two days on a boat in the middle of the ocean and was captivated from the first page. Doctor Perry has a fascinating premise and carries the reader's attention right through to the final lines. I'll definitely be reading more from Kirsten McKenzie.

If you love Steven King, you'll enjoy this.

[Kym Moore]

Didn't like the end...too many questions

Loved this book. Gripping from the very beginning. Held me until the very end. Wish it had ended different. Looking forward to more books by this author.

[Dennis Kocik]

Kirsten - you out-did yourself on this book. It was even creepier than 'Painted'. so...now you have those twins still out there in the world...will there be a follow-up book to track their mayhem...and more importantly, to let Karma catch up to them. I hope?

[Melissa Tovgaard]

The book was well written and had a great plot but I felt there were too many characters which in the last few chapters had me referring to the list of characters in the back of the book. The plot was intriguing and spooky. Worth a read.

[K.M.]

Doctor Perry is a spine-tingling read and a slamming indictment on the blind trust we give to doctors and carers. I really enjoyed getting into the minds of the cast of characters, some we get to know quite intimately. There is the immigrant nurse on very little pay, the wife that exists only to enable her husband, the career-woman rest home manager who screws down every cent.

At times, Kirsten writes like Stephen King, exploring the motivations of some creepy and very lonely characters. There are many pertinent comments on society. Once I got to the action, I couldn't stop reading. I loved the sense of suspense and the feeling that no-one was to be trusted.
However, the ending felt a little rushed to me - I would have preferred more tying up of loose ends.

I have a soft spot for books that make me think. This novel left me feeling sad about the detached characters, who no-one cares for. How many people are completely forgotten by everyone else? Not just elderly people, but the sick, the weird, the 'abnormal'.

Overall, I would recommend this book - a great read.

[Michelle Keat]

I enjoyed Doctor Perry which is an interesting horror tale set in a rest home with the residents at the mercy of a murderous doctor. This is the third book by Kirsten McKenzie I have read and I love her work.

[Barbara Evans]

This is one of the most interesting books I’ve read in a long time! Because the plot is set in a seniors home it makes both it and the characters quite unique. Plus it raises in an interesting way, the question, how much do you trust your Dr?