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The Practice Baby
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Kindle Edition, 410 pages
Published
October 11th 2018
by Critical Mass
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There was a lot of potential in this story... the plot just never develops enough along one path to make it enjoyable. The mystery was disjointed and I wasn’t sure about who was the villain until closer to the conclusion. I was truly happy to finally be at the end!
Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Nov 14, 2018
♥ Sandi ❣
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3 stars Thanks to NetGalley and Critical Mass for allowing me to read this. Published October 11, 2018.
In Practice Baby we are introduced to a young couple, Tom and Leah, wanting to get genetic testing prior to getting pregnant due to autism in the family. Tom's regular doctor, Dr Dee, refers them to a colleague, one she had briefly dated while in college herself. This colleague, Adam, runs a genetic testing site that caters to an exclusive group of parents to be. Tom, after going to this referr ...more
In Practice Baby we are introduced to a young couple, Tom and Leah, wanting to get genetic testing prior to getting pregnant due to autism in the family. Tom's regular doctor, Dr Dee, refers them to a colleague, one she had briefly dated while in college herself. This colleague, Adam, runs a genetic testing site that caters to an exclusive group of parents to be. Tom, after going to this referr ...more

I always find it so hard to write reviews for books I have rated 3 stars as I don’t have the same passion I have when I love/hate a book.
‘The practise baby’ by LM Ardor was a hard read for me. By hard read I don’t mean it had sensitive topics, I mean I literally had to give myself a prep talk just to get through it. I can’t pinpoint what it was about the writing that made it so difficult to read but it just seemed so unnecessarily difficult.
I still rated 3 stars as I enjoyed the characters and ...more
‘The practise baby’ by LM Ardor was a hard read for me. By hard read I don’t mean it had sensitive topics, I mean I literally had to give myself a prep talk just to get through it. I can’t pinpoint what it was about the writing that made it so difficult to read but it just seemed so unnecessarily difficult.
I still rated 3 stars as I enjoyed the characters and ...more

The Practice Baby has murder, intrigue and at heart a love story. Dee has so many struggles including being a single Mom, a busy medical practice and trying to solve Tom’s murder. It is a captivating book which I truly enjoyed. I wish she and Raj could have connected before the end of the book, but I choose to believe the’ll get their HEA!

This book had so much promise.
It did grab me at first but I soon lost interest.
It became very predictable and I really struggled to finish it.
The writing was good in places.
This is definitely not a book for me.
I would like to thank the author L M Ardor, publisher and Net.galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for giving an honest review.
It did grab me at first but I soon lost interest.
It became very predictable and I really struggled to finish it.
The writing was good in places.
This is definitely not a book for me.
I would like to thank the author L M Ardor, publisher and Net.galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for giving an honest review.

Dee Flanery is a gp, with three kids, an ex-husband who has remarried and had twins, and a thriving practice whose patients include Tom, the first of her "practice babies," a person who has been her patient since birth, now in his mid-twenties. He's on the autism spectrum, calls himself "an Aspie," and has a tendency to be obsessive in ways that benefit both his career as a computer security expert, and the management of his potentially dangerous asthma.
When Tom doesn't show up for an appointmen ...more
When Tom doesn't show up for an appointmen ...more

Dee is a gp and single mother whose husband has left her for a student 30 years her junior and moved to the city. Tom is her patient, a reliable patient who is always on time, with a predisposition for Asperger's syndrome. One morning he doesn't turn up for his appointment. This Is unsettling to Dee; she has known Tom for twenty five years, from five days after he was born (one of her 'practice babies') - he has never been late or missed an appointment, except when he was an infant, when he was
...more

The practice baby by Ardor has the potential for so much more than what it was. The beginning of the story kept my attention for some time but then it started to lose me. When I finally got to a point that I was back on track it became way too predictable. Maybe it was just me and I have become used to stories where it is hard to figure out whodunnit but either way this one really could have been so much better.
3 out of 5 stars
3 out of 5 stars

Took 2 weeks to try to read this book, but I just couldn’t finish it.
Main plot is about a doctor believing her adult patient didn’t die of an acute asthma attack. Dr Dee is a single mum with 2 kids. But she is focused on this one patient
I didn’t understand the title for this book either. Is it A practice baby or A PRACTICE, Baby?
I could not get emotionally involved in any of the characters. Not even the main one. I felt frustrated most of the read and after reading 2/3 rds of it just gave up. S ...more
Main plot is about a doctor believing her adult patient didn’t die of an acute asthma attack. Dr Dee is a single mum with 2 kids. But she is focused on this one patient
I didn’t understand the title for this book either. Is it A practice baby or A PRACTICE, Baby?
I could not get emotionally involved in any of the characters. Not even the main one. I felt frustrated most of the read and after reading 2/3 rds of it just gave up. S ...more

I tried really hard to like this book, but it just really fell short for me. The characters weren't well defined and the story just didn't get there. Some people may like the story, but it just wasn't for me. I had to force myself to finish reading it.
...more

The Practice Baby by author LM Ardor is a murder mystery which had so much potential! Dr. Dee loves her practice as a GP and feels a connection with the patients she has treated since their birth. She has an endearing patient, Tom who has suffered from acute asthma since childhood. Tom is also extremely intelligent although he is diagnosed with borderline Aspbergers Syndrome. She becomes obsessed with the reason for his sudden death. Dr. Dee seems one dimensional and I could not believe how easi
...more

Just finished reading The Practice Baby and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. It’s about a GP who believes her patient Tom didn’t die of an asthma attack but was murdered instead. She’ll go to any length to prove her point. The suspense and the pace was good but can be very predictable. Everyone and their dead grandma knew who the killer was except for our main character Dr. Dee. I honestly found her to be pretty annoying and had a hard time feeling any remorse for her. I wanted to shout a
...more

This was what i would call an 'ok' read. The story was interesting, but did somewhat drag on in parts and i had to put the book down now and again before i started to lose interest. Although it wasn't a book for me, there are others who may enjoy more than i did.
My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review, which i have freely given. ...more
My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review, which i have freely given. ...more

I don’t think I can count the ways I hated this book. This list is not exhaustive. I’ve broken things into 5 categories and tried to include only the things I found most irksome.
Part 1: Dee Is A Creep
Dr Dee is weirdly possessive of one of her patients from the very beginning. It is to the point that Dr Dee experiences a "flash of disappointment that she didn't have her baby to herself" when her 25-year-old patient asks to bring his partner back for his doctor appointment. Dr Dee has never spent ...more
Part 1: Dee Is A Creep
Dr Dee is weirdly possessive of one of her patients from the very beginning. It is to the point that Dr Dee experiences a "flash of disappointment that she didn't have her baby to herself" when her 25-year-old patient asks to bring his partner back for his doctor appointment. Dr Dee has never spent ...more

Dee Flanery is a practicing doctor with a practice in Australia. Her practice revolves around a large group of stable patients, many of whom she has seen for years. None of her patients are more personal to her than Tom. A 25 year old asthmatic with Asperger’s. Tom has been a patient of Dee’s since he was 5 days old. He grew up in front of her eyes. Perhaps because of this, Dee has a special affection for Tom, and she feels like she knows him in a way.
When Consistent, reliable Tom fails to make ...more
When Consistent, reliable Tom fails to make ...more

I really enjoyed this. It is certainly an absolute nailbiter. I found it literally unputdownable, especially towards the end.
I think people who enjoy Australian author Gabrielle Lord’s Gemma Lincoln books would like The Practice Baby. There are parallels. Gemma Lincoln is actually a PI but Lord brings out similar family issues and complications in Lincoln’s life. Also, I think the author’s writing style is somewhat similar. Deborah Crombie is another crime writer whose books remind me of this. ...more
I think people who enjoy Australian author Gabrielle Lord’s Gemma Lincoln books would like The Practice Baby. There are parallels. Gemma Lincoln is actually a PI but Lord brings out similar family issues and complications in Lincoln’s life. Also, I think the author’s writing style is somewhat similar. Deborah Crombie is another crime writer whose books remind me of this. ...more

I was captivated by Dr Dee. She is such a flawed individual but she is also very grounded and I was totally immersed in tracking her wobbly course through her bothered relationships with her children and sometimes with herself. Her life is delicately balanced between the demands of her work, her children and her obsessive determination to prove that her patient, Tom, had indeed been murdered. Her alcohol consumption might seem to undermine her efforts, but remarkably, she prevails. The plot reac
...more

Dee, a GP, has known Tom since he was a baby and has come to consider him as another child and nothing but punctual and meticulous. Because he suffered from asthma she saw him regularly and knew his neuroses well. When Tom misses an appointment with her and his brother's birthday, she and his mother are worried. With the help of the police, they gain access to his apartment and discover him dead.
The police rule his death due to natural causes related to his asthma, but Dee refuses to accept this ...more
The police rule his death due to natural causes related to his asthma, but Dee refuses to accept this ...more

Aug 25, 2019
Janelle Trees
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of thrillers and crime fiction
Well-written page-turner. When the protagonist is haunted by the murder of her patient, she is stigmatized as paranoid. Her livelihood and reputation are threatened. And then her life is threatened in a tense pursuit.
I loved the evocation of Sydney and the mountains in New South Wales. I've lived in those places, but the scenes portrayed will occupy the imagination of a reader from anywhere in the world.
I'm a GP myself. Ardour's portrayal of the pressures and delights of the work is moving and h ...more
I loved the evocation of Sydney and the mountains in New South Wales. I've lived in those places, but the scenes portrayed will occupy the imagination of a reader from anywhere in the world.
I'm a GP myself. Ardour's portrayal of the pressures and delights of the work is moving and h ...more

The Practice Baby is a thriller where the protagonist, Dr Dee, risks her reputation, her career, friendships, family and ultimately her life to stand up for the truth. What makes the story compelling are the characters. Dr Dee is determined but sometimes you want to throttle her. Her kids are good kids but frustrating - as kids are. Her patients have the complexity that can only come from the author's own experience. The girlfriend of Tom, the practice baby, is a complex character - difficult to
...more

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this title.
The Practice Baby, an Australian title, provides some interesting differences in the medical systems of two countries. A dedicated general practice physician who would be an anomaly in America, because she actually knows her patients. One of her patients with Aspergers' Syndrome is found dead. Our doctor knows him well enough first to suspect and then to know that he did not commit suicide, as the police and others try to convince her. But now she mos ...more
The Practice Baby, an Australian title, provides some interesting differences in the medical systems of two countries. A dedicated general practice physician who would be an anomaly in America, because she actually knows her patients. One of her patients with Aspergers' Syndrome is found dead. Our doctor knows him well enough first to suspect and then to know that he did not commit suicide, as the police and others try to convince her. But now she mos ...more

This is the first book by this author that I have read. As the first book in a planned series, the author must set the back stories of the characters. This often causes the book to have slower sections, as did this one. The overall story was good, not a theme/topic I had come across before so I found it interesting. When a patient in good health suddenly dies, a good doctor should raise questions. That her questions had many consequences leads the doctor...and the readers...into an unusual story
...more

This was a painfully bad and predictable read. It was obvious from the beginning exactly how the whole story would play out. No real suspense or mystery. Also the lead character was weirdly obsessed with thinking people were gay or remarking how people could be gay. The whole thing was quite uncomfortable to read.
What kind of GP refers a patient and their 19 year old partner for potential ivf and gene therapy? Ridiculous.
What kind of GP refers a patient and their 19 year old partner for potential ivf and gene therapy? Ridiculous.

This is a book you won’t be able to put down. . It has everything a reader expects to find in a thriller, and more."
...more

Thank you NetGalley and L M Ardor for the electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.
Here’s a synopsis: Dee is a GP and has a deep emotional connection to one of her patients. Tom has been her patient since he was born and he is never late to his appointments. He has a predisposition for Asperger’s syndrome. One morning, he doesn’t make it to his appointment and Dee finds out he is dead. According to the autopsy report, Tom died of an acute asthma attack, but Dee is positive he was murder ...more
Here’s a synopsis: Dee is a GP and has a deep emotional connection to one of her patients. Tom has been her patient since he was born and he is never late to his appointments. He has a predisposition for Asperger’s syndrome. One morning, he doesn’t make it to his appointment and Dee finds out he is dead. According to the autopsy report, Tom died of an acute asthma attack, but Dee is positive he was murder ...more

Set in Australia, General Practitioner Dee Flanary risks her career by investigating the death of her life long patient, Tom, who has both Aspergers and is an asthmatic, despite the police and coroner dismissing her concerns of possible murder. She uncovers several tragic supposedly accidental deaths and a link to her own past. The BMA are on the verge of taking away her license to practice labelling her psychotic. After the death of Tom’s naive young girl friend, Leah, she is forced to confront
...more

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.
The character, Dr. Dee Flanary, was very likeable and very determined to find the cause of her young patient’s death. Along with her friend, Raj, they dig deeper into the mysterious death and the more involved they get, the more dangerous things become. The ending of this book leaves a lot of unanswered questions.
For a book this long, it would have been satisfying to bring all the questions posed, to a conclusion.
The character, Dr. Dee Flanary, was very likeable and very determined to find the cause of her young patient’s death. Along with her friend, Raj, they dig deeper into the mysterious death and the more involved they get, the more dangerous things become. The ending of this book leaves a lot of unanswered questions.
For a book this long, it would have been satisfying to bring all the questions posed, to a conclusion.

Intriguing plot, and I loved the characters, especially the protagonist GP Dr Dee. I was fascinated by her thought processes as she set her doctor's mind to the task of unravelling the mystery of her longtime patient's death, and found her persistence in the face of often frightening obstacles inspiring. I'm delighted to discover this is the first of a trilogy - can't wait to read more from this wonderful first-time author.
...more
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