Do No Harm is the sixth novel by British author, Jack Jordan. “Your neighbour is dead, and we have your son. You must kill Ahmed Shabir on the operating table in two days’ time. If you repeat this to anyone, your son will die. If you are at any point discovered during your assignment, your son will die. If you fail to kill the patient, your son will die in his place.” This is what cardiothoracic surgeon Anna Jones is told when she returns home from Redwood Hospital expecting to find her son Zack in the care of her neighbour. From the many surveillance measures in place to ensure she complies, as well as the timing (her son’s school on Easter break and he due to be away with his uncle, her ex-husband in Amsterdam) she understands this is a meticulously planned operation. The fact of Shabir’s surgery has been kept very confidential: he is the Labour MP for Redwood, with a very strong anti-drug trafficking stance, and rumoured to be the next Labour leader. It goes against everything Anna believes, but the threat to her son’s life is real. Can she actually kill this man with half a dozen witnesses present and get away with it? Over the last few months, cardiac nurse Margot Barnes‘s financial situation has become increasingly precarious: she owes money to her weed dealer and her landlady, has sold every item of value in her flat and is resorting to theft from her colleagues’ lockers. And she’s nine weeks pregnant. She is one of those present when Shabir receives his triple bypass. DI Rachel Conaty is called to the discovery of a woman’s body in a well. She has clearly been murdered, quite recently, but just doesn’t fit the usual profile for such a violent death. Despite identification from fingerprints or dental records not being possible, she is recognised by locals as Paula Williams, and seen on CCTV walking Zack Jones home from school immediately before both disappear from view. Rachel immediately fixates on the boy’s whereabouts, even though the manner of death fits with recent hits by local drug traffickers. Is her own history, the disappearance of her son, affecting her judgement? Much more cannot be revealed without spoilers, and while some aspects of the story may require the reader to don their disbelief suspenders, the best advice is to strap them on and enjoy the ride right through to the nail-biting climax, and the chilling final chapters. And even if astute readers predict some of threads, watching how it all plays out is, nonetheless, so fascinating that this novel is unputdownable. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Australia.

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Jack Jordan's new book Do No Harm whilst I was at Harrogate Crime Festival in July. I am already a massive fan and he's really upped his game with this one. Anna is a renowned heart surgeon , recently separated  and a mother to Zack, aged 8. One day Zack is abducted and Anna is issued with an ultimatum. She must kill a heart patient , a famous one at that, during an operation, or she'll never see her son again. What a great and original idea! This book was very atmospheric and tense. I read it on a family holiday and found myself picking it up at every opportunity. There were several heart stopping moments if you'll pardon the pun. This is a fantastic story that races along and never gets boring. A real page turner. A story that as a parent is very thought provoking and has you thinking what would I do in this situation? This book would make a fantastic TV drama. Well done Jack Jordan.

The storyline is told from the perspectives of three women Anna, Margot, and Rachel. It's April 2019, and Anna, a heart surgeon, is undergoing her worst nightmare. Her son Zack has been kidnapped, her friend and neighbour Paula has been killed, and now she is being targeted by a group who want her to kill an MP in return for her sons life. So she's faced with a terrible dilemma, does she carry out what they want her to do or not and risk her sons life. Margot, who works with Anna, has big money problems since her husband Dan left her. She has been stealing from her work colleagues in the staffroom. Rachel is the police officer assigned to the case. Will she find out the truth? A mega captivating and thrilling rollercoaster of a read, this will keep you reading into the small hours to find out what happens next to Anna and Margot. Do they give in to the demands of the men? Also what has happened to Rachel in the past? What are her insecurities about? Really enjoyable read, had me chewing my fingernails down at the end as the storyline came to a satisfactory conclusion, I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good thriller and it was a wonderful five star

Imagine being faced with that dilemma. There is a prominent member of Parliament on your operating table. Your son has been kidnapped and the only way to save him is to kill the man in front of you. How can you even process that? What this book does, what the author has done, is build a brilliant story that held my attention from beginning to end, and at 432 pages (hard cover), it isn’t a small novel, but I was emotionally invested and had to find out what happened. Anna had to try and process everything is a short time and decide if she will do the unthinkable in order to save her son. She’s a strong, independent, woman with a huge problem weighing down on her, but with the uncertainty and desperation that she must have been feeling, she was so determined to save her son. I felt like I was right there with her, and rooting for her, all the way through. The tension was palpable and the author did a great job of ramping it up as the story progressed. At one point I had to put the book down and make a cup of coffee just so I could process what I had read. Overall, this book has done me a huge favour; it has introduced me to the work of this author. Having just read this back, it is clear that I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a well written, compelling, tense, thriller. I gave Do No Harm, by Jack Jordan, five stars, and look forward to reading more from him soon.

I’ce never been much of a reader but the last 12 months or so, I have been enjoying a thriller. ‘Do no harm’ was recommended and it did not disappoint! I read this book in 6 days, I even took it into to work to read on my break! Fantastic.