When a young nurse is abducted from an after-hours social gathering, surgeon Jake Thorn is suddenly in the spotlight. Vilified by the press and hounded on social media and hounded by what appears to be the real kidnapper coercing him into confessing, Jake is forced to confront secrets that have long been hidden and navigate his way to exoneration.

I have to start this by saying that Jake Thorn, The Operation's main protagonist, is a thoroughly unlikable character with some seriously cringy attitudes. He's the epitome of privilege and he provides us with some serious eye-roll moments - so much so, that I almost put this one down. But if you err on the side that those things are a deliberate plot device and can get past that, or the in-depth and detailed descriptions of intestinal or bowel surgeries (author Dylan Young is an actual medical doctor and he knows his stuff), or a couple of other things I can't mention cos spoilers, The Operation provides a pretty twisty tale with a satisfying ending. And luckily, Jake seems to forget about those pesky PC sentimentalities as he dives deeper down the well.

TL;DR: Kiwi's Quick Take

What I Loved: Despite a slow start, The Operation picked up in the last half of the book and threw out a few great twists and surprises.

What I Didn't Love: So much in-depth medical ickiness, and some serious cringe. Normally, I love these flawed characters that you're never quite sure whether you should really be rooting for - but it did some doing with our Dr. Thorn.

Conclusion: A flawed main character, great twists, and a satisfying ending make this one an interesting thriller.