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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ridiculously contrived, this read worse than a Lifetime movie script.
This book was okay.
It wasn’t a bad read, but it wasn’t a good one either.
Alex Michaelides basically wrote the plot as a huge ~oooo look over here, ignore the man behind the curtain ~ and kinda failed. The plot was very predictable. I will say there was one twist that I did not see coming but it also felt kinda forced? Like it felt as thought it didn’t belong in the story but he wanted the story to have a huge twist.
Also there’s so many plot holes. I’m left with so many questions unanswered. I know some people said that about the Silent Patient and I didn’t feel that way then but I do now.
Speaking of the Silent Patient, there was some connections made to characters in that book which was fun, but also forced and unnecessary. Maybe Alex’s intent is to write books that all feature psychotherapists that just so happen to know each other? I don’t know. It was weird.
I will say the setting was fun. Kinda spooky and moody and I was into it. I also love a good cult/secret society in books.
Overall, I wouldn’t recommend it, but I don’t regret reading it. It definitely gave off CW teen tv show vibes though.
It wasn’t a bad read, but it wasn’t a good one either.
Alex Michaelides basically wrote the plot as a huge ~oooo look over here, ignore the man behind the curtain ~ and kinda failed. The plot was very predictable. I will say there was one twist that I did not see coming but it also felt kinda forced? Like it felt as thought it didn’t belong in the story but he wanted the story to have a huge twist.
Also there’s so many plot holes. I’m left with so many questions unanswered. I know some people said that about the Silent Patient and I didn’t feel that way then but I do now.
Speaking of the Silent Patient, there was some connections made to characters in that book which was fun, but also forced and unnecessary. Maybe Alex’s intent is to write books that all feature psychotherapists that just so happen to know each other? I don’t know. It was weird.
I will say the setting was fun. Kinda spooky and moody and I was into it. I also love a good cult/secret society in books.
Overall, I wouldn’t recommend it, but I don’t regret reading it. It definitely gave off CW teen tv show vibes though.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
I don't usually leave written reviews but had to talk about this one. I really do try to be as positive as possible whenever I read or watch something because I know how hard it is to write a good story. That being said, this was terrible.
SPOLIERS BELOW.
The reveal was unexpected, I'll give it that, but I'm so confused by Sebastian and Zoe's plan. They wanted to kill Mariana and inherit her money but also blame a murder on Zoe's professor as a distraction? A murder that would be reliant on Zoe's testimony, and then some time later, Zoe's surrogate mother winds up dead? Would that not draw attention? How does that help Sebastian and Zoe?
"Sebastian said if anything happened to you, he'd be the first suspect" This is still true regardless of what happens with Fosca lol. An unconnected murder at Zoe's college doesn't mean police won't look at Sebastian if Mariana gets killed. THEY LIVED IN LONDON. IT'S A DIFFERENT POLICE SQUAD. DIFFERENT MURDERS. HOW DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE.
What exactly was the timeline of Mariana's dad finding out about Sebastian and Zoe? Did Sebastian kill him immediately after he found out, like within minutes? Did her dad not have a chance to at least try and reach her? Wish that was more clear. Also, how did Marianna never, in almost 20 years of marriage, spot a sign that there was an unhealthy relationship in her own home? She's a licensed therapist and even after ignoring earlier signs due to it being in her family, eventually sociopaths like Sebastian would give something away.
Speaking of the relationship, the letters to Zoe make no sense. Their only function is to explain Sebastian's backstory to the audience. But in universe, they were love letters to Zoe. Why would he include his traumatic childhood and complicated feelings towards his parents in these letters? Shouldn't this be information Zoe should already know? Or at least, learn in private? The only reason it's all in the letters is so the audience gets in on it, which feels incredibly contrived.
How did the other Maidens matter at all in the long run? Why was Zoe killing them? Wouldn't one murder have been enough to put Fosca away? Why was Tara's "sacrifice" necessary to the plan? The whole point was to "create a distraction" so that Sebastian and Zoe could run away together. Zoe says she's angry because Sebastian died because of Mariana but how does killing The Maidens enact revenge on Mariana in any way? Why not just kill her directly? I'm sure there was a less convoluted way of getting her in an isolated situation. She's literally your legal guardian.
Also, how the HELL did no one raise any red flags upon seeing Fosca's interactions with the Maidens? They were acting very inappropriately in very PUBLIC places. They kept referring to them as a secret society but it was barely a secret, literally everyone could see what was happening and thought nothing of it.
Why was Fred in this book, beyond serving as a red herring and randomly saving the day? The entire book treats Greek Mythology as MYTHS (outside of Mariana finding Sebastian's letter because it just falls out of a stuffed animal after she prays to the goddess or whatever), with all the murders and clues being very grounded in reality, but then in the climax Fred is there and knew where Mariana was because he had a "premonition"? Seriously?
Why haven't ANY of the detectives looked into ANY of the clues? A postcard in the victim's room with a cryptic message written in Greek? DOES THAT NOT WARRANT AN INSPECTION? Once the second girl gets killed, I can stop blaming the detectives since it's really hard to conduct an investigation when the MC is literally trampling all over the case and ruining clues lmao. But even then, why is Mariana just being let off with warnings. She's quite literally obstructing justice and should be removed from the premises and/or arrested.
"Sebastian said if anything happened to you, he'd be the first suspect" This is still true regardless of what happens with Fosca lol. An unconnected murder at Zoe's college doesn't mean police won't look at Sebastian if Mariana gets killed. THEY LIVED IN LONDON. IT'S A DIFFERENT POLICE SQUAD. DIFFERENT MURDERS. HOW DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE.
What exactly was the timeline of Mariana's dad finding out about Sebastian and Zoe? Did Sebastian kill him immediately after he found out, like within minutes? Did her dad not have a chance to at least try and reach her? Wish that was more clear. Also, how did Marianna never, in almost 20 years of marriage, spot a sign that there was an unhealthy relationship in her own home? She's a licensed therapist and even after ignoring earlier signs due to it being in her family, eventually sociopaths like Sebastian would give something away.
Speaking of the relationship, the letters to Zoe make no sense. Their only function is to explain Sebastian's backstory to the audience. But in universe, they were love letters to Zoe. Why would he include his traumatic childhood and complicated feelings towards his parents in these letters? Shouldn't this be information Zoe should already know? Or at least, learn in private? The only reason it's all in the letters is so the audience gets in on it, which feels incredibly contrived.
How did the other Maidens matter at all in the long run? Why was Zoe killing them? Wouldn't one murder have been enough to put Fosca away? Why was Tara's "sacrifice" necessary to the plan? The whole point was to "create a distraction" so that Sebastian and Zoe could run away together. Zoe says she's angry because Sebastian died because of Mariana but how does killing The Maidens enact revenge on Mariana in any way? Why not just kill her directly? I'm sure there was a less convoluted way of getting her in an isolated situation. She's literally your legal guardian.
Also, how the HELL did no one raise any red flags upon seeing Fosca's interactions with the Maidens? They were acting very inappropriately in very PUBLIC places. They kept referring to them as a secret society but it was barely a secret, literally everyone could see what was happening and thought nothing of it.
Why was Fred in this book, beyond serving as a red herring and randomly saving the day? The entire book treats Greek Mythology as MYTHS (outside of Mariana finding Sebastian's letter because it just falls out of a stuffed animal after she prays to the goddess or whatever), with all the murders and clues being very grounded in reality, but then in the climax Fred is there and knew where Mariana was because he had a "premonition"? Seriously?
Why haven't ANY of the detectives looked into ANY of the clues? A postcard in the victim's room with a cryptic message written in Greek? DOES THAT NOT WARRANT AN INSPECTION? Once the second girl gets killed, I can stop blaming the detectives since it's really hard to conduct an investigation when the MC is literally trampling all over the case and ruining clues lmao. But even then, why is Mariana just being let off with warnings. She's quite literally obstructing justice and should be removed from the premises and/or arrested.
Even beyond the ridiculous plot, this book was impossible to get through. The writing felt like that of a first draft. I literally couldn't believe most of what I was reading. "And then this happened. This made her feel sad. She looked over at the man's face. The man looked happy. He then walked away." Not an actual quote but it's how most of the book felt to read.
There were a few chapters where I felt the writing significantly proved, mostly during Sebastian's letters. They were the only parts where I actually felt like I was being showed the events leading to him fostering the feelings he had instead of just being told them directly, which is unfortunately how the rest of the book functioned in regards to characterization.
Very disappointing. Kind of nervous to check out The Silent Patient now if this type of writing is to be expected.