Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Die stumme Patientin by Alex Michaelides

126 reviews

megan_wy's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Such an intense and extremely thought provoking book! I was really wanting to read a good psychological thriller book, and I heard many good things about this one. The chapters are short, so it was perfect for me, as I often struggle with holding my attention for a long time if a chapter is boring. I love the author’s writing style, and I loved getting to see both Theo and Alicia’s perspectives. I knew there was a “twist” in this book, but no matter how many predictions and guesses I had, I would have never thought  it was going to go that way! I started becoming suspicious when Theo was following Kathy and watching a house. I was noticing how both Alicia and Theo’s stories were overlapping. However, I didn’t ever think the way he led Alicia to kill Gabriel would be like that. It was just a total mind f*ck moment! I felt for both Alicia and Theo by the end of the book. More so for Alicia though, considering that Theo just got to live his life after and not suffer like Alicia did. My only thoughts left would probably be, did Alicia ever have any mental health issues, or were they all constructed and manipulated by Gabriel and not wanting to get caught in his affair? It was noted that Dr. West treated her in the past for similar issues. I think he was just covering for Gabriel and his affair, sadly. Poor Alicia 💔

Overall, an outstanding book! It’s perfect for readers that love short chapters and also want to get into psychological thriller genre books. I will be thinking about this one for a while…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Medical content

Moderate: Child abuse, Stalking, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Blood, Car accident, Violence, Body horror, Chronic illness, and Death

dalek_caan's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This book was overall an okay read. It is definitely overhyped. The writing style itself was done well but that the plot and characters were lacking. In the beginning, I was incredibly confused by what year the book was supposed to be based in, considering the technology seemed modern but they were practicing psychology like it was the 1950s. Additionally, the plot from the beginning was clearly very focused on a savior fantasy. At the beginning of the book the main character says something along the lines of "This isn't my story, this is Alicia's," but then proceeds to spend most of the time talking about his own life and motives.

The ending somewhat redeemed the way the story was written, but it still rubbed me the wrong way until I figured out the direction the plot was going about 2/3 of the way through the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Death, Death of parent, and Child abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Car accident

Minor: Animal death

micaelamariem's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Again, as someone not into thrillers, this was brilliant! I do tend to appreciate characters that are psychologists because it’s my career field. It’s hard to write a review without spoiling much so I’ll just say I wasn’t expecting the twist! I recommend this! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Mental illness, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Drug use, Blood, and Grief

madamenovelist's review against another edition

dark emotional lighthearted sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abandonment, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexism, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Excrement, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Confinement, Child abuse, Car accident, Blood, and Addiction

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcohol, Vomit, and Body horror

There was a really irritating racist caricature of a Turkish patient. The only redeeming aspect was that she was not the only brown woman in the cast (Indira was a great character), but Elif’s one/dimensional This Lady Is Not Attractive Nor Motherly schtick was jarring and irritating. He need not have copied Agatha Christie’s flaws in addition to her best traits. That said, Alicia was extremely well written and very compelling as a tragic heroine, and she is why I give 2.75 stars instead of simply 2. Excellent, excellent premise but frustrating execution.

lilawsahar's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Such a fascinating read. I kind of guessed the twist but the reason why was so much more gut wrenching than I imagined.

I can’t believe the psychiatrist did not guess the reason for her silence. He was the one who gave Gabriel the ultimatum: her or him. He picked her so she chose him. She loved him more than herself and he didn’t feel the same way. However, I still struggle to see why he killed her. What did she have against him? The truth. No one believed her truth.

Also him and his wife seem to have fallen into the same pattern that his dad and mom had. A loveless marriage. He should have listened to his first therapist. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Suicide, Stalking, Self harm, Murder, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Death, and Confinement

literallybaking's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Confinement

rochelleisreading's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, and Drug use

Moderate: Self harm, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Cursing, Gaslighting, Violence, Suicide, and Infidelity

aaronreadsatad's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Confinement, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Gun violence, Infidelity, Alcohol, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail

tiffyd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Suicide, Infidelity, Murder, Self harm, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Confinement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Drug abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Medical content, Stalking, Death of parent, and Car accident

ellekiriel's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.75

I often figure out plot twists early on and can put together murder mystery patterns pretty well, but I honestly didn’t expect this one! Definitely a page turner. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Confinement, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual harassment

Minor: Addiction and Sexual content