Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Die stumme Patientin by Alex Michaelides

450 reviews

vynlikesreading's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

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

4.0

Unrelated but this book made me realize that I almost exclusively read books written by women. I hated all the men in this book-- yes even Theo(the MC) before the plot twist, I thought he was pathetic. I also despised how the female MC wasn't taken seriously at all regarding her mental health and paranoia, but I think it reflects the real world where male doctors don't take women as seriously so kudos to the author for that. The characters are obviously written to be disliked so I have to begrudgingly say the character writing is good. Writing style was interesting, it feels ranty sometimes but that's purposeful so +1 point for that as well. Now let's get to the meat of the book; the plot. The way the plot points are connected is very interesting; you are left with a bunch of questions at the start of the book and the plot twist ties all those questions together. I guessed half of the plot twist since about 40% so I wouldn't say it's too shocking(I read virtually no thriller so my guessing the plot twist isn't a good sign). I really like the exploration of damaged people being unsalvageable and how therapy is merely a tool, not a solution.  I enjoyed the book; it was a page turner and pulled me along a string to keep reading but I felt something was missing so only 4 stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, and Self harm

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Drug abuse

Minor: Suicide and Misogyny

crownoftamriel's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I am not a detective, murder mystery person, I'm just..not. This is labeled as psychological thriller, but since there's a "who dun it" start, I was worried we would follow some new detective finding his stride. That is not what this book is. I'm shocked, I loved it. I ended up binging this from the (according to my kindle) 40% make and just finished the rest in that day. No character is lovable, the twist wasn't obvious until well the one chapter where it was and I was genuinely shocked. I'm sure for some "it was predictable", but Alicia just wasn't set up for success in any capacity and as someone who usually is great at predicting, I totally missed it. Really enjoyed this book overall, I felt like it was a nice pace too. Thanks to #booktok for dropping this recommendation and it actually being good!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Murder, Blood, Gun violence, and Drug abuse

mackshill's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

5.0

wow…this one was so good. i haven’t read a mystery/thriller in FOREVER and this was such a breath of fresh air from what i normally read. i zoomed through the first 3/4 of it (loved the short chapters) and then i got kinda bored because it wasn’t panning out the way i thought it would but THEN i got to the ending-ish and my jaw was on the floor the rest of the time. so fucking insane…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

jgillard4's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Partial spoiler: It felt as though the main characters continued use of Greek mythology in his language and as metaphors revealed the plot by the end. This is what gave away the ending for me, otherwise, it is beautifully written. Michaelides succeeded in writing a quickly paced novel that allowed you to connect to the characters, sympathizing and judging them equally. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Rape, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Gun violence

nadiarae's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Stalking, Sexual assault, Addiction, Mental illness, and Murder

colormehannah's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Suicide attempt, and Sexism

corinnelora95's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A well written thriller with plenty of twists and turns. It reads more like a movie rather than a novel, clearly a result of Alex Michaelides' study of screenwriting. 

I felt that the first part moved a bit slow, with the action picking up in parts two and three. It became difficult to put down, and once I began part four, I knew I was in for a wild ride.

What's most interesting to me is that for the first 3 parts of the book, you believe that all of the events are happening at the same time- Theo and Kathy's marriage is falling apart WHILE he's treating Alicia at The Grove. But when you begin part four, you realize that the story has been told in a non-linear fashion- that Theo is going back and forth between the past and the present to tell the story. Part five wraps the two storylines nicely together, though the ending felt just a bit rushed after all of the driving action in the preceding parts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Cursing, Infidelity, Death, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Murder, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Sexual content, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, Self harm, and Confinement

Minor: Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Eating disorder, and Car accident

n3ssa95's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Murder, and Mental illness

Moderate: Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Toxic friendship, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Infidelity

kat_c_h's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

I really wanted to like this book. As a therapist myself I am often drawn to psychological thrillers. But this book was so hard to like. The psychologist was obsessive and came across as more of a stalker than helpful. He absolutely needed help himself. I had such a hard time staying engaged with this book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Death, Ableism, and Self harm

nehaanna's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is the definition of a thriller mystery. There are unexpected twists that delve deep into the psyche of both protagonists, as the stand as foils to one another. The work is not bogged down with unnecessary psychological waxing as other works by this author do. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Torture, Death of parent, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Stalking, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Violence, Gun violence, Blood, Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Infidelity, Car accident, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Dysphoria