Reviews with content warning for Forced institutionalization - Die stumme Patientin

Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Die stumme Patientin by Alex Michaelides

272 reviews

blorence's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense 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

3.5

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corinnelora95's review against another edition

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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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beccabookworm's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

The plot twist at the end succeeded in surprising me. It was a good ending.

I definitely suspected Theo, I just couldn't figure out how he was involved. The undisclosed time jump was certainly well done.

As annoyed and confused as I was whenever we came back to the plotline about Kathy, the reveal of why we kept coming back to it and why we should care was cool. And the why itself

- that the man Kathy was cheating with was Gabriel and the man who was stalking Alicia was Theo -

is a satisfying twist. It actually saved the book from a lower rating for me. However, it just doesn't make the lackluster journey of reading (listening to) this book worth it.

The tension throughout often felt forced because a character was being dumbed down to explain something simple and obvious to the reader

(e.g., Theo, the psychotherapist, being unable to recognize Alcestis' silence as anger towards her husband)

or because the tension was prolonged in a way that made me feel annoyance rather than suspense

(e.g., Paul revealing Alicia's father wishing her dead)

. I wasn't excited to know what happened next and just wasn't very thrilled by this thriller.

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nehaanna's review against another edition

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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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