Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Die stumme Patientin by Alex Michaelides

194 reviews

cwbillings's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

2.0

Wow. Okay. I REALLY wanted to like this one. The first half kept me on my toes, the mystery and pacing was irresistible. And then the ending turned out to be such a let down. Predictable and anticlimactic. PLUS my major qualm with the book is how the author writes his characters. 

The way the male narrator describes the female characters and in turn the way the author writes women veers into misogyny. There are a number of likable male characters mentioned in this book and they have substance. Every woman is either a martyr or a monster. 

They all fit into a different stereotype one way or another. Every woman mentioned is a victim, a bitch (calls women this multiple times), or motherly. And their characterization goes no deeper than this. I noticed this about halfway through the book. It’s also worth mentioning, the story heavily takes place in a mental hospital, and somehow all the patients are women. 

So, unfortunately, this highly anticipated read became quite a chore to get through for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Stalking, Medical trauma, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Misogyny

Minor: Alcohol

herethethea's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Drug abuse, Medical content, Death, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Gun violence, and Emotional abuse

anjh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

oh my god wow. this book shocked me. it was a real page turner, one of the quickest books i’ve read this year. it was one of those books where you are kept on your feet and kept guessing thinking “is it this person?” “no it can’t be”, until one possiblity is ruled out and you form another theory but all the time there is a hidden clue (that the book is written to make you miss) and there is a plot twist and ahshdhdhhd

i think too there were some pretty interesting themes in this book - such as not only the devastating and shocking effects of untreated trauma and what it can do to people but also when this is combined with the power of love in the strongest of relationships the lengths people will go to to make things seemingly “right”. honestly this all probably makes no sense unless you read the book but ahhh it’s so good and just,,, thrilling

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Content Warnings

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

katlinstirling_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I really enjoyed this book, more than I thought I would! Gave me Agatha Christie vibes sort of. 4.5 Stars would recommend

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicide, Chronic illness, Medical content, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Mental illness, Alcohol, Murder, Self harm, Car accident, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, and Death

saisrei's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Alcohol, Gun violence, Addiction, Blood, Death of parent, Infidelity, Medical content, Violence, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

tanya240's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Self harm, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Stalking, Drug use, Blood, Car accident, Violence, Sexual harassment, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

kellyofcali's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

2.5

This book was...fine. I enjoyed the sort of "mystery" aspect but I didn't love the writing, it just didn't grab me that much. It's an easy read, and I think of going for "The Girl on the Train" vibes, but it just didn't quite land for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Violence, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, and Death

Moderate: Medical content, Blood, Drug use, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Grief

5headwh0's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Cursing, Gore, Self harm, Gaslighting, Death, Drug abuse, Medical content, Blood, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Self harm, Gore, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Drug abuse, Death, and Suicide

xgabrielle_hx's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Gun violence, Murder, Self harm, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Torture

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I think I was unknowingly spoiled for this book years ago and had internalized the twist, even though I knew nothing else about the story, which made this pretty disappointing.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Torture, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship