Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

346 reviews

alexasolis98's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

3.25

This book was interesting to say the least. I had already been spoiled for the twist but I was still able to somewhat enjoy the story.

One of my issues was that since I knew the twist it was hard to be sympathetic to Theo. Alicia was failed by everyone in her life. Gabriel, her father, her mother, Jean-Felix. It was an interesting read knowing tha you are reading for the person responsible.  Seeing some of the slips Theo makes was fun to sort out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Car accident, Self harm, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Addiction, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Stalking, and Death

bulbasaurcowboy's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

5.0

It is a slow read, but a worthwhile read. You can guess a thousand times what the story really is. You'll question yourself constantly, and bit by perfectly timed bit more will be fed to you. The ending is BANANAS! Definitely a new favorite and a book I'll be recommending for a while to come. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Stalking, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Infidelity, and Self harm

jes_reads00's review

dark 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Blood, Stalking, Grief, Sexual content, Child abuse, Drug use, and Gun violence

kayleejanes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Infidelity, Mental illness, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

kbushman's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Violence, Child abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, Suicide, Self harm, Death, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

tbrumale's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Drug use, Self harm, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Death, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

loudo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Death, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Gore, Addiction, Alcohol, Car accident, Child abuse, Stalking, Self harm, Grief, Bullying, Gaslighting, Violence, Body horror, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Murder, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Abandonment, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Toxic relationship

ckyoung's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Murder, Mental illness, and Blood

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Self harm

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

orlaelan's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Self harm, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Addiction, Infidelity, Car accident, Child abuse, and Drug use

vynlikesreading's review

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