Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

108 reviews

wytnie's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

AMAZING plot twist, I didn't expect it. The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because the ending was left kind of up in the air. Its not a completely frustrating thing but I do wish it was tied up. Overall I would highly suggest people read this book.

after some thinking and talking about it with a friend i lowered the rating a bit, i feel like the ending was hinted at and it was still a good plot twist in the end but i think i let myself be blinded to things because i spent so much time being upset about the cheating

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Self harm, Car accident, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

averyyurco's review

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Cursing, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore

Moderate: Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Stalking

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

emmita'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

4.5

I went into The Silent Patient knowing there was a significant amount of hype around this book, and luckily I was able to avoid spoilers (which I HIGHLY recommend you try to do as well if you want to read the silent patient). That said, I do think it lives up to the hype, if you like a good psychological mystery this will definitely be your cup of tea. Also, special shout out to the audiobook narrators, they do an INCREDIBLE job at bringing the story to life. If you pick up the novel and struggle, I definitely recommend giving the audiobook a try before you DNF. Hearts and kisses and all the love to Louise Brealey and Jack Hawkins (the voices of Alicia and Theo)!

Things I loved: the references to greek mythology (especially a myth that doesn't get a lot of mainstream attention), the dual POV between Theo and Alicia, the Red Herrings (I love when you get to a point where everyone looks suspicious), the big reveal (it is guessable but still leaves you with more questions),

Theo is objectively bad, I understand, but I love that he's also complicated enough that you're kind of in his corner for most of the book

Things I didn't love:

as a law student, the fact that Alicia's lawyer was the brother of the man she was being charged with murdering was insane, idk about the UK but most legal ethics codes would never let that conflict of interest slide

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Bullying

Minor: Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Death of parent

mental health, mental health facilities, doctors behaving badly, cheating

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

jgillard4's review

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

ruthwashere's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

Minor: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

nehaanna's review

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

chelle22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Alcohol, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Stalking, and Toxic friendship

ximesbooks's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This book is medium to slow paced. Two perspectives mix throughout the novel that confuse and intrigue the reader. I personally found it, at times, frustrating that I knew more about characters rather than finding out with them. The book picks up in the last 100 pages with an interesting twist, but I (as the reader) had figured everything out at the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Self harm, and Stalking

Minor: Addiction, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault