Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

965 reviews

madelinedalton's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, and Murder

Minor: Fatphobia

forbiddenclues's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

The story stated off strong in the beginning, and it really slowed down in the middle. The last few chapters felt rushed as the plot was revealed at the end. I liked how the author writes it as a detective mystery, but there are high volumes of misogyny throughout the book. As Mental Health professional, it was interesting reading about the character's pscyhe.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Abandonment, Blood, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Suicide, and Sexual assault

captaincrabs52's review

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I LOVED this psychological thriller. Gives me vibes of “The Sinner”. Very very good with a plot twist you’ll never see coming

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Murder, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Suicide

saisrei's review

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

stephenleininger's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Car accident, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Stalking, and Gun violence

therealanakin's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, Gun violence, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Infidelity

Minor: Stalking

archaicrobin's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

I have had The Silent Patient on my TBR for years and was initially very excited to read it. I first added it back when I was naive and thought that being in the Best Seller list actually meant something, but now I know it’s where mediocre and terrible books are highlighted for all the wrong reasons.

The Silent Patient is incredibly mid, it’s your stereotypical thriller that starts off fine, nothing groundbreaking, but unfortunately disintegrates into this poorly written mess. I was interested for about half of the book then it just tanked completely for me. 

The writing is erratic, the twist is confusing, the plot is slow and honestly boring, and the main character Theo is a dull man with white savior complex. Overall, I wouldn’t really recommend this, there are far better thrillers out there to spend you time on. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Infidelity, Misogyny, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Grief

emptzuu's review

This book is deeply troubling for me as a trauma survivor actively undergoing therapy. From the outset, I found it immensely unsettling. The narrator lacks credibility on multiple fronts – as a psychotherapist, an employee, a spouse, and simply as a human being. Michaelides' portrayal reveals a stark ignorance about mental health diagnoses, treatments, and prescribed medications. Moreover, the biases evident in the narrative contribute to a culture of misinformation that could dissuade individuals from seeking therapy or adhering to treatment plans involving medication. To put it bluntly, this is the worst book I've ever encountered, and I regret ever picking it up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Misogyny

_fathimanourin1234_'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

This book was fast paced. And also the plot twist was insane.
But overall, I didn't like the story so much.
This was my worst read of the year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Mental illness, Sexual content, Murder, Violence, and Death

asourceoffiction's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.5

The Silent Patient is a book that will definitely stay with me for a while. But I'm not sure if it's for quite the right reasons... For sure I was engaged, flew threw it pretty quickly and wanted to know how things would turn out. But for me something was lacking.

For starters, I had the end sussed quite early on. I wasn't surprised, although I appreciated the way everything revealed itself. I struggled to find redeeming characters anywhere, and while I love to hate characters and love a morally ambiguous protagonist, I just couldn't muster an emotional connection to these people.

I've also been left with a LOT of nagging questions. And those are what will stay with me. A few things don't add up for me and I think I need to discuss the book at length. But the very fact that it's on my mind shows it's a good thriller. Just, for me, not a great one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Murder, and Mental illness

Moderate: Child abuse and Suicide