Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

206 reviews

mxallan's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I liked the book, just not a fan of how it was divided up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol

kawaii_rose's review against another edition

4.75

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Car accident

seastheday's review against another edition

3.5

mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I think this was decent. The writing was rather elementary. And you could see the twist from miles away based on the context “clues”. But the clues were so loud they used a megaphone. Like seriously. How was this the number one book last year? Like the first twist was obvious & the next one was a fun surprise.

It was solid thriller. Just based a lot on a guy with a misogynistic view of life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma

Minor: Sexism, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent

crossbelladonna's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Reading this with a Psychology degree and being intimately familiar with the nuances of how a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist are ways different was quite interesting if I say so myself.

Alicia Berenson has everything she could ever want in her life until she didn't — one night she fatally shoots her husband and never speaks again. And although this story revolves around her, it's never just about her. In part, we see through the eyes of criminal psychotherapist Theo who seems to be doing everything in his power to treat her.

Theo is a follower of psychodynamics, how we're all born as blank slates, exploring the whole nature vs. nurture dilemna and he can't help himself psychoanalyzing people with the way he's constantly going: "I wonder what her childhood had been like" frankly typical to hear from a psychologist. Every action and thought we have right now, traumatic response or not, has a root cause that can be traced back from when we are helpless to the world.

However, I had a hunch how he's a very unreliable narrator from the beginning as it's one thing to be a dedicated medical professional but when you're this obsessive with a singular patient, lines get crossed and flags are slowly raised.

Can I just say — what an amazing read. Twists at every revelation with the final one getting a loud gasp out of me out of sheer horror? Thrill? Got me putting the book down and truly thinking about it, lets you have a pace back at what's been going on the whole time what a ride. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Stalking

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Medical content, Murder

Minor: Rape

sekadlec's review against another edition

4.5

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Great plot twist, interesting characters!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail

alexap's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse

paigebuxkets's review against another edition

4.25

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse

ezinner's review against another edition

5.0

emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Murder

apcantrell's review against another edition

4.75

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol

rosita's review against another edition

3.5

mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Sexual violence, Suicide, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment

Minor: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Excrement, Trafficking