Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

22 reviews

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
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

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. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

lots of twists, poor writing of female characters. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really enjoyed my time with this audiobook. The performances were excellent (even on 1.5x speed, lol), and I found myself pulled into the twisted tale easily. Quite liked the twist.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

i did not really like the ending but i did enjoy reading the book the ending just felt rushed i thought i was really going to like the book but idk i need some time to reflect on it
reflecting and watching some reviews on this book just makes me understand why i love reading it but hated the ending the process of reading it was fun and fast but the ending was too rushed like the parts just didn’t make sense how he knew where the gun was how he did this to alica but it was actually all the past including his wife cheating idk it doesn’t add up especially with all the people you learn about for no reason

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I kept seeing this book here and there and gave it a shot. Sometimes the simplest statement is the best: It's *really* good.

I'm not usually one for inconclusive endings, and I'm usually the first to sniff out and predict a plot twist in books but the twist in this one took me very much by surprise. I gasped out loud when the major story reveal occurred, I'll admit.

I took this book down in about a couple of hours of reading. I kept finding myself wondering about the world of Theo and Alicia until I finished. The mystery, the will-they, won't-they of it all kept drawing me in until I saw the story to it's conclusion. Michaelides did an amazing job of pacing the story, and I loved the transposed inclusion of Alicia's diary as the plot progressed to reveal more to us about certain characters and their motives as the story went on. I saw in the back that Michaelides mentioned this was to make the reader more invested/caring of Alicia and it definitely worked. I found myself sympathizing with her more and more as the story went on, despite her present lack of communication. 

I could go on, but the bottom line is (haha): if you are even mildly intrigued by mystery or thriller novels, please pick this one up. It's worth it.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I hated the twist and ending but the writing did keep me into it the whole time

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings