Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

449 reviews

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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: Complicated

I usually figure out thrillers ahead of time, but this one had even me fooled- definitely worth a read. I actually said "WHAT THE F***" out loud at one point!

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

The plot twist is unreal! Read in a day you won't be disappointed!

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

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dark mysterious 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: Yes

Well…I read this book. I don’t know what to say about it. I had so much hope for it due to so many recommendation lists & people talking about an “unexpected big twist” at the end. 😑 Maybe a lot of people don’t see it coming but my guess from the very beginning turned out to be correct. For me, it just seemed very predictable from the very beginning. I can see why a lot of people do like this book but I just felt very disappointed after it being hyped up so much. I guess my expectations were just too high. 

I also had gotten the impression from I don’t know where, that this story might have a paranormal explanation & with “the big twist” being so hyped up, I kept thinking something like a ghost or something was going to pop up but…nope. So, if you do read this book, just know, nothing paranormal happens. 

I’m also not thrilled with the ending. It could have been so much more interesting but just fell flat to me. 

There were also some, in my opinion, some lazy use of tropes & lots of holes/mistakes. They could have been made a lot better with the right editor or from spending a bit more time really tightening them up to not be so obvious. 

I had hopes for this book but it just fell flat & seemed too predictable. 

Content warning: 
  • language/sex talk (no explicit sex scenes that I remember but a lot of references to sex using derogatory language…imo)
  • At least one scene of graphic violence 
  • Suicide
  • Murder
  • Gun violence 
  • Car wreck
  • Child abuse
  • Childhood trauma & resulting PTSD 
  • Infidelity 
  • Drug use

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

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

Wow. My mind is boggled. I’m going to be thinking about this for a while and I immediately regret having returned my library loan because I want to read it again to see all that I missed the first time. 

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

This book had me hooked the whole time - every twist and turn blew me away and I couldn't guess any of the book in all honesty but
the main reason for the lower star rating was the ending. It was quite good and quite shocking but honestly I wish Theo hadn't gotten caught. Yes it was poetic justice and yadda yadda but in the end, I wanted him to win completely.

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dark hopeful mysterious 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

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

This book could have been so much. I have a background in Psych, and in theory this should have been something I really enjoyed.

But I just didn't. Even if we ignore the boundary breaking going on by the Psychotherapist, he still doesn't act like a Psychotherapist let alone one that had been working at Broadmoor for ~5 years.

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

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