A review by l3t1c1a
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

the silent patient 
lovely writing. unreliable narrator. the way the narrator adds in details and leaves out others makes this harder to predict and all the more interesting. rarely have i stopped at the end of a book to try to chance my guess as to how this will all tie up but i love it. did not like the stereotyping of people with borderline personality disorder. i like how you can look back at it after reading it and catch new details and piece it together. ended it at just the right time.

also,theo put in some incriminating details and left others out - had some inconsistency as to the reason. but looking back it seems obvious; i think he is recalling this as though he is giving a police report. where there are other people present that could confirm or deny, he stayed as objective as possible - only twisting truths where it is ultimately incriminating. on the flip side, concerning his conversations with alicia, a now dead part of the equation, he is free to lie as he wishes since she isn’t there to defend herself. what he doesnt twist under the mercy of this loophole are the same events she recites in her journal. he compares himself to her and believes her capable of doing monstrous things - because he believes that about himself. the detective should have come with backup though since theo is obviously a threat; nothing to lose since the diary is clearly incriminating. also, the symbolism in the art is a nice element that could have been more integral to the plot.