A review by asourceoffiction
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

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

3.0

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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