Take a photo of a barcode or cover
abik505 's review for:
The Silent Patient
by Alex Michaelides
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4 ⭐️
Unfortunately I saw half of the ending coming… because yall keep recommending this book by saying it has a huge twist and it has an unreliable narrator!!! That’s a huge spoiler! You’re not supposed to tell someone that as a way to recommend it, because then it defeats the whole point of the narrator being unreliable in the first place, it’s meant to be shocking 😐
Let’s talk about stuff I liked first. The pacing was really good, the interactions with side characters, the shortness of the chapters and it being broken up into 5 parts was really cool and made for a very fluid reading experience. I really enjoyed that aspect. I also really enjoy Alex’s writing style, the prose is simplistic but interesting to read. It’s not just cut and dry boring as a slice of white bread (*cough cough Freida McFadden*).
I’ve learned that my rating for thriller books are very dependent on the ending. This was fully on track to be a 5 star read until the end. I was loving the mystery, everyone’s backstories, the side characters, etc. all for like… only 10% of it to be relevant?
I don’t understand the relevance of Jean Felix, Paul, Lydia, Alicia’s dad “killing” her, etc.
The only thing that really clicked in my head to being pretty clever is the whole cheating thing being related to Gabriel, and these events happening before the events of the main story. I didn’t see the relevance of it until the ending and it was actually pretty cool. But unfortunately I saw it coming that Theo was the man watching Alicia but I didn’t know how exactly it was all connected. I don’t want to be unfair because i know some of my gripes are because of the fact that i got spoiled about the narrator before even picking up the book which impacted my experience a lot because i didn’t trust Theo from the beginning.
But I also do have some genuine problems that I’d have even if I didn’t get spoiled. The ending wrapped up in like twenty pages and just felt so underwhelming. Like it was cool kinda but at the same time it was like… that’s it?
I get that he’s an unreliable narrator, but so much of Theo’s behaviour and inner monologues doesn’t make sense once you know what the reveal is. “I felt her wrist and saw a hole from a needle, omg someone tried to kill her!” Yeah dude, YOU did!
I know I’m complaining a lot but I did enjoy most of this, it just sucks I got a bit of it spoiled for me and the ending was rushed. It was on track to be a 5 star up until the ending.
Also is this a safe space to say I don’t understand the little snowflake tidbit/ending?? What does it mean I don’t get it I don’t get it
Unfortunately I saw half of the ending coming… because yall keep recommending this book by saying it has a huge twist and it has an unreliable narrator!!! That’s a huge spoiler! You’re not supposed to tell someone that as a way to recommend it, because then it defeats the whole point of the narrator being unreliable in the first place, it’s meant to be shocking 😐
Let’s talk about stuff I liked first. The pacing was really good, the interactions with side characters, the shortness of the chapters and it being broken up into 5 parts was really cool and made for a very fluid reading experience. I really enjoyed that aspect. I also really enjoy Alex’s writing style, the prose is simplistic but interesting to read. It’s not just cut and dry boring as a slice of white bread (*cough cough Freida McFadden*).
I’ve learned that my rating for thriller books are very dependent on the ending. This was fully on track to be a 5 star read until the end. I was loving the mystery, everyone’s backstories, the side characters, etc. all for like… only 10% of it to be relevant?
I don’t understand the relevance of Jean Felix, Paul, Lydia, Alicia’s dad “killing” her, etc.
The only thing that really clicked in my head to being pretty clever is the whole cheating thing being related to Gabriel, and these events happening before the events of the main story. I didn’t see the relevance of it until the ending and it was actually pretty cool. But unfortunately I saw it coming that Theo was the man watching Alicia but I didn’t know how exactly it was all connected. I don’t want to be unfair because i know some of my gripes are because of the fact that i got spoiled about the narrator before even picking up the book which impacted my experience a lot because i didn’t trust Theo from the beginning.
But I also do have some genuine problems that I’d have even if I didn’t get spoiled. The ending wrapped up in like twenty pages and just felt so underwhelming. Like it was cool kinda but at the same time it was like… that’s it?
I get that he’s an unreliable narrator, but so much of Theo’s behaviour and inner monologues doesn’t make sense once you know what the reveal is. “I felt her wrist and saw a hole from a needle, omg someone tried to kill her!” Yeah dude, YOU did!
I know I’m complaining a lot but I did enjoy most of this, it just sucks I got a bit of it spoiled for me and the ending was rushed. It was on track to be a 5 star up until the ending.
Also is this a safe space to say I don’t understand the little snowflake tidbit/ending?? What does it mean I don’t get it I don’t get it