A review by waterbear0821
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I enjoyed this and it was a very fast read. The writing was good and I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrators as well. It was quite riveting and there were some interesting twists. I am typically wary of
unreliable narrator books, but this one was so clearly crammed full of unreliable narrators, it was fun to speculate about what was really going on.
I have mixed feelings about the very heavy use of therapy jargon and reliance on a weird kind of Freudian therapy model, but it did give  the story a reflective weight. I liked the analysis of all the different relationships and also how trauma in life manifests in unexpected and sometimes frightening ways. One thing I could have done without was the reliance on misogyny, stereotypes, and slurs against women. It’s not that the author was promoting misogyny, but it was just too much for me and unnecessary (though probably not uncommon for this genre). 
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