Review by justagirlwithbooks - The Silent Patient

justagirlwithbooks 's review for:

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

3.5

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

“Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive, and will come forth later, in uglier ways. —SIGMUND FREUD”

Well, this was quite a thriller indeed! I was hooked. I read this in three sittings. The first half was slow, but the second half really picked things up. Even though the twist surprised me, I'm not sure if I like it that much. I feel like I should have picked up on it earlier.

It uses an unreliable narrator in a sneaky way, and I feel tricked out of an ending, almost, but that was also the point of the book? I don't know how to feel, and that's why it's a 3.5 and not a 4 star.

I don't know. Either way, it was fun trying to figure out what the mystery was before it was revealed, which is something that I always love about thrillers. The writing was... fine. Serviceable, for a thriller. I didn't like all of the characters, including the main character, but that was to be expected.

As the saying goes, cheaters get cheated on.

Content Warnings