A review by audreyxine
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was the first thriller book I read, and I was unable to put it down. I devoured it in one day. I forfeited sleep and personal hygiene for this book. If that isn't the highest praise, I don't know what is. I have a few main points to make about this book:

First, the narrative was so gripping and the twist was so unexpected. I was led astray by the red herrings, and shocked when it was finally revealed. My reading experience of this book was phenomenal and I had an excellent time.

Secondly, hearing a story from a psychotherapist's perspective was exciting. It was well executed and it was amusing to see the technical language used correctly and expertly. I liked the bit about people learning psychology to heal themselves, I think that part was clever. It was entertaining to see all the ethical and legal violations turn into such a dumpster fire. There is a huge amount of discrimination against BPD, but unfortunately, this is pretty accurate to my experience in mental healthcare.

I was disappointed by the author's portrayal of women. Women fall into the categories of matronly, objects of sexual desire, or bitches (and of course, the bitches are ugly, old, or overweight.
Even Kathy, to represent the decline of her marriage, gains weight and becomes less attractive to Theo.
). I understand that these negative depictions of women give us a glimpse into our slimy narrator's mind, but it still gave me the ick.

All things considered, this book does have pretty alarming problematic moments, but that took very little away from my enjoyment of it.
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