Review by itshrewsbury - The Silent Patient

itshrewsbury 's review for:

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

3.5

dark mysterious

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Not sure how I feel about this, since it’s so highly rated. No doubt, I blew through it. I HAD to know more about Alicia, the silent patient, and I suppose that’s what fuels the MC, Theo, too. And it IS an interesting read from theo’s perspective as we watch him unravel. The twist is undoubtedly Agatha Christie-ish, who Michaelides cites as a major influence on him as a writer, as well as the large cast of characters who could all potentially be in on it. But if this is a detective story, and it certainly reads as that and is admitted to be that by the author, I feel cheated a bit by the twist. I like it, it’s good, but something leaves me feeling that there’s something to be desired about this book, though I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Edit: after reading some other reviews, I think I get what bugs me about it. Theo is the only fleshed out character and not just bc he’s the POV MC. all the others stay in their own realms, not really anything to indicate their feelings or motivations the whole time. Plus, the tension doesn’t really feel real to me; like, you’re supposed to feel tense bc Alicia has this big mystery about why she killed her husband, and the people in her life Theo talks to are said in book to feel threatening, but they just…don’t, for me as a reader at least.

Content Warnings