A review by kaadie
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

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

2.0

Meh, is really all I can say. The narrative was a bit confusing to follow, but that is to be expected considering that it is a mystery and thus the author needs to keep you on your toes. The author did provide a satisfactory answer for what actually happened but the book itself was rather underwhelming for me. I did not like any of the characters.
Ultimately it was an underwhelming read with a disjointed and clunky narrative. The author did succeed at keeping the reader on their toes and constantly questioning who Gabriel's real killer was and whether Alicia was a reliable narrator or not. However this book was just not my thing. I found some of the psychological assertions to be a bit dubious and the overall message of the book is definitely depressing: if you're fucked up as a child you will be fucked up as an adult.