joperceptions's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.75
This book wasn’t bad. I think stepping into it after the silent patient, meant I had my own idea of the way the author may have set it up and I was right in a sense. It follows a similar vibe in regards to a mystery with a plot
twist. The writing style was easy enough to follow for me. The only comment on that is, I feel as though the character development for supporting characters (important ones too) was just not as strong as it should have been at points. I found myself confused on who certain people were once I hit the end of the book, but that could easily just be a me issue. I’m not going back to check but I feel like it had some minor plot holes, or at least things that weren’t wrapped up in a way that was at all satisfying, nor helpful to answering any questions that the plot twist may have evoked. I feel like the reveal was dropped and somewhere it was forgotten that we’d still want to hear the aftermath (beyond the few pages of whatever we got). And also understand more about wtf that plot
Line was even about and elaborating on it more?? But we got none of that. It’s not a BAD book, it’s actually a really good concept and I like the authors writing style in a general consensus, i just think this book could have been articulated a bit better and it would have been a really good read.
⚠️SPOILER AHEAD⚠️
twist. The writing style was easy enough to follow for me. The only comment on that is, I feel as though the character development for supporting characters (important ones too) was just not as strong as it should have been at points. I found myself confused on who certain people were once I hit the end of the book, but that could easily just be a me issue. I’m not going back to check but I feel like it had some minor plot holes, or at least things that weren’t wrapped up in a way that was at all satisfying, nor helpful to answering any questions that the plot twist may have evoked. I feel like the reveal was dropped and somewhere it was forgotten that we’d still want to hear the aftermath (beyond the few pages of whatever we got). And also understand more about wtf that plot
Line was even about and elaborating on it more?? But we got none of that. It’s not a BAD book, it’s actually a really good concept and I like the authors writing style in a general consensus, i just think this book could have been articulated a bit better and it would have been a really good read.
⚠️SPOILER AHEAD⚠️
Spoiler
I really just don’t think Zoe being the killer made any sense to me, the whole ending sort of felt like it was decided last minute. I don’t feel like it had any build up, or things that happened prior to even create a sense of suspicion toward her at all, which sort of made the reveal, shocking yes, but a bit less interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Mental illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Incest, Injury/injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Torture
shamrockshelf's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 *stars*
I flew thru this one. I was so surprised by this one for sure, it was much better than The Silent patient (couldn't read it at all).
This book kept me guessing who was the killer till the end. I didn't expected it at all. When I finished it felt like I couldn't understand my feelings or emotions. On one side I really liked it, but from the other it left me with a lot of questions. Then I figured that I would need to read some of the reviews to gather my thoughts. So I did that!
I really liked the Greek mythology element, it's not the thing that I like in general, but I liked it through this book.
It felt weird with Fred and Henry in the story (didn't understand the purpose of these characters), but after reading some reviews I understood that they were only the distraction from the real killer.
Mariana was an interesting person in this story. As a psychologist she was bad for not seeing it in the first place, but grief and love made it harder for her to see. You can't help yourself whether you are a good psychologist or not.
What can the right mind games do to a person. It's easy to manipulate with others, you only need to do it in the right way...
Thank you for the book!
I flew thru this one. I was so surprised by this one for sure, it was much better than The Silent patient (couldn't read it at all).
This book kept me guessing who was the killer till the end. I didn't expected it at all. When I finished it felt like I couldn't understand my feelings or emotions. On one side I really liked it, but from the other it left me with a lot of questions. Then I figured that I would need to read some of the reviews to gather my thoughts. So I did that!
I really liked the Greek mythology element, it's not the thing that I like in general, but I liked it through this book.
It felt weird with Fred and Henry in the story (didn't understand the purpose of these characters), but after reading some reviews I understood that they were only the distraction from the real killer.
Mariana was an interesting person in this story. As a psychologist she was bad for not seeing it in the first place, but grief and love made it harder for her to see. You can't help yourself whether you are a good psychologist or not.
What can the right mind games do to a person. It's easy to manipulate with others, you only need to do it in the right way...
Thank you for the book!
kierry_arielle98's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
maevereadsbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lianacrouton's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
k_collins7's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
scytheria's review against another edition
4.0
Took a while to get into but really picked up in the second half.
laurelinwonder's review against another edition
5.0
Let me be the first to say that I did not love the silent patient. I just could not jump on that bandwagon, a bandwagon that is still alive and well for that matter. However, the description for this book was an absolute must read for me. And I will say that Michaelides has redeemed himself from me. This is a sharp, educated plot. And I was in it from start to finish. So much so that I even sat down and went back to reread a few things to really get more bang for my buck. Because I couldn't stop thinking about this book and how everything fell into place. Definitely a must read for those who like a good thriller, but also like it to be an intelligent one.
abookishkindofgirl's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0