BOOK REVIEW: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides really surprised me... in a good way! The author did a fantastic job of keeping me in the dark. I had so many "Oh, I see what's going on here..." moments that were followed by "Okay, you got me that time but now I REALLY see what's going on..." moments while reading this book.

In fact, I never actually did see what was going on until mere moments before Michaelides plainly reveals it. To which I must say...

I love a well-written psych thriller that keeps my brain asking question after question all the way up until the very end. Because it's so hard to find them!

The Silent Patient is broken down into five parts (+ a prologue) and is told from the alternating perspectives of a "silent patient" named Alicia and her psychotherapist, Theo. The prologue provides the reader with Alicia's backstory -- the context of her daily life, as well as her marriage, and the events leading up to the traumatic event that triggered Alicia's silence -- and is told in the form of a diary written before the event. From that point forward, the story is largely told from Theo's POV in first person narrative, with an occasional entry from Alicia's diary mixed in here and there.

Short, palatable chapters, and alternating point of views, create a story that is unputdownable and easily consumed. More importantly, the author's ability to keep his readers guessing until the very end makes The Silent Patient well worth the read.

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BOOK REVIEW: An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks

Psychology majors, like myself, should thoroughly enjoy reading AN ANONYMOUS GIRL. It's loaded with psychology study and theory references like The Hawthorne Effect, The Invisible Gorilla, and The Prisoner's Dilemma. There are several others that aren't mentioned by name but clearly served as inspiration (at least in some aspect). Like the Stanley Milgram Experiment on obedience and the Stanford Prison Study on conformity, for example.

If nothing else, AN ANONYMOUS GIRL illustrates how quickly things can go south when psych studies are not ethically sound.

"We all carry the weight of secret regrets--the strangers we see on the street, our neighbors, our colleagues, our friends, even our loved ones. And we are all forced to constantly make moral choices. Some of these decisions are small. Others are life-altering. These judgments seem easy to form on paper: You check a box and move on. In a real life scenario, it's never as simple. The options haunt you. Days, weeks, even years later you think about the people affected by your actions. You question your choices. And you wonder when, not if, the repercussions will come."

RATING: ❤️❤️❤️❤️

BOOK REVIEW: Our House by Louise Candlish

Our House by Louise Candlish
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I’VE READ ALL YEAR.

OUR HOUSE is a spellbinding story that will surprise you over and over again. I honestly can’t remember the last time a book surprised me as much as this one did.

Fiona (known as Fi) lives in a darling suburb outside of London that is known for its beautiful landscape and skyrocketing property values. Despite the strained relationship with her estranged husband Bram, Fi has been coping relatively well with their separation and trial run custody agreement. That all changes when she arrives home early from a trip to find a family in her driveway with a moving truck. Not only does the family claim to legally own her home, but her possessions, estranged husband, and two children are also missing.

The narrative of OUR HOUSE is told from the alternating perspectives of Fi and Bram in very unique and differing formats. Fi’s story is shared in the form of a guest interview on a crime podcast called The Victim, while Bram tells his version of events in the form of a suicide letter. (No spoilers here; the reader learns this in the first few chapters.) The unreliability of the narrators adds to the suspense and mystery of the story, and Candlish does an amazing job of tying it all together in the end, by using the perspective of a third, neutral narrator.

As OUR HOUSE begins to unravel, one nightmare after another is revealed. Fraud, blackmail, secrets, lies, infidelity, betrayal. They all twist and turn until you find yourself lost inside a labyrinth. It’s a cautionary and terrifying story about how one hidden truth can turn into a tsunami of lies and destroy everything in its wake.

OVERALL: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

SUSPENSE: 😬😬😬😬😬

*A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. This review is my honest opinion written in my own words.


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BOOK REVIEW: Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall

OUR KIND OF CRUELTY by Araminta Hall is told from the perspective of an obsessed and delusional stalker named Mike.

Mike thinks he's playing a game of cat and mouse with his ex-girlfriend and love of his life, Verity. In reality, Verity (or V) has moved on with "the most eligible bachelor in London," and is engaged to be married in the coming months. When V sends Mike an invitation to the wedding, Mike is convinced the invitation is a calculated move in an ongoing, twisted game they've named Crave. Now, it's Mike's move.

I can't delve into plot specifics without spoiling the story, but I'll share what I can.

Our Kind of Cruelty is divided into three parts.

PART ONE

The backstory. The reader learns about Mike's traumatic childhood, how he met V, the highs and lows of their EIGHT year relationship, and the dynamics of the silly games they play. It sets the stage for what's to come and gives the reader a foundation for Mike's later actions.

PART TWO

The main event.

PART THREE

The story comes full circle when the main event is retold from the inside of a courtroom.


I had a hard time putting this book down, so it definitely deserves a few points for holding my attention. However, there were a good number of things I found problematic.  

First, let's talk about Mike. This man has little to no social intelligence and misinterprets the most basic of social cues on a near constant basis. Yet, despite his OBVIOUS social ineptitude, the author would have us believe that Mike rakes in million dollar bonuses every year at his high profile banking job.

V's character is just as incongruent as Mike. If the author's objective was to make Verity a sympathetic character, the author does a poor job. The reader isn't given ANY information about her personality, her thoughts, what motivates her (...to, you know, send a stalking ex-boyfriend an invitation to her wedding when she should know EXACTLY how he would respond to that? They dated for eight years!)

We don't know if Verity is genuine or honest. Did she ever care about Mike at all? And if she never cared, WHAT EXACTLY WAS THE POINT OF THIS STORY?

Did V take advantage of Mike's lack of social skills and mold him into the type of man she could easily manipulate? Is it fair to condemn a man based on his actions if he was motivated by your manipulative behavior? 

OUR KIND OF CRUELY is more depressing than it is disturbing, and I would have preferred a more resolute ending. However, I'm sure this will be a popular read among book clubs (as there is much to discuss!) 

RATING: ❤️❤️❤️

*A big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.