BookTok or BookFlop?

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Annika Wilkowske

BookTok or BookFlop is back! This time I read and reviewed The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides.

The Silent Patient is a psychological thriller following famous painter Alicia Berenson. Alicia is married to notable photographer Gabriel and the two live comfortably in London. One night, when Gabriel returns from work, Alicia shoots him. She doesn’t say anything after the fact and remains silent. Alicia is kept at a private forensic unit called the Grove, where she is hidden from the public eye. The mystery grows as Alicia continues to remain silent, emotionless. Then criminal psychotherapist Theo Faber comes along, determined to uncover the truth about Alicia’s violent and troubling act. While searching for answers, and a response from a distant patient, Theo learns about his own dark motivations. 

A twisting story with a dark plot, The Silent Patient reeled me in and I couldn’t help but read on, excited for the big plot twist (yep, there’s a plot twist). As addicting as it is, it is incredibly predictable. The characters are flat and don’t draw the reader in, and there are significant holes within the plot that leave questions unanswered.

For these reasons, The Silent Patient wasn’t my favorite BookTok read and only garnered two stars on my Goodreads account. It’s our first BookFlop!