The Silent Patient
Reviews
Great reminder not to be so trusting of people.
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i got this book recommended to me a lot when i asked for recommendations for psychological thrillers. i know this is a well loved book. and yet i hated every second of it. slowly i realized that theo was an unreliable narrator as the book went on, and though it was a page-turner, at the same time, i was incredibly bored?
i wanted to see this book through and so i did. i found the writing to be lackluster and the plot twist to be sure, shocking, but also made no sense? everything felt all over the place and not cohesive for me. maybe i’m just not seeing the beauty in this book, but i did not find it to be a read that was intellectually stimulating for me.
One of the most mind-blowing twists I‘ve ever read. Highly recommend it !
Seems like a popular plot twist in a few thrilled books I’ve read lately.
4.75 stars. I fucking loved this. I was having a moo reader's slump and this was the only book worth reading!!
huge page turner with a thrilling twist!
Crazy ending but timeline confusing a bit
What an ending. First thriller that I read, and I was very pleased with the experience. The ending had me re reading several parts, amazed that I didn’t realize what had happened. This book left me absolutely stunned.
Kept me guessing right until the end. It really surprised me, and drew me in in a way I wasn't expecting.
Straight to the point psychological thriller. I loved the way this story was written the twist was beautifully done. The characters were interesting. Loved the ending.
ohhhh twist unraveled so good my jaw dropped 3 floors down. cant say i didnt miss the feeling
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
"How can one sinking rat save another?"
My first audiobook since high school and if we're rating it on that alone, I'd rank this a solid 4/5 stars. The narrators really did a great job in making voices but not be too obtuse about the fellow characters they were conversing with. It made the story much more tense and colorful, and really pulled up my rating.
On the side of the story, I do understand its popularity as well as the hype around it. As a hoodunit, it has that gripping thrill of dangling the answer right in front of you and then taking it away. Whoever, some parts of the execution makes me feel off about it, namely that of the fluidity between the conversations — honestly just how the characters spoke as a whole.
The therapy speak and the elaborate conversations (especially in Alicia's diary entries) were entertaining until they became a bit much. I guess you can justify it as the reader delving further into Theo's mind and his skewed version of things instead of the actual, objective truth that he so touts. That being said, I was suspicious about him from the beginning so when the POVs started falling together, the twist made sense. I do commend the narrators for their delivery, because it made the revelation much more dramatic.
This edition of the audiobook had an interview of the author at the end and his answers actually made sense with some of the choices made in the book. That is to say, he put a lot of himself into the book than he thought and it muddled my experience of it.
Absolutely loved this! Also, THAT ending! If you’re a thriller junkie like me, this is definitely a book to get your hands on.
This was the book that got me back into reading in July 2024. I really don’t want to say much, because you MUST go into this book with as little information as possible. A monumental work of fiction. This book deserves all the hype it gets online.
Insane ending! Kept me guessing who was the main star until the very end. Really really enjoyed It!
UHM HELLO I LOVED THIS IMMA READ MORE THRILLERS
The ending was the best part of the book, felt like it was dragging at the beginning & hard for me to want to continue to read but I trusted everyone telling me that the beginning was slow.
Oh my good Lordy what the flip guys 😭
So this book was page turning from the first page. Finished it in 2 days I couldn’t help but pick it up every spare moment I had. I don’t really know what else to say except I am still in shock at that ending. Holy wow. Like I can’t even explain how my heart stopped and I had to resurrect myself after staring at a wall for an hour or two because that was a real plot twist, like people say a good plot twist is when a character we wouldn’t suspect is the murderer but you don’t know what a real plot twist is until you’ve read this because that’s a WHOLE NEW LEVEL OF INCREDIBILITY
Thanks for reading this now please hurry and go pick up that book 🙏🙏
what the flying fuck THE DELIVERY THE PACE THE DESCRIPTION??? THE DETAILS??? FUCK I LOVE IT ALL. IT WAS WAY TOO REALISTIC NA I KENNAT... OMFG I EVEN POINTED FINGERS SA WRONG PPL. the writing style, the timing, the TWIST??? YAWA THIS IS WHAT I EXPECT IN A FUCKING BOOK.
zon't get me wrong, i still love theo ket ganun sya MEHEHEHEHEHEH FAAAAAK wrong timing cuz d story got me thinking abt me nd j*nd* BAHAHAHAJHAHAHHSHAHA SHIT GIRL WTFFFFF DATS WAY TOO TWISTED ND I LOVE EEEEEETT
Amazing, just amazing
incredible show stopping I’m actually never forgetting this book
Highlights
One of the greatest things to admit is that we weren't loved when we needed it the most. It's a terrible feeling, the pain of not being loved.
“One of the hardest things to admit is that we weren’t loved when we needed it most.”
"About love. About how we often mistake love for fireworks for drama and dysfunction. But real love is very quiet, very still. It's boring, if seen from the perspective of high drama. Love is deep and calm-and constant. I imagine you do give Kathy love - in the true sense of the word. Whether or not she is capable of giving it back to you is another question.”
The development of our personalities doesn't take place in isolation, but in relationship with another-we are shaped and completed by unseen, unremembered forces; namely our parents.
“I shut my eyes and waited for death.
But death didn't come.”
“one of the hardest things to admit is that we weren’t loved when we needed it most.”
Kathy and I first got together: “Choosing a lover is a lot like choosing a therapist. We need to ask ourselves, is this someone who will be honest with me, listen to criticism, admit making mistakes, and not promise the impossible?” I told all this to Kathy at the time, and she suggested we make a pact. We swore never to lie to each other. Never pretend. Always be truthful.
Theo, one of the hardest things to admit is that we weren’t loved when we needed it most. It’s a terrible feeling, the pain of not being loved.”
She was right. I had been groping for the right words to express that murky feeling of betrayal inside, the horrible hollow ache, and to hear Ruth say it—“the pain of not being loved”—I saw how it pervaded my entire consciousness and was at once the story of my past, present, and future.
"What better way for me to prove that my father was correct—that I’m worthless and unlovable—than by pursuing someone who will never love me?"
“The real motivation was purely selfish. I was on a quest to help myself. I believe the same is true for most people who go into mental health. We are drawn to this profession because we are damaged—we study psychology to heal ourselves”
I lay there listening to the fan. I like the sound it makes, a gentle whirring. I can shut my eyes and tune in to it and disappear.
Remember, love that doesn't include honesty doesn't deserve to be called love.
You know, Theo, one of the hardest things to admit is that we weren't loved when we neededit most. It's a terrible feeling, the pain of not being loved.
Why didn’t you come to me, I wanted to say. Why didn’t you talk to me? I was your best friend. If you had just said one word, we could have worked through it. Why didn’t you talk to me? I’m here. I’m right here.
Remember, love that doesn’t include honesty doesn’t deserve to be called love.
As you will see, it's an incredible story - of that there is no doubt.
Whether you believe it or not is up to you.
‘I’m going to see Alicia, I need some answers."
‘From Alicia?' Christian looked startled. ‘And how do you intend to get them?"
'By asking her,' I said, and walked out.
I couldn't tell if I were depicted in the act of rescuing Alicia - or about to throw her in the flames.