The Silent Patient in In Between the Lines UT 2.0

May 16, 2023 bryanna boone rated it liked it

mid at best. the plot twist was actually surprising to me and i really enjoy a confusing timeline plot twist if it’s done well which it actually was in this book. other than that it was pretty bad tho. like ugh the writing was so cringe and like WEED ADDICTION??? it doesn’t get more corny than that. i really despised the book most of the time but was pleasantly surprised at the end since the resolution kinda saved the whole thing

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May 12, 2023 ami rated it liked it

Shelves: book-club

2.5

finally finished this thank god. pretty decent, although i felt it had a lot of plot holes and was fairly predictable especially after the halfway point.

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Dec 30, 2022 Harrison Jin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: to-buy

4.5 stars - would be a 5 but there are a few too many crucial plot holes. Carried by good writing and unexpected twists.

The pacing of the plot is really good with lots of unexpected twists. I also really enjoyed the prose because it feels like every sentence is super information-dense without including unnecessarily flowery details. The good pacing and prose really make this a thrilling page-turner, and I didn't even really notice/think about the plot holes until after finishing the book becaus 4.5 stars - would be a 5 but there are a few too many crucial plot holes. Carried by good writing and unexpected twists.

The pacing of the plot is really good with lots of unexpected twists. I also really enjoyed the prose because it feels like every sentence is super information-dense without including unnecessarily flowery details. The good pacing and prose really make this a thrilling page-turner, and I didn't even really notice/think about the plot holes until after finishing the book because I was so engrossed in the story. (The ending is REALLY satisfying.)

The two main characters (Theo and Alicia) are pretty well-developed in that I both hate and sympathize with both of them. The side characters I mostly just hate (by design).

Overall I would strongly recommend reading this!! While there are a few logical inconsistencies (outlined in the spoilers section :D), this book constantly surprised me, and it's really fun to try to piece everything together as you read it. I'll probably be rereading it at some point knowing the solution. After finishing this book, I definitely feel like I have a better understanding of childhood trauma and mental health, so (hopefully) I'll be able to transfer that into being more empathetic in my every day life. I also feel especially fortunate and privileged to have not had any REAL childhood trauma myself.

(view spoiler)[

The ending was SO GOOD. I love parallel timelines as a narrative tool, and I was not expecting it here. I really wasn't sure where the story was going as I was reading. I definitely noticed the parallels between Theo and Alicia and couldn't figure out if Theo was gonna end up marrying Alicia, killing Kathy, or murdering Alicia (which I guess did end up happening). In hindsight there were definitely a few clues, like why Kathy wasn't concerned at all about Theo being beat up by both Alicia and Paul. I also liked the misdirects of Max and Paul being potential murderers so you weren't even sure for a large part of the story if Alicia even killed Gabriel.

The two major inconsistencies that bring this down to a 4.5 are the diary and the initial crime. It seems pretty unrealistic to me that Alicia would be able to hold onto her diary for six years through prison and then transfer to the secure unit without anyone knowing about it (none of the staff at the secure unit knew about it). Also, I feel like if you have your diary for six years, at some point you would feel like adding some entries to it. And what was her motive for giving it to Theo of all people?

The second thing is that no matter how fucked up you are, what Theo did makes no sense whatsoever. If you found out your partner was cheating on you with another married person, in what world do you put on a goddamn balaclava, tie up THAT person's partner, scare the shit out of them, and then just sit around waiting for 4+ hours? Wtf did Alicia do wrong Theo??? I feel like after hour 1 I would just get bored and be like, "yo your husband is cheating on you, peace out good luck." And how did Theo know about the gun in the kitchen? Did he ever go in their house beforehand? Not to mention that the police did a pretty bad investigation. Did they not notice the chair that Alicia was tied up in? Unless she covered up for Theo? And why did they ignore Barbie's reports about the creepy stalkerman?

Anyway, the ending twist is so good that I can still mostly suspend my disbelief. So 4.5 stars.

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