Michaelides, Alex-- The Silent Patient informal buddy read starts February 11, 2019; Reread starts May 5, 2019

[Caroline]

I will be joining you for this read too, I actually just borrowed the book at my library without knowing it was a buddy read ! Lucky me :)

[Rayne]

I’m gonna join this one. Looks intriguing and I picked up a copy at the bookstore today.

[Leslie Ann]

Starting the book tomorrow. How should we work this? Read chapters or pages by a certain time. Some of us may be slower readers. Suggestions?

[Cathy M.]

I've always just gone at my own pace and commented every couple chapters (using Spoilers) but we can set up more of a schedule if you like!

[Rayne]

I was going to do the same. Just comment in spoilers every few chapters. I hope to start later today or tomorrow. as soon as I finish my current read.

[Melissa]

I’m excited to start this book today. Do we have to read so much per day or go at your own pace?

[Stacie]

I never read on the schedule. I'm a read at your own pace and comment along the way buddy reader.

[Leslie Ann]

Okay. I will just comment with spoilers.

[Rayne]

Part One.

Interesting so far and good to get an introduction to Theo. To sort of get where he is coming from in his desire to treat Alicia. The whole Grove just feels wrong to me. It’s creepy but that could be simply because it’s a psych ward.

[Cathy M.]

Thru Part 1 - Fairly easy and uncomplicated read so far. Agree it's a great introduction to Theo and the reason for his fascination and drive to want to help Alicia. But there has to be more to it... this is a thriller after all! Or is this only the beginning of his obsession?

I didn't get the creepy vibe so much but we still have a ways to go!

[Cathy M.]

Thru Part 2 Ch 21 - this is actually a fairly quick read so far. I"ll take a break to let you all catch up.

(view spoiler)[Ok so Max is suspect. His attitude towards Alicia (assuming we can trust her diary entries as truth), and the way his wife appears to be scared of him.

And Alicia's painting and reference to Alcestis makes me think someone else set her up. That has to be important to what really happened with Gabriel.

Feel sorry for Theo as he seems to be a good guy. I wish he would confront Kathy but can see that's not really in his character. (hide spoiler)]

[Alicia 🌻]

I already finished this 😂 I am doing a week long readathon so this was a part of it. But wow, I did not expect that ending!!

[Leslie Ann]

Finished part 2 chapter 21
(view spoiler)[ Wow something is going on. Max hitting on Alicia and hating his brother. Can we believe the diary? At this point everyone is suspect (hide spoiler)]

[Cathy M.]

Leslie Ann wrote: "Finished part 2 chapter 21
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[Thats what I wondering too - whether we can trust the diary entries. But thats the only way we get to know Alicia so I want to believe them. (hide spoiler)]

[Cathy M.]

Alicia wrote: "I already finished this 😂 I am doing a week long readathon so this was a part of it. But wow, I did not expect that ending!!"

Thats good to hear! Def gives me something to look forward too!

[Rayne]

Finished part 2. This is getting really interesting.

(view spoiler)[
What a ride! It really is like everyone is suspect. Max, Jean-Felix, Paul. Possibly Alicia was put up to it. Maybe set up. And can we believe the diary? It's such a different picture of Alicia than what everyone is claiming.

But it seems like Theo is making some sort of progress with Alicia. She painted for him. She gave him her diary to read. She is responding to him more than she has to anyone else.
(hide spoiler)]

[Stacie]

I just started part 2 this morning. As a former therapist, Theo is raising all of my red flags. I am also getting the creepy vibe from the Grove (Yuri anyone?). I just finished reading about (view spoiler)[ how Theo met his wife, Kathy after Yuri tells him to forget about Alicia. (hide spoiler)]

I'm not sure if my feelings of vague unsettlement are because of Theo, the fact that the book is a thriller, the Grove or what but I trust no one.

[Rayne]

Stacie - I totally feel the same!

[Leslie Ann]

Stacie ...I trust no one too!

[Stacie]

Well at least we are all in this together!

[Melissa]

Ugh, I feel so behind, ended up with a sick kid since Sunday. Just finished Part 1. I feel the same way as Cathy and Brooklyn above at the end of Part 1 but I did not read the spoilers for Part 2. I feel like there is something wrong about the Grove, but not sure what it is yet, hoping to find that out in Part 2. I'll check back in as I read more.

[Stacie]

Alright I finished. Thoughts under the spoiler tag.

(view spoiler)[I had a lot of issue with the way mental health professionals were portrayed in the book. But overall, Theo is clearly the borderline. I found the last few chapters confusing but I think that's part of the point. This isn't my typical kind of story and I tried to be fair but there was a lot I took issue with which probably speaks to the author's writing, especially if he was writing about a borderline, more than anything else and I guess he did his job. Just not my favorite story, I don't like feeling manipulated and uncomfortable by the books I read. (hide spoiler)]

[Leslie Ann]

I finished! Thoughts below
(view spoiler)[
Loved this book. I loved the ending , did not expect it at all. It held my interest through out. I read mystery thrillers alot. I think it will make a great movie.
(hide spoiler)]

[Stacie]

Leslie Ann wrote: "I finished! Thoughts below

Loved this book. I loved the ending , did not expect it at all. It held my interest through out. I read mystery thrillers alot. I think it will make a great movie.
"


(view spoiler)[Is it optioned for a movie? I read he's a screenwriter as it is (the author) (hide spoiler)]

[Leslie Ann]

Stacie wrote: "Leslie Ann wrote: "I finished! Thoughts below

Loved this book. I loved the ending , did not expect it at all. It held my interest through out. I read mystery thrillers alot. I think it will make a..."

I haven't heard that it's optioned for a movie. Just think it would be great.

[Stacie]

Leslie Ann wrote: "Stacie wrote: "Leslie Ann wrote: "I finished! Thoughts below

Loved this book. I loved the ending , did not expect it at all. It held my interest through out. I read mystery thrillers alot. I think..."

Gotcha. I was thinking it would be a much better movie than it was a book but that's just me wanting to be less confused LOL

[Stacie]

Hey Leslie

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...

[Leslie Ann]

Stacie wrote: "Hey Leslie

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new..."

Excellent!

[Cathy M.]

Stacie wrote: "I just started part 2 this morning. As a former therapist, Theo is raising all of my red flags. I am also getting the creepy vibe from the Grove (Yuri anyone?). I just finished reading about [spoil..."

Haven't read much more but your comment about Theo caught my eye - I want to believe Theo is good but he does make me a little weary on how borderline-obsessive he's being over Alicia.

I know all of you have finished so I'll see how it plays out to me, and then read your spoilers!

[Rayne]

I finished tonight. Very interesting. I wasn’t expecting the way it ended. But it all wrapped up nicely. It was a quick, entertaining read.

I’m on my phone so I can’t add any spoiler comments but I’ll contribute more later from my computer.

[Melissa]

I’m on chapter 26 in part 2, a little more than halfway done. It has definitely become more interesting. All I could thing about first, is who in the world is on 16mg of Risperdal? I know it is at the highest end of the dosage range, but in 16 years of pharmacy, I have never dispensed that dose. No wonder Alicia is a zombie! I am beginning to think maybe there is more to Gabriel’s death than meets the eye. I guess I’ll find out as I continue to read.

[Cathy M.]

Stacie wrote: "Alright I finished. Thoughts under the spoiler tag.

[spoilers removed]"

I finished last night and am glad I'm not the only one (view spoiler)[who was confused by those last couple chapters, and felt manipulated. It almost doesn't make sense since we're in Theo's head most of the book and there weren't any clues (at least that I remembered) when he was "treating" Alicia. Well except for that 1st scene when she attacked him. He was there that night, so he knew what triggered her silence. He just wanted to make sure she didn't know it was him? He could've solved that easy, didn't have to say anything to begin with. But why delve into her past like that? I just don't get it.

And last night when I was reading the 2nd half, I thought it was sort of categorized wrong in that there was no suspense in the story, not really. I'll grant that it is a mystery but thriller/suspense? Not so much... I guess until the end.

And I hate open ends like that... give me a concrete ending please! (hide spoiler)]

[Stacie]

Melissa wrote: "I’m on chapter 26 in part 2, a little more than halfway done. It has definitely become more interesting. All I could thing about first, is who in the world is on 16mg of Risperdal? I know it is at ..."

Right!??!?!

[Stacie]

Cathy M. wrote: "Stacie wrote: "Alright I finished. Thoughts under the spoiler tag.

[spoilers removed]"

I finished last night and am glad I'm not the only one who was confused by those last couple chapters, and f..."

Cathy, thank you!!! I hate the same thing in an (view spoiler)[ending! I feel like the second half was kind of boring and almost police procedural instead of thriller-y. (hide spoiler)]

[Cathy M.]

Stacie wrote: "Cathy M. wrote: "Stacie wrote: "Alright I finished. Thoughts under the spoiler tag.

[spoilers removed]"

I finished last night and am glad I'm not the only one who was confused by those last coupl..."

(view spoiler)[I wanted more of the thriller, to get my heart racing you know?! In that sense, I agree it was sort of boring. It moved along at a fast pace but it was all just information gathering. It was missing that excitement, that "can't put the book down, have to see what happens next right now" thing. (hide spoiler)]

[Rayne]

I too felt it wasn't a "thriller" and there really wasn't a mystery of sorts, even though you could claim the whole mystery was why she murdered her husband, or why she hasn't spoken in six years. But the story didn't feel like that. It didn't feel like a psychological thriller. In that it was a let down. I was even thinking that while I was reading it, even with the whole (view spoiler)[man spying on her, watching her aspect (hide spoiler)]. But I still enjoyed reading it.

[Leslie Ann]

Cathy M. wrote: "Stacie wrote: "Cathy M. wrote: "Stacie wrote: "Alright I finished. Thoughts under the spoiler tag.

[spoilers removed]"

I finished last night and am glad I'm not the only one who was confused by t..."
Interesting. I did enjoy it. I did get suspense feeling. Sorry you guys didn't like it as much as I did.

[Cathy M.]

Leslie Ann wrote: "Cathy M. wrote: "Stacie wrote: "Cathy M. wrote: "Stacie wrote: "Alright I finished. Thoughts under the spoiler tag.

[spoilers removed]"

I finished last night and am glad I'm not the only one who ..."

No need Leslie! I did like the first half but just wanted more from the 2nd. And the ending (view spoiler)[seemed out of left field due to there being no clue that this was where the story was going. I guess we could've predicted it due to the multiple timelines going on, but I didnt think there were any clues with his interaction with Alicia. And then he put drugged her/caused her to overdose. Didn't think he had it in him. (hide spoiler)]

[Melissa]

I just finished the book. It was not the ending that I expected at all. (view spoiler)[ I thought for sure that Max or Jean-Felix may have had something to do with Gabriel's murder out of jealousy. I don't know why I didn't tie in the side story of Kathy with Alicia. (view spoiler)[ In any case, It wasn't as much of a "thriller" as I thought it would be, but at least the book tied up all the loose ends. (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[anthea]

I finished this book a couple of days ago and really loved it!!

(view spoiler)[ I honestly didn't see that coming. Theo is such a sneak! I loved his commentary though. I hated how everyone kept referring to Alicia as a 'bitch' when she hadn't even said a word? Like I understand they think she killed her husband, but still?? (hide spoiler)]

[Caroline]

Cathy M. wrote: "Stacie wrote: "Alright I finished. Thoughts under the spoiler tag.

[spoilers removed]"

I finished last night and am glad I'm not the only one who was confused by those last couple chapters, and f..."

I agree with you ! I was so confused during the whole book, and I was going at Jean-Felix as the killer! I felt the timeline was what got me confused. It was difficult to make a correlation with the affair Kathy was having, and the difficulty of Alicia and the late show of her husband!

It was totally NOT a thriller! I liked the book, but I wish there has been more shocking turns in the story!

[Maddy]

I'm new to this group and the Buddy Read discussions. I have this book but have not started it yet. Is this still an open discussion, or would it be better to start a new Buddy Read request on a new thread? Thanks for any direction.

[Laura]

If you wanted to buddy read this book we would just reboot this thread anyway. Why don't you ask if anyone wants to read it with you? Lots read it, so maybe someone will come back and chat with you about it.