Book Reviews by Genre: Thrillers/Suspense

When Nora was a young girl she learned the most sinister secret of her family; her father was murdering young women in their basement. Nora successfully kept this information about her past concealed for nearly three decades and she plans on keeping it that way. Now a surgeon, Nora keeps to herself and work, which she’s extremely talented at. Then something horrible happens; one of her patients is murdered with her father’s MO. Shocked by the news and even more shocked by the fact she’s the prime suspect due, Nora begins to feel her world falling apart. As pieces begin putting themselves together, Nora learns yet another family secret...
"The Locked Door" was enthralling and definitely had a twist at the end. The book instantly makes you think you know who is committing the crimes then takes a whole different path. I appreciated this set up and the narrative of Nora, who’s a likeable character trying to move on from her past. I do wish the book dwelled more on why her father committed the crimes, but overall it’s a book I would recommend.

"The Perfect Child" follows Hannah and Christopher, a loving couple with one problem: they have had no success in having children. When one day a little girl appears at the hospital they both work at, Christopher is immediately drawn to her and when the opportunity arises convinces Hannah they should bring her home. The little girl, Janie, has been through a lot, and Hannah and Christopher both recognize the behavioral issues bound to present themselves due to her situation. But Janie’s behavior is beyond what they expected, with her outbursts falling onto Hannah. Christopher is not as convinced as Hannah that something is seriously wrong with Janie and tension starts to build between all three of them. As incidents begin happening that can no longer be overlooked and excused by Janie’s past, Christopher and Hannah are pushed over the edge, and there is one little girl at the center of it all.
"The Perfect Child" was a decent read and was definitely intriguing. I do wish the ending was more climactic and centered more around Janie’s thoughts. In fact I think if part of the book or at least the end was told from Janie’s perspective, it would have been even more intriguing.

"When She Returned" follows a family who just received shocking news: Kate, wife and mother who disappeared over a decade ago, is back. Kate’s husband (who has since remarried) and daughter are ecstatic about her return, horrified to hear a cult was responsible for her disappearance. Trying to reconnect as a family is more difficult than not, as Kate is no longer the same woman she once was. Yet there is something more to Kate’s behavior than just fear, something suspicious that only one person in the household is catching onto, the new wife of Kate’s husband, who he and his daughter don’t want to believe. As tension rises secrets are exposed and the meaning of family is questioned.
Overall "When She Returned" was a decent book that kept you wondering what happened for the first half. Unfortunately the book becomes predictable and what was meant to be the plot twist wasn’t much of a twist.

"Sharp Objects" is a riveting story about uncovering the dark secrets of a dysfunctional family.
Camille is a struggling journalist trying to forget her dark childhood with one thing she hopes to never do again; return to her hometown. Yet when murders of young girls begin happening in her hometown, she must go back to create a story that will help her career. Upon her arrival she comes face to face with her mother and their rocky relationship. She also meets her much younger sister, who's behavior is far out of the ordinary for a young girl. As Camille tries to begin her story, she struggles with herself and the memories she must face. Soon Camille begins piecing together parts of her past and the current events, leading her to a shocking discovery.
"Sharp Objects" was a deeply engaging book that kept me on the edge of my seat! Each chapter brings you closer to what Camille thinks has happened, but the end reveals something much more shocking. This is a book I would put on my read again list!

"A Simple Favor" is a twisty novel that has some disturbing aspects... and not in the greatest of ways. It follows Stephanie and the disappearance of her best friend Emily. Stephanie attempts to solve the mystery of Emily's disappearance all while taking Emily's place which she believes her best friend would have wanted. Little does Stephanie know there's so much more to Emily's disappearance than meets the eye. As Stephanie begins to put broken pieces together, paranoia rises from both her and Emily's husband.

"A Simple Favor" had a lot of potential as a thriller novel but there were some aspects that were just too out there. Stephanie wasn't a very likeable character and her perspective of everything was twisted in a way that was just frustrating rather than suspenseful. The story also put a lot of emphasis on things that didn't seem all that relevant to the plot, and were just there to further enhance each character's odd personalities. Emily was by far my favorite character, but I wouldn't read this book again.

"The Perfect Son" is a book that is bound to keep readers on their toes, and ultimately leave them questioning everything that happened.
Told from two perspectives, "The Perfect Son" follows a mother (Erika) and her family of two children and husband. She undeniably adores her son (Liam) in particular who has few flaws. Yet, there is something about Liam that worries and even frightens Erica. This worry only increases when Liam's classmate goes missing, especially after Erica learns Liam was the last to see her and his avoidant behavior about the topic. Desperate to learn what really happened and protect her family from the growing criticism of the town, Erica keeps her son under close watch and becomes increasingly suspicious. Could her son really have done this?
This book was impossible to put down! With relatable characters and a storyline that makes you believe you know what happened (except you really don't!), Freida McFadden offers an eerie story about deciding if protecting your child is worth the risk.

"The ABC Murders" follows Hercule Poirot as he is contacted by a new killer, forcing him to crack yet another seemingly-unsolvable case. When Alice Asher is found dead in Andover with an ABC Railway Guide next to her body, Poirot knows this is the start of a gruesome series of serial murders. Working desperately against the clock with Arthur Hastings and Inspector Japp to solve the clues presented to him, Poirot must stop the killer, "A.B.C.", before they can complete their gruesome series of killings. With twist after twist, this murder mystery will be impossible for you to put down!

I absolutely love Agatha Christie and all her books. In "The ABC Murders" in particular, she manages to craft another perfectly thrilling tale that leaves you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. This book has the perfect balance of terrifying suspense and familiar banter between Poirot and Hastings. Christie always finds a way to elegantly set up the reader's expectations in order to utterly shock them with another amazing ending, and "The ABC Murders" is no exception! I highly recommend this book for anyone who is starting to get into Christie's work, especially if they enjoy reading Poirot's books, as this is definitely one of her best.

"Listen for the Lie" by Amy Tintera follows Lucy Chase as she returns to Texas five years after she was found in the woods, covered in her best friend, Savvy's, blood. Claiming to have no memory of the murder, Lucy is suspect number one - and now a podcast is being made by Ben Owens, following the case. With Lucy back at the scene of the crime, she has no choice but to face her past, even if it means suspecting everyone around her. As secret after secret is revealed, Lucy realizes that she can trust no one, as her memory of that night is the only thing that can clear her name and reveal the killer.

"Listen for the Lie" is an absolutely captivating book. Each chapter reveals another secret, and each plot twist makes the book impossible to put down. With alternating perspectives between Lucy's perspective and the episodes of the podcast, this tale weaves an intriguing story that leaves you guessing from beginning to end. Tintera does a great job with making Lucy's amnesia believable (even though her delusions about killing those around her and hallucinations can feel awkward at times), while also shifting the reader's perception of her as more clues are revealed. "Listen for the Lie" is a great mystery full of hilarious moments, captivating romance, and a gut-wrenching ending.

"Reputation" follows the students and faculty members of Aldrich University, who will do anything to protect their reputations - even if it means committing murder. After the most prestigious universities in the United States suffer a serious hack, exposing juicy secrets and scandalous cover-ups, everyone is panicking with the sudden influx of exposed lies and deception. Soon after, Kit Manning-Strauser's husband is mysteriously murdered, suddenly, everyone is a suspect. Willa, her sister, begins to investigate, and as lie after lie is uncovered, no one in Aldrich is safe. How far will the murderer go to protect their reputation?

I read a lot of Sara Shepard's books, and I really love the plot lines she comes up with and her writing style. However, I was honestly a little disappointed with this book. Compared to her other books, which largely center around high school girls, it was evident that Shepard was trying for a more "mature" theme and that really fell flat and didn't add to the story. The plot twists just weren't as exciting as in her other works, and it was hard to follow each character, because there were so many different, unrelated, viewpoints. Although some aspects of the conclusion were interesting, "Reputation" was altogether not that exciting. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this Sara Shepard book to anyone looking for her style of murder mystery, and I would stick to series like "Pretty Little Liars" and "The Perfectionists."

"Holly" by Stephen King follows Holly Gibney, a middle-aged woman employed at a detective agency. In the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic, a young woman goes missing, and in the wake of her mother's death, Holly is desperate to help. However, when one disappearance leads to another, Holly finds herself in over her head. With alternating perspectives between Holly, others in the detective agency, and even the killer themselves, suspense runs high as the culprit turns their attention to Holly herself to silence her once and for all.

I really love reading mystery books (especially ones about serial killers) and this book really was perfect to me. I haven't read any other of King's books, but this one was a great place to start, as his writing style, organization, and plot points were spot-on. Additionally, the fact that this book is set during the coronavirus pandemic makes it relatable for readers, drawing them in and adding a lot to the story. Overall, the intriguing concepts, haunting ending, and intricate clues linger with the reader long after the book has been finished. Although it may seem like a difficult read (the book is over 400 pages), "Holly" is absolutely worth it, and each page-turning chapter makes it nearly impossible to put the book down.

The Harpy is about a woman named Lucy. She lives somewhere in England with her husband, Jake, and her two kids. They live a decent life, until Lucy finds out about Jake's affair with a much older woman. Lucy falls to pieces, but feels somewhat relieved when her husband gives her permission to injure him 3 times, no more, no less. As Lucy juggles with her grief and the lives of her and her family, we learn about her lifelong connection to the harpies, bird-like creatures who terrorize disloyal men. With all the stress and anger bubbling up within her, in a story told in Lucy's point of view, I think it's safe to say that The Harpy is an amazing piece of literature.

"Curtain - Poirot's Last Case" by Agatha Christie is another one of this author's must-reads. The reader is hooked from the start of the story as Hercule Poirot and his friend, Arthur Hastings, travel back to the location of their first case to face their most formidable enemy yet. Not only does this story incorporate Christie's signature touch, filling the reader with suspense and leaving them wanting more, but it also plays into the reader's emotional connections with the characters they have read so much about.

I have been obsessed with Agatha Christie and her timeless mysteries for a while now, and have fallen in love with Poirot, Hastings, and many more of her amazing characters. I recommend reading Curtain after enjoying some of Christie's other Poirot mysteries (especially Poirot's first case, "The Mysterious Affair At Styles"), as I had fallen in love with the character so much that the ending left me in tears. Each of her mysteries is both distinctive and flawless, each plot point perfectly executed.

As a reader, do you gravitate towards relate-able, conventional, sweet narrators and stories that follow a comforting and predictable arc, ending in the literary version of “All is well”? If so, then read no further. Christopher Bollen’s page-turning, stomach-churning, prediction-spurning Havoc is not the novel for you.
Bollen’s sole narrator is octogenarian Maggie Burkhardt, a Wisconsin expatriate in Egypt during the pandemic, and Bollen’s use of the first person pays satisfying homage to its origin as an “unreliable narrator.” The book’s synopsis gives us a strong nudge in the “be wary of this narrator” direction, but it also complicates matters by adding an 8-year-old boy, arriving at the shabby-chic hotel on the edge of the Nile in the Sahara Desert with his harried mother, who quickly morphs into an unsettling and eerie nemesis for Maggie.
The peripatetic, well-heeled guests, Ben and Zachary, an American gay couple whom Maggie has befriended and feels comfortable with, as well as Ahmed, the local hotel manager with the proverbial heart of gold, who has warmly welcomed Maggie since her arrival from a mysteriously swift departure from Switzerland, provide rich and believable layers of characterization and sub-plots that robustly deliver from start to finish. But there’s never a doubt that Maggie is the axis around which this beguilingly straightforward yet actually quite twisty plot revolves.
While busying herself with ruminations about which guests might need her special “help” in overturning their lives for the good (ahem)—something Bollen makes sure that readers know is not a newly developed habit--Maggie tries and, to her astonishment, spectacularly fails to befriend young Otto. Subsequently, she becomes convinced that the precocious and troubled 8-year-old, who has quickly inserted himself into the homey interpersonal fabric of the sprawling and laid-back hotel, is on to her. As it happens, she may be right.
Bollen skillfully lays a crumb trail for readers—though never too many crumbs at once!—to suss out and/or add puzzlement to Maggie’s history and motives. Was Maggie’s long-time marriage to Peter who predeceased her as perfect as she recounts? And what’s going on with their daughter who appears in brief, hazy recollections as both a child and an adult when “she died”? The uneasy pleasure of this novel rests in the interwoven nature of Maggie’s unreliable memory and self-talk with the disturbing and escalating aspect of her and Otto’s game of one-up-man-ship. Is Maggie right about her suspicions of this child? Is the kid, in this case, “all right” or….decidedly not? And when friendly Ahmed finally cools towards Maggie because he’s heard just one too many contradictions in her back-story, should we feel pity for someone whose sanity is unraveling or a fervent hope that she be caught out before something worse happens?
The answers to these questions may possibly differ for every reader. But the staggering conclusion, rendered with an admirable combination of nail-shredding suspense and gut-punching abruptness, seemed worthy of Poe to this reader. Kudos to Bollen on his rendition of a “tale of mystery and imagination!”

Flowers in the Attic is about the horrible life of four siblings. Before their lives were turned upside down, their father provided for them, but when he died, the mother decided to take herself and four children to her parents house. The mother was exiled by her parents for her marriage to her husband, so going to her parents for help was her last resort. When arriving at her parents house, the mother decides to hide away her children to gain back her dying fathers favor to inherit his fortune. Until the grandfather dies, the four children will be locked away in the attic and hidden from the world. This story is told through the oldest daughter Cathy’s perspective, and follows her journey with her three other siblings while living in their grandparents' attic. This was a very depressing and disturbing book with a lot of twists and turns nobody would have seen coming. If you like sad stories that do not leave your mind easily, this is the perfect book for you! Personally, I do not recommend this book if you are not prepared for a very disturbing story.

Reviewer Grade: 11

"The Last Thing He Told Me" by Laura Dave is a gripping thriller that follows the life of Hannah Hall after her husband mysteriously disappears, leaving behind a note with the cryptic message, "Protect her." As Hannah unravels the secrets of her husband's past, she discovers hidden truths and forms an alliance with his teenage daughter. The novel masterfully blends suspense with emotional depth, exploring themes of love, trust, and the complexities of family dynamics.
In my opinion, "The Last Thing He Told Me" is a well-crafted and engaging story, deserving of a 4/5 rating. Laura Dave skillfully weaves a compelling narrative, keeping readers on the edge of their seats with unexpected twists and turns. The characters are vividly drawn, and the emotional journey they undergo adds layers to the plot. While the storytelling is strong, a bit more depth in certain explanations could enhance the reader's understanding of certain character motivations and plot intricacies. Nonetheless, the book succeeds in delivering a satisfying blend of mystery, emotion, and intrigue, making it a highly enjoyable read!

Enthralling, captivating, and unexpecting are all words that can be used to describe The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, an irresistible and stunning psychological thriller. The suspense from the first chapter is palpable, and the skillfully laid out plot leaves the reader second-guessing until the very end. It is truly, in the full sense of the word, a thriller, full of curveballs and red herrings, multidimensional realistic characters, thick, palpable emotions… The list goes on. Michaelides’ wonderful writing style and the perfect plot pace were just the cherry on top.

The plot is utterly outstanding. From the first words, the protagonist, Alicia Berenson, shocks the reader with an unspeakable act of violence: she killed her husband. Why? That is the sole question I found myself asking the whole book. An even bigger question: why did she fall silent after the murder? And will she ever speak again? An added layer of complexity is her new psychotherapist, Theo Faber, who is anything but perfect. Theo’s obsession with Alicia raises another question: why is he obsessed? What are his motivations? As the plot unfolds, the mystery behind Alicia’s silence uncovers vast psychological trauma and the lies of her close friends and family. As the plot thickens, Michaelides creates a haunting setting as he delves into the intricacies of the human mind. It becomes evident that this novel is well-thought-out and plentifully researched to draw the reader into a realistic setting. Honestly, I have no criticism of The Silent Patient and could not recommend it enough for anyone looking for a suspenseful plot-twisty psychological thriller.

After the disappointment of Golden Son , I was leery of starting on the last part of the Red Rising trilogy. Oddly enough, this book was actually somewhat interesting, but in a way that made the first two books seem unnecessary. There was definitely a lot of action in this book, which is part of what made it more exciting than the others. And as far as a book that’s supposed to wrap up a trilogy, Morning Star certainly doesn’t leave too many loose plotlines when it ends. I still think the world-building is forced with all the Roman imagery and sci-fi tech, but at least now it’s over.

As with the previous books, I still had trouble with keeping track of all the different characters and their motivations. The main character was pretty straightforward (if not bluntly so) and his love interest just felt like she wanted to do whatever he was doing. Everyone else had weird names that made it hard to track who was who and which side they were on. At least the plot was simple enough that I could follow what was happening.

The biggest question that came from this book was, “What was the point of trying to get into (and be rejected from) the high society?” It seems to me the only reason to have the first two books was to give the main character a love interest from a caste that was above his station. I think if it could have worked some elements of the first two books into this one, then it could stand by itself. After all, the idea of an oppressed population rising to defeat their wealthy overlords is probably the most interesting concept in this series.

A trilogy finisher that could have been a standalone book, I give Morning Star 3.5 stars out of 5.

Against all odds, Lydia and her son, Luca, survive a brutal cartel massacre, leaving them with only one option: to embark on a dangerous and arduous journey to seek safety in the United States. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins is a harrowing story about the survival, resilience, and hope of migrants fleeing north to the United States. Cummins skillfully captures the hardships, fears, and hopes of these characters, providing a window into the harsh realities faced by those making the perilous trek north. American Dirt humanizes the migrant experience by creating empathetic and multifaceted characters, illustrating the diversity within the migrant community and their shared aspirations for a better future.

One of my favorite books so far. The book is full of twists and turns and one of the most gripping story. I loved most of the characters.
Every chapter showed us a new suspicious person. Every chapter changed the perspective towards each character. I loved this series. At last it's not a book of black and white, there were so much gray ...

While we mostly know Jules Verne for his science fiction stories, it's hard to miss the fact that his books are also quite adventurous. Even though Michael Strogoff: Courier to the Czar isn't one of his famous works, it may be one of his best. This book was something my father wanted his children to appreciate, and now that I've read it a few more times, I truly understand how ahead of its time it was.

Even if Michael Strogoff isn't explicitly a science fiction novel, Jules Verne still sneaks plenty of science into this race across Russia to save the life of the Czar's brother. Of course, since it is an adventure novel, Michael Strogoff certainly has a lot of adventure between Moscow and Irkutsk, with some scenes feeling like they were pulled out of a modern action film. The tension of sneaking behind enemy lines to deliver an important message never lets up. I don't want to give too much away, but there are quite a few well-written twists that show Verne's mastery of this "Russian James Bond."

Of course, there are still some tropes that are an artifact of the time when it was written. Cultural stereotypes are present and the age difference between Michael (a 30-year-old man) and Nadia (a 16-year-old girl) is uncomfortable considering how the story ends. Also, Verne describes Michael as this specimen of a man that borders on eye-rolling machismo. Still, there are plenty of interesting characters, including Alcide Jolivet and Harry Blount, who provide some humor in an otherwise serious adventure. If you like Jules Verne books, you'd definitely like Michael Strogoff.

A hidden gem of a Jules Verne adventure, I give Michael Strogoff: Courier to the Czar 4.5 stars out of 5.

Hidden motives, secrets, and lies are the backbone of Lucy Foley’s thriller, The Guest List, and did I mention drama? From the moment you open the book, drama spills out, but in a good way. The characters are the point of the book. Their problems its lifeblood. The Guest List is not solely about the murder but all the threads connecting the cast of characters to one another in some elusive way. And the mystery is cleverly interwoven with all the lies and personal issues, so you won’t know who did it until the end. Even if you do figure it out, the characters have so much more to offer than just their motive. Foley creates characters you will hate, pity, and love. Totally recommend.

A thriller that takes an already scary concept - the systemically racist practice in real estate known as red-lining - and makes it into a more tangible threat. In an historically black neighborhood, Sydney is still grieving the loss of her mother when her neighbors start disappearing one by one. Can she figure out who is behind the accelerated changes of her neighborhood before it's too late?
This book has some genuinely terrifying moments, particularly when the narrative is breaking down the historical practices of red-lining, gentrification, systemic racism, slavery, and the shifts of old practices into new formats. It brings these concepts forward in an approachable way (unlike my review, probably).
This book is a thriller-romance with a John-Wick-esque style by the end. So if you're into social commentary with the just-right amount flair of romance, this is for you! My only frustration is the ending felt a tad bit rushed...but overall, it was satisfying.

Sylvain Neuvel's "Sleeping Giants" is the first book in a series of three fantastic novels about alien technology and what it means to be human. This book was lent to me by my father, so I knew it had to be amazing. I was not wrong in that assumption. My favorite part about this book is likely the most divisive part: the format. This book is explained in an interview format, between each character and a mysterious interviewer that is developed further in the later installments of this series. At first, I wasn't sure if I would like how jarringly different this format is; sometimes it is noticeable when the author wanted to convey some important information, but the constant interview made the information difficult to show. It wasn't exclusively interviews; occasionally a mission log was used for variety's sake. My least favorite part of the book is actually what wasn't included in the book. It sounds picky, but I think that this book had room for more. The cliffhanger, while masterfully executed, came too soon. Not enough happened before the book ended, so I was left immediately scrambling to acquire the other 2 books in the series. The book, and especially the series as a whole, is absolutely surprising at nearly every step. Characters assumed narratively immortal die, and enemies turn into friends that save the world in the third book. Each character had interesting flaws and contrasting personalities, so each character introduced to us through the mysterious interviewer felt like someone you could meet walking down the street. All in all, this book is definitely one of the best books I have read this year.

Reviewer Grade: 10

Romance, thriller, and horror all wrapped into one. Natalie D Richards does it once a great with a book you won't be able to put down until the final page. When two best friends in love have a falling out over a fight at a party it seems nothing could bring them together again. Except for the bridge that is. Strange things keep bringing them back to the place of the party and back to each other. Lock on bridges and hearts hold mystery but the views of both parties is being clouded by their own mental struggles. This is a very emotional book and capitating one that I can't wait to read again. Readers enjoy and beware of the bridge.

Have you ever read a book that’s so bad it’s good? Maybe even great? Even if you haven’t, there is room for one of these books in everyone’s lives. This book for me is Horror Hotel. Cringey, “Gen Z” dialogue? Horror Hotel has it. Badly written plot with an obvious twist? You can find that in Horror Hotel. One dimensional characters? You guessed it, Horror Hotel. Though, I will give this book credit where it’s due. I had found myself laughing harder than I’ve ever had at a book. It has the exact same energy of something you’d write with your friends at 3 AM. If you are looking for grade-A trash, you’ll definitely find it in Horror Hotel.

League of Liars is an excellent read for fans of anything from fairytales to Ace Attorney. I enjoyed its heart-racing mind games and plans. The prison’s ever-changing playing field always made sure the characters didn’t have things too easy. I also loved the interesting magic system, (and the legal consequences that come with it). However, I think that the plot could have been instantly resolved if magic was used, which makes the characters, who took the hard way, feel idiotic at times. Other than that, if you like well-crafted fantasy worlds, page-turning mysteries, more twists than a bag of pretzels and twice as many likable characters, read League of Liars! (8th Grade)

We Were Liars is a mysterious young adult novel about a wealthy family who spends every summer on their private island. The story focuses on the main character, Cadence. After Cadence suffers a head injury during one of the summers, she cannot remember almost anything from that trip to the island. The next summer things are very different and Cadence has to try and remember why.
This book is quite a page-turner. As Cadence slowly remembers more and more details of the mysterious summer when she suffered her head injury, it is nearly impossible to put the book down. However, not all page-turners are necessarily great books. The story of We Were Liars may have been intriguing, but the content was not very substantial. There didn’t really seem to be any morals, and if there were, they weren’t very clear. Things just happened throughout the story, and although it was a mystery, nothing was truly deep or thought-provoking

Murder on the Orient Express is a compelling Christie mystery. The book is steady and methodical: after the initial inciting incident, each of the passengers are questioned in order. Then, the evidence is reviewed and the conclusion comes easily to the detective. This novel was a straightforward, easy read, but I found it was better enjoyed by just sitting back and reading. Formulating theories, from the perspective of the reader, is relatively difficult due to key details being under developed when first introduced in the book. Therefore, the detective is better informed than the reader throughout the mystery, which took away some of the intrigue for me. Ultimately, however, the ending was satisfying, and Murder on the Orient Express is a well-written, captivating read.

Any fan of mysteries should read And Then There Were None because it is such a wonderfully refreshing book. It is understandable why the book continues to have an impact decades after its release. Following And Then There Were None is not that difficult. Yes, it's a mystery, so pay attention (or at least keep track of who's passing and when), but the book doesn't aim to mislead its readers with unusual text. Guilt and justice are two of And Then There Were None's themes. Every visitor taken to the island is charged with an unfounded murder. As the death toll climbs, visitors struggle in various ways with their own personal emotions of guilt. Justice Wargrave's confession clarifies the notion of justice. Those who loved And There Were None like me should read more of Agatha Christie's work or if you want to read a book similar to And Then There Were None I recommend The Guest List by Lucy Foley. Overall, I loved Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None because of how it always kept readers on the edge.
Grade: 8th

Initially, the premise of this book caught my attention: a psychotherapist sees a patient who murdered her husband years ago (as revealed in the opening line) and has not spoken since. Without spoilers, the story is told in a fascinating way, and Michaelides makes the most of his creative freedom in the medium of novels. Right after I finished reading, I thought the book perfect for what it sought out to do; however, upon further reflection, I feel it missed the spark that makes a good book. Yes, the story was interesting and the flow of events was steady, but by the last third I felt there wasn't enough struggle or buildup to make the progress with Alicia impressive. The novel told two stories simultaneously (the one of Theo's wife and the one of his patient), which was a great artistic choice, but I think that left each individual plotline underdeveloped in the 300 page novel. The Silent Patient is well-written, organized, and unsettling. Although I struggle to grasp the greater message behind the nuanced story Michaelides told, I definitely enjoyed reading it.