Jithran

The core of this story revolves around Alicia Berenson, a once-renowned painter who decides to make her husband, Gabriel, the unfortunate centerpiece of her most shocking artwork by shooting him in the face five times. Cue the silence: Alicia hasn't spoken a word since. She becomes a puzzle that every psychiatrist has given up hope for—except for Theo Faber, a psychotherapist fascinated by Alicia's case. Determined to unravel the mystery, he takes a position at The Grove, a secure forensic unit in London. What follows is a gripping journey through the lives of Alicia and Theo.

This book was an absolute page-turner for me. It's easy to get swept up in the mystery if you don't dig too deep. However, for those who do, the novel raises numerous questions, leaving several threads tantalizingly loose. Despite these narrative loose ends, the major plot twist took me by surprise, making me appreciate the novel's structure all the more in hindsight.

Michaelides' story occasionally feels more like a detective story than a psychological thriller, especially in the way he has Theo quiz everyone who comes into contact with Alicia and follows every lead like Sherlock Holmes. (which is, of course, strange for a psychotherapist, but is one of the things you shouldn't worry too much about in this book. If you do, this book might not be your cup of tea.)

Overall, “The Silent Patient” offers a thrilling ride that might leave you with questions, but also delivers an enthralling experience with its unexpected twists and deep dives into its characters' darkest secrets. If you can overlook some of the logistical stretches, you're in for a compelling psychological puzzle that's hard to put down.

(3.75)

In “And Then There Were None,” Agatha Christie crafts a suspenseful tale where ten individuals are summoned to a remote island, only to disappear one by one. We've seen this type of story hundreds of times, but when originally published in 1939, it was certainly much more innovative.

The plot remains shrouded in mystery throughout the book, cleverly concealing the identity and motive of the perpetrator until the very end. While the resolution was not the most satisfying for me, the storyline is undeniably well-crafted. The language of the book carries a delightful old-fashioned flair, enhancing the reading experience and reflecting its era.

Given that “And Then There Were None” is among the most famous thrillers ever written, extensive reviews have already been written, so I will keep this short. If you haven't read this book yet, you have something new to add to your TBR list.

I love her strange and twisted humor and her train of thought that's all over the place.

The less you know before starting this book, the better. So if you haven't read it yet, begin before you learn too much about it.

Child abduction is a harrowing subject, made even more personal and intense when viewed through the lens of parenthood. Jennifer Hillier's Little Secrets dives into this theme with the story of Marin and Derek, whose four-year-old son, Sebastian, is kidnapped in a moment of distraction. Marin briefly lets go of her son's hand to check a message at a market, and in those few moments, a kidnapper disguised as Santa Claus vanishes with him. Surveillance footage captures this moment but provides no clues about Sebastian's fate.

Marin is devastated. Consumed by guilt and despair, she hires a private detective after the police reach a dead end. This PI, whom Derek knows nothing about, doesn't yield many results about their son but does reveal Derek's affair with a younger woman. Fearing the loss of her husband as well as her son, Marin decides to take matters into her own hands.

Although I didn't find the plot as satisfying as I had hoped, and I was frustrated by Marin's continual forgiveness of Derek despite his previous infidelities, including one during her pregnancy, I did enjoy the book's strong character development and fast-paced story.

Ever fancied the idea of bringing a submarine into orbit? Randall will not only fuel such ideas but will do so with such scientific rigor and wit that you'd wish people tried it MythBusters style (not me, because i'm ordered not to try any of this at home)

Munroe, creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd, has a knack for transforming the bizarre into the brilliant, making “What If?” much more than just a collection of humorous speculations. It's a deep dive into the hypothetical, backed by real science and boundless imagination.

This book has the same problem as the video shorts nowadays, constantly tempting you with the prospect of just a few more pages filled with bizarre hypotheses. What if.. there was a second book in this series on my bookshelf