A Trio of Thrillers

I have been on a bender of books recently – it helps that I had a lot of thrillers on my bookshelf – a genre that lends itself to read quickly. It also helps that all three books I read were excellent and quite different from each other.

The Silent Patient

This book was on 🔥🔥🔥 a couple of years back. I read the book blurb and wasn’t too interested at that time – probably burnt out from one too many mediocre thrillers. Then, it became a GoodReads book of the year, and I have never been too lucky with those.

Anyway, something clicked this year, and I started reading the book, and hmm, it wasn’t too bad.

About the book

In brief, it’s about a therapist who attempts to treat a woman who killed her husband and who has never spoken since the incident. The story revolves around the two main characters – Theo (the therapist) and Alicia (his patient).

My Review

It’s hard describing this book. It’s not a typical thriller, and I would say it’s more of a deep psychological dive into the mind of a killer. We know from the very beginning that Alicia killed her husband; the book instead goes into detail as to the why. Have you seen The Sinner on Netflix? The first season’s story is about a woman who kills someone, but the police try to investigate why. This book kinda has that same feel (although the story is completely different).

Despite knowing the identity of the killer, the story still managed to throw me for a loop. It took me a long time to guess the connections between the various people in the story. And there was at least one plot twist that surprised me.

I found Alex Michaelides’ writing somewhat pedestrian, but his plot development more than makes up for it. I now look forward to his next book – The Maidens that also has pretty rave reviews.

An Anonymous Girl

I love the writing of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen and make it a point to read everything they have written. There’s something about the way they write together that almost guarantees twisty (sometimes too twisty) thrillers. My reviews of their other books are here and here.

About the book

Struggling Manhattan makeup artist Jessica Farris impulsively decides to chase some quick cash by lying her way into an NYU psychiatrist’s study—of ethics and morality.

But then, as the study progresses, things evolve and get twisty and intense, as they always do, in a good mystery thriller.

Which leaves Jessica working through more moral dilemmas than she had to begin with. And she is questioning everything, from the intentions of the mysterious doctor to her life’s choices.

My Review

I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as I enjoyed their earlier novels. Maybe, because it’s not as twisty as I expected, and there’s a slow middle section that was quite tiresome. But I loved the character studies of the protagonists – who are actually both surprisingly likable.

I was a bit disappointed with the lame-duck ending. But the twist on twist (that’s a characteristic of their books) made up for it.

The Innocents

I read the synopsis of this book in the library, and I thought the book looked interesting. I was aware of the author Laura Lippman but had never tried anything by her, so I thought why not?

About the book

This is a book about five children growing up in the 70s in Baltimore.

One day, something terrible happens, which affects the rest of their lives.

When one of them dies suddenly, they are all brought together to face their past.

My Review

I wish I liked this book more than I did. The writing is beautiful, the character building and scene setting stellar. But in the end, the whole thing felt a little derivative, and there’s not enough payback in terms of plot.

Stylistically, this book reminded me of various Stephen King books I read (It, in particular, comes to mind). The way these five kids were written, the details of their childhood, the close connection to their city of birth, their fears, their parents’ lives, etc., are very much in the style of how King writes his books. Even the limp ending is a common frustration I have with Stephen King.

That said, I plan to read more of Laura Lipmann. All the reviews on goodreads say that The Innocents is a break in style from her usual books. And I do love her writing style, so you can expect to see more books from her on my blog.

So, these were the three quick reads I squeezed in over the last week or so. I am now deep in the middle of a massive tome that will take a good chunk of my time in the upcoming weeks. After that, I will be looking for short, quick reads, so keep the recommendations coming in your comments 😀.