i can get why the average person would love this, but sadly for me this wasn’t it chief.

easily the biggest issue i had was with the psychology talk. sorry im actually so fucking autistic about the field of psychology and the dialogue used in relation to that was…. cringe imo! all the psychotherapy talk theo implemented felt like i was reading someone’s parody of what they think a psychotherapist sounds like. and it’s not even just an issue with theo. indra also has a bad habit of doing this… like wtf do you mean “I find myself feeling very maternal towards her.” can you sound not like a robot omg. and diomedes… idk i felt like his characterisation was almost trying too hard to be quirky and loveable that i really didn’t care. the only character in the ward that even remotely interested me was christian, and the minute his “mystery” was solved, he became almost formulaic. idk this text almost feels like all the characters are surface level, or all their dialogue are just boxes to check off. i really didn’t care about anyone other than their role as a plot point — i really only cared about finding out the truth of gabriel’s death.

the plot twist was insanely predictable. maybe that’s because i was already sceptical on this book because of its ‘therapy talk’ so i was looking more closer to solve the mystery, but it felt almost too easy? i kept almost second guessing my logic… come to find out my guess of the culprit not even 10% deep into this was correct. sigh. i mean it’s not a bad thing to have ur murder be able to be solved early! it means the breadcrumbs were left well. but idk its almost like this was too clear. i will say i defo didn’t guess the “nuances” e.g. the why of the crime, and i won’t lie and say it made me fully gasp. i’d say until the proper “reveal” i only knew the culprit, but the working pieces were very interesting, and were a good spin on the classic murder trope’s motive. i did have to fully sit and close the book to ponder all the past chapters, and i was impressed regarding how with one line i viewed the entire book differently. i must give michaelides props there 👏👏 i will say tho the actual “ending” itself was pretty anticlimactic. i defo expected more in that department.

maybe ive oversaturated myself with mystery thrillers. or, counter point, i am perfect, and the issue is 100% with this book (/j im trolling). 

idk based on the hype this book has surrounding it, i expected…. More. maybe this is a case of my expectations being unrealistic. or maybe once you’ve read one mystery thriller you’ve read them all.