I didn't enjoy The Silent Patient as much as most other people seemed to and this book was the same. I was really anticipating reading it, because The Secret History is one of my favorite books and this promised very similar vibes. But just like The Silent Patient, this one started off strong then fizzled out by the end. The atmosphere and characters had great potential - old university campus, mysterious yet charming professor, strange secluded group of students - but I had problems with how the story played out.
Some of the side characters and subplots seemed thrown in just to be red herrings. I love a good red herring when it actually advances the plot, but these just seemed to bog it down. I was also rather unimpressed by the ending. I figured out who the murderer was about halfway through (same in The Silent Patient), so I wasn't surprised by the big reveal. The motive behind the murders was a surprise to me, but it mostly caused eye rolling instead of gasping in shock.
Some of the side characters and subplots seemed thrown in just to be red herrings. I love a good red herring when it actually advances the plot, but these just seemed to bog it down. I was also rather unimpressed by the ending. I figured out who the murderer was about halfway through (same in The Silent Patient), so I wasn't surprised by the big reveal. The motive behind the murders was a surprise to me, but it mostly caused eye rolling instead of gasping in shock.