This story gripped me for the first three hundred pages. I literally could not put it down. Michaelides really gave us rich language, deep character psychological profiles, and a gripping premise. I really enjoyed the dark academia vibes of this one and thought Mariana was an interesting character. I also really enjoyed the nod towards The Silent Patient. That was cleverly done and made for a really impactful subplot to this story. Michaelides is always really brilliant with his allusions to mythology and weaving them into a modern setting in such a seamless fashion.
However, I was not a fan of this ending. It felt too "haha, I tricked you!" and rushed. The "big reveal," occurred within the last thirty pages and the overall motivation felt weak and gross and I would have rather had literally anyone else be the murderer. There is an ambiguity as well, which part of me understands, but also I'm like "wait what? Where's the rest of this?"
Ultimately, I enjoyed it up until the ending.
However, I was not a fan of this ending. It felt too "haha, I tricked you!" and rushed. The "big reveal," occurred within the last thirty pages and the overall motivation felt weak and gross and I would have rather had literally anyone else be the murderer. There is an ambiguity as well, which part of me understands, but also I'm like "wait what? Where's the rest of this?"
Ultimately, I enjoyed it up until the ending.