The book is written as if Dr. Parker is writing his memoir in an online blog. I might be the minority here, but I did not particularly care for this style, it didn’t add anything to the story itself. I usually found myself trying to read past those parts to get back to the story. Don’t get me wrong, the book was well written, I just didn’t like him talking “to the reader.” Speaking of the story, there were some parts that I was flying through because it was so good and really sucked me in, but then there were other times I was zoning out.
This book seems like your typical psychological thriller with your young, overconfident psychiatrist brand new to the mental asylum who wants to take on the most difficult mental health patient the facility has to offer, but at the end, it turned into something out of a horror movie, which honestly is the reason it lost stars from me. It definitely caught me off guard and could have been very creepy but the ending wasn’t as developed as the rest of the book was, it was too fantastical for me given the plot of the story.
Joe’s character was very well developed. The author went into great detail really letting you understand Joe, why he’s been trapped in the mental asylum for 30+ years and why he’s a danger to the outside world. Parker was also developed really well, and the author does a great job helping the reader understand why Dr. Parker wanted to become a psychiatrist. I do wish there were more interactions with Joe and Dr. Parker though. They had a couple of very good sessions, but a lot of it was backstory on Joe and the research gathered from the other doctors who tried treating him. It was missing the real deep connection and interactions of the book's two main characters. Overall, it did hook me, but with the surprise ending and the lack of a true, deep connection beyond their short time together, it gets a solid 3.5!
This book seems like your typical psychological thriller with your young, overconfident psychiatrist brand new to the mental asylum who wants to take on the most difficult mental health patient the facility has to offer, but at the end, it turned into something out of a horror movie, which honestly is the reason it lost stars from me. It definitely caught me off guard and could have been very creepy but the ending wasn’t as developed as the rest of the book was, it was too fantastical for me given the plot of the story.
Joe’s character was very well developed. The author went into great detail really letting you understand Joe, why he’s been trapped in the mental asylum for 30+ years and why he’s a danger to the outside world. Parker was also developed really well, and the author does a great job helping the reader understand why Dr. Parker wanted to become a psychiatrist. I do wish there were more interactions with Joe and Dr. Parker though. They had a couple of very good sessions, but a lot of it was backstory on Joe and the research gathered from the other doctors who tried treating him. It was missing the real deep connection and interactions of the book's two main characters. Overall, it did hook me, but with the surprise ending and the lack of a true, deep connection beyond their short time together, it gets a solid 3.5!