Great premise, but doesn't fulfill promise
I loved the premise of this book -- and even the twist -- but so much of it didn't make sense.
Alicia hasn't said a word since she murdered her husband years earlier and is being held in a psychiatric hospital. Theo, a psychologist with a rocky marriage and his own psychological issues, has been following her case and waiting for an opportunity to take a job there to help her.
The idea of this book is interesting -- a patient who doesn't speak at all and a psychologist who tries to help her anyway. A psychologist who is having his own breakdown as his marriage struggles. The timeline was really interesting, too, and I thought it was clever of the author.
However, so much of the book didn't make sense. Alicia's journal, which is written like a book -- complete with conversations -- instead of like someone's diary would be written. Theo's relationship with his wife was strange. All the extra men in Alicia's life -- her brother, her art partner, her husband -- and her odd relationship with each one -- more red herrings than relationships, unfortunately, as we're supposed to suspect each one of doing something to her.
I don't want to give anything away, but I did like the reveal that led up to the end of the book. I thought it was a really interesting way to frame the story, and show how random life is sometimes. The rest of the book was worth the read just to get to that point, especially since it was really quick. This is one to sneak into your TBR stack in between a couple of more serious ones to break it up.
Alicia hasn't said a word since she murdered her husband years earlier and is being held in a psychiatric hospital. Theo, a psychologist with a rocky marriage and his own psychological issues, has been following her case and waiting for an opportunity to take a job there to help her.
The idea of this book is interesting -- a patient who doesn't speak at all and a psychologist who tries to help her anyway. A psychologist who is having his own breakdown as his marriage struggles. The timeline was really interesting, too, and I thought it was clever of the author.
However, so much of the book didn't make sense. Alicia's journal, which is written like a book -- complete with conversations -- instead of like someone's diary would be written. Theo's relationship with his wife was strange. All the extra men in Alicia's life -- her brother, her art partner, her husband -- and her odd relationship with each one -- more red herrings than relationships, unfortunately, as we're supposed to suspect each one of doing something to her.
I don't want to give anything away, but I did like the reveal that led up to the end of the book. I thought it was a really interesting way to frame the story, and show how random life is sometimes. The rest of the book was worth the read just to get to that point, especially since it was really quick. This is one to sneak into your TBR stack in between a couple of more serious ones to break it up.