The overall premise was fascinating – girl (Alicia Berenson) convicted of murdering her husband does not speak afterwards at all, and her psychotherapist (Theo Farber) works to get to the bottom of her silence. As more characters are introduced throughout the book, you begin to doubt that Alicia is actually guilty. However, I actually never really doubted it. While this was an enjoyable quick read, I still had a few issues about the plot and conclusion.
What I was confused about throughout much of the book was why Theo Faber cared so much about Alicia Berenson. He seemed a bit obsessed with her. Plus, the author kept focusing on Theo’s home life and his marriage, when I just couldn’t understand what that had to do with anything. All of that becomes clear in the conclusion of the book. That it is all connected. However, I don’t understand how the timeline matches. Theo goes to work, where he has sessions with Alicia, and then goes home and finds out that his wife is cheating on him, only that part had already happened in the past. How is the reader suppose to know that that was the past. This hiccup in the timeline made the ending less than satisfying for me. I’m sure it was suppose to be a clever attempt at tricking the reader, but I just found it disappointing. I give this read a meh.
What I was confused about throughout much of the book was why Theo Faber cared so much about Alicia Berenson. He seemed a bit obsessed with her. Plus, the author kept focusing on Theo’s home life and his marriage, when I just couldn’t understand what that had to do with anything. All of that becomes clear in the conclusion of the book. That it is all connected. However, I don’t understand how the timeline matches. Theo goes to work, where he has sessions with Alicia, and then goes home and finds out that his wife is cheating on him, only that part had already happened in the past. How is the reader suppose to know that that was the past. This hiccup in the timeline made the ending less than satisfying for me. I’m sure it was suppose to be a clever attempt at tricking the reader, but I just found it disappointing. I give this read a meh.