Member Reviews
This book was a total nail biter. It leaves you wanting to read more and you will never want to put this book down. The end is very surprising to say the least. I give this a 10 out of 10 stars
Four year old Mia goes missing on a play date, everyone suspects that someone knows what happened to her. Jessica wont talk. Everyone suspects its Mia mother Molly. A psychiatrist determines to try to make Jessica from not making the same mistakes as him. Loved that this was a fast pace turning book. Loved how smoothly the characters flowed. It goes back between from then and now which flowed well through each of the chapters. This is the first book in the series and I cant wait to read the next one to find out what happened with little miss Mia.
Thanks to Independent Book Publishers Association, Netgalley, and the author in exchange for a review.
Publication Date April 20th, 2022 .
*4.5 Stars*
Copy kindly received via NetGalley for an honest review.
This was a very interesting read. I liked the characters. It kept me thinking about who dunnit. I also found the ending to be interesting. Would recommend.
When four-year-old Mia Edwards goes missing on a play date, everyone suspects that Jessica Green knows what happened to her, especially Mia's mother, Holly, but Jessica isn't talking. Psychiatrist, Dr. Oscar de la Nuit, is determined to save Jess from the same mistakes he's living with. Atmospheric, haunting and superbly plotted.
How to Spot a Psychopath, by MQ Webb, is a psychological thriller that uniquely focuses on the psychologists & psychiatrists, as well as the patient. Which makes sense since much of the story takes place in a psychological hospital. It's a well written book with interesting characters and fairly good flow. I don't usually like alternating characters and alternating timelines but I'm not sure the story would have worked otherwise.
Jessica Green has just arrived at Whitner Psychiatric Hospital at the request of Psychiatrist, Dr. Oscar de la Nuit. Everyone suspects that Jessica has done something to a four year old girl who's gone missing and Oscar is hoping that she'll talk to him. He's hoping that helping her will help him deal with some unresolved guilt.
Oscar decides to open up to Jessica, hoping that will help her to trust him enough to tell him everything she knows. But everything she knows could make them all targets for a psychopath.
The plot of the story seemed so interesting but I feel the execution brought it down. Our main character is a psychologist and it would have been really cool to see him perform as such but I feel that the sessions and in the psychology in general from this book are lacking like it just feels as a regular person would try to counsel you given your circumstance and there was nothing professional about his involvement. Also, his backstory feels very far-fetched. The ending disappointed me a lot, like the strongest point the book had is to discover what really happened that day, and it just felt too casual that everything worked out and even when you discover they even had a video in hand and cannot believe that the police just casually overlook a tablet.
Ahhh, this one was just okay for me. The premise was entirely intriguing but the more I read, the more I felt like I was reading a different version of “The Silent Patient”. I think that if I hadn’t already read “The Silent Patient” I probably would have enjoyed this book more but there were too many similarities for me to fully enjoy this one. The writing was entirely too repetitive for me which is a huge reading pet peeve of mine - fluff and repetitiveness just aren’t for me.
A cerebral read that made me wonder if I've ever encountered a psychopath, and whether I'd know if I did!
It's hard to say too much about How to Spot a Psychopath without giving something away, so I'll try focus on how the book made me feel instead. The book was gripping, and every time I thought I had it figured out I ended up questioning it again. I especially enjoyed Jess’s under-stated, introverted nature, which I felt worked as part of the reason for the ending.
I was a little disappointed to see the next book isn’t out yet. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!
I received this arc in exchange for an honest review,
I was so very excited to read this but found that it didn’t have the oomph that I wanted in a book like this. It felt too much like The Silent Patient and that was enough to discourage me to read the entirety.
My first time reading this author and I was kept riveted. A remarkable book with good writing and interesting characters.
A missing girl, a quiet woman who’s a mom too is arrested. Jessica Green doesn’t speak up. Is she guilty or not?
Psychiatrist, Dr. Oscar de la Nuit is determined to save Jessica Green. Will his efforts pay off? Will the missing girl ever be found? Those are the questions and you’d get the answers only if you read this brilliant book.
The best part, this was the first book in a series and that means more books and Dr. Oscar de la Nuit!!
Thank you NetGalley and TBR for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The title of How to Spot a Psychopath was eye-catching enough, but as I dove into the story, I was caught in a web of intrigue. The author’s writing style reeled me in and I was forced to read on.
How to spot a psychopath was absolutely well written.
All things about psychology and sociopath and psycopath and personality disorder was fascinating and i want to read more books in this area.
I didnt like the end of it though, jess didnt deserve that ending, but i think she can fight for her life now.
Intriguing plot, but lacks depth and originality. It is very clear that the inspiration behind this book was 'The Silent Patient', which in turn made this book seem like a fanfic in my opinion. While it's not completely similar to the Silent Patient, there are HEAVY similarities between the two. I could not help but compare the two the whole time I read this.
The pace of the book is not too slow which I liked.
The characters lack depth to themselves, especially Jess. I understand the author wanted Jess to be mysterious, but she just came off as uninteresting. Her back story is written in a very dull manner. Oscar was okay, I think in a different setting or storyline he has potential to grow. The 'plot twist' at the end did nothing for me. I was not shocked and I did not care. Why? 'Cause the WHOLE book keeps going back and forth between TWO questions solely- 'Where's Mia?' and 'Why won't Jess talk?'. It becomes HEAVILY repetitive, to the point you actually stop caring about both. Another thing that becomes tiring for the reader is going back and forth between 'Then' and 'Now' timelines. That was a bit too much.
The author's writing isn't too bad, I see a lot of potential for the future, which is why I give the book three stars, instead of two. There is a lot of room for improvement in the book. If anyone wants to read this, you can give it a try but I would recommend you read Silent Patient instead. But despite that, I would definitely keep an eye on the second book in the series and see what the author has in store.
eARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.
Thank you netgalley for the opportunity of reading this early
Rating 1.5/5
I think the idea of this book is incredibly intriguing. However, I could not get through it. Sadly I'm going to have to mark this book DNF. I can see what this book is trying to accomplish. The slowly reveal facts about the narrator, that he has these deep secrets. However, they are just revealed in my opinion, sloppily. Everything is so repetitive, I feel like I've read so much, but at the same time nothing has happened. This was just not for me. I'll give it points for the idea being interesting, but I could not get past the writing.
This book was sent to me electronically for review from Netgalley. This is a book of mystery and intrigue with so many red herrings, it is difficult to reach a conclusion readily…this author has woven a tale that is difficult to put down…not really a tale but a life like story…love and romance…friendship…betrayal…abuse..depression…anxiety…paranoia…so many themes running through this book…the male protagonist is a therapist, and his story is surprising yet not…I liked this book…it was difficult to stop reading…I was eager to begin again…although the story does slow down at times, it is intriguing…don’t miss this one…enjoy…learn…
Very thrilling story following the mc Jessica Green and her psychiatrist Oscar after the disappearance of little girl. Kept you engaged and wondering what information you’ll get next. The book is very similar to The Silent Patient
A interesting take on a psychopath. There were loads of twists and turns a good read just wish there was more information about certain characters.
The novel follows main character Jessica Green, a journalist that is accused for the disappearance of four year Mia Edwards, however thoughout she’s refuses to talk. Mia disappeared while on a play-date with Zoe Green, Jessica’s daughter at her house.
So Dr. Oscar de la Nuit sets out on treating Jessica, as he believes they have some things in common and for this reason he feels that Jessica having opened up to no one since Mia's disappearance, will open up to him. While also dealing with secrets of his past, he tries to piece together the events, causes and person responsible for the disappearance of Mia.
I really enjoyed this novel told from both perspectives, it is different in that the reader is unable to vouch for the accused, thinking that perhaps Jessica is guilty. I liked the premise the way the story was written and executed. I loved the constant questions I had after every chapter, and it is in this way that I feel this novel is gripping.
Now the ending of the novel, well you will have to read and find out: who is lying, who's a psychopath, who is responsible for Mia and what is Mia's fate?
If you are a lover of psychological thrillers with a psychological drama element. This novel is for you. I hope you enjoy it too.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc.
I think the story had so much potential, really had me in the first half, but nearly three quarters into the book and it got dragging and was only playing the mystery and thrills for as long as it can. All the hype and mystery for that ending? I'm disappointed. I sure hope the books to follow would be better.
I was expecting a back and forth between Jess and her psychiatrist, but this book was so much more.
The story follows Jess, a woman who finds herself in a strange situation when a child goes missing from her house.
With plenty of suspense and mystery around who is responsible for the child's disappearance, and why Jess won't talk, I was glued from the first page.
Oscar de la Nuit's (Jess's psychiatrist) story follows parallel to Jess's, as he learns a lot about himself while trying to find out why Jess won't tell anyone what she saw. The heartfelt ending had me almost in tears, so I'm giving this one five stars!
Thanks so much for this read Netgalley!