The Silent Patient

Alex Michaelides

Feb 2019 · Sold by Celadon Books

About this ebook

**THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**

"An unforgettable—and Hollywood-bound—new thriller... A mix of Hitchcockian suspense, Agatha Christie plotting, and Greek tragedy."
—Entertainment Weekly

The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband—and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him....

Ratings and reviews

Just finished The Silent Patient. I enjoyed it overall, but it took me quite a while to get through. The mystery kept me guessing and I changed my mind so many times about what was really going on. The author definitely knows how to keep readers suspicious of everyone. The plot twist was good and caught me by surprise, but for some reason it didn't give me that "OMG" feeling that I usually get from a great thriller. After finishing the book, I found myself questioning a lot of the characters' decisions and motivations. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that the mystery itself was more enjoyable than the actual reveal. That said, I can understand why this book is so popular. The premise is unique, the writing is easy to follow, and it kept me curious enough to finish. For me, it was a good read, just not a memorable one.

I want to give it 3.5. My experience with this book is like watching series that you are bitching about, but somehow you keep watching it till the end. The mystery in this book works well in keeping me curious till the end. And the plot twist is unexpected at all. I like it. But I am annoyed by the characters. I feel they are lacking in emotional depth, if not superficial and insincere. And when it comes to professions such as psychotherapist or psychiatrist I expect to get a more elaborative description or interpretation of mental states, not some kind of commentary and assumption typically come from non professionals. Overall it's an easy reading and quite entertaining. The storyline is slim, the diction is simple. Such a page turner though.

Interesting premise but gets so bogged down with psycho nonsense that adds nothing to the book. I called the twist ending by chapter three and wasn't surprised by it. I was however, surprised at how long the author can drag out the simplest of moments that make each chapter seem bloated. Wasted potential, trim the fat.

About the author

Alex Michaelides was born and raised in Cyprus. He has an M.A. in English Literature from Trinity College, Cambridge University, and an M.A. in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. The Silent Patient was his first novel and debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It spent more than a year on the New York Times bestseller list and is sold in a record-breaking 50 countries. His second novel, The Maidens, was an instant New York Times bestseller and garnered rave reviews from The Guardian, Esquire, Entertainment Weekly, and more. After living in London for many years, Alex has recently moved back to his birthplace, Cyprus.