The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Title: The Silent Patient

Author: Alex Michaelides

My Rating: ****1/2

Type: Standalone

Genre: psychological Thriller, Suspense Thriller

 Primary Characters: Alicia Berenson & Theo Faber

Source: My purchased Kindle Copy

Buy link:  https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Patient-Alex-Michaelides/dp/1250301696

Review 

I didn’t actually have any plans to read this. I just happened to see it hanging around in the one of the book groups, took a quick peek, and thought– why not?

Alicia was found standing near a fire place in her house where her husband was tied to the chair nearby and shot in face 5 times. She refuses to speak and doesn’t give any explanation post that.  Charges are filed and she is admitted to the psychiatric unit, ‘The Grove’ in North London. She is an artist/painter and her husband was a popular fashion photographer. Tabloids and press go crazy over this case. It’s been 7 years and Alicia has still refused to speak.

As Blurb says Theo Faber is a popular criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. He thinks he is the only one who can make her speak. He has waited for an opportunity to unravel the mystery. Now he is transferred to unit “Grove”. Story starts with how he is introduced in the unit and how he tries to slowly work with her along with his personal life in the other part. Theo is married to Kathy, who is an actress.

Plot was fast paced. It has few twists and turns here and there but main plot discovery comes in the end. I personally didn’t like the writing style. It was sort of havoc, it wasn’t like you don’t understand, it’s just that I prefer different organized writing style. Even though book’s main focus is Alicia won’t speak and no one is aware of truth, its intriguing enough for us to know what exactly would have happened. This book will make you turn pages faster.

Did Alicia really kill her husband, as all the evidence suggests? If so, what was her motive? Why hasn’t she uttered a single word in all these years? This is a compelling mystery. Theo’s determination to unlock the secrets of her heart and mind slowly yields a few surprising results.

Overall, it was an entertaining and exciting read with full of intrigue, suspense, interesting characters and dynamics. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a fast-paced thriller.

Blurb as per Goodreads

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