09 April 2021

The Silent Patient

 

By Alex Michaelides
Psychological Thriller

My Review


Talented artist Alicia Berenson hasn't spoken since shooting her husband in the face five times. Now a patient at The Grove secure forensic unit in North London, she comes into contact with psychotherapist Theo Faber. Theo is determined to make progress where others have failed and begins to investigate Alicia's past. Her case soon overshadows all else as Theo becomes obsessed with helping her to speak once again.

I'd heard so many good things about The Silent Patient that I had to see what all the fuss was about. Pleasantly surprising with a fresh writing style, it wasn't quite what I had expected. However, I really enjoyed it. Although it wasn't a particularly pacey book, it held my interest and didn't let go. Try as I might, I just couldn't figure out what direction it was taking until close to the end.

It was an impressive character-driven novel which left me deep in thought for some considerable time afterwards.

Book Source: Purchased copy
My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Orion (12th Dec 2019)
ISBN-13: 978-1409181637

The Blurb


Only she knows what happened.
Only I can make her speak.

I love him so totally, completely, sometimes it threatens to overwhelm me.
Sometimes I think-
No. I won't write about that.

ALICIA
Alicia Berenson writes a diary as a release, an outlet - and to prove to her beloved husband that everything is fine. She can't bear the thought of worrying Gabriel, or causing him pain.

Until, late one evening, Alicia shoots Gabriel five times and then never speaks another word.

THEO
Forensic psychotherapist Theo Faber is convinced he can successfully treat Alicia, where all others have failed. Obsessed with investigating her crime, his discoveries suggest Alicia's silence goes far deeper than he first thought.

And if she speaks, would he want to hear the truth?

The Author



Alex Michaelides was born and raised in Cyprus. He has an MA in English Literature from Trinity College, Cambridge University, and an MA in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. 

The Silent Patient was his first novel, and was the biggest selling debut in the world in 2019. It spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list and sold in a record-breaking 49 countries. 

Alex lives in London.

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