The Silent Patient.

 

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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.... 

 

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Haunting. 

I should know. . I have heard people craving about The Silent Patient for a while. I wanted to read it but kept putting it off due to the other books on my TBR pile. Once I started reading, I wished that I had read it sooner. I love thrillers, and I love psychological thrillers even more. I have read a lot of thrillers throughout my life, and few took me by surprise. I should have expected it, primarily based on the book title: The Silent Patient , and yet it was the most unexpected book I have read. I loved that the book was written from the psychotherapist's point of view, giving a different perspective to the story. I felt as if I was in Theo's head, wondering about Alicia and why she decided to murder her husband. Like in a book, you won't get the story out of your mind. I liked how the book was written from the perspective of a psychotherapist, which provided a different perspective on the story. I imagined myself in Theo's head, wondering about Alicia and why she chose to murder her husband.

I wasn't sure what it was about Theo, but I had a feeling there was more to the story; something he wasn't telling me. Alicia's journal and what she told Theo about what happened were two separate stories. As a reader, I attempted to deduce the truth. Like Theo, I wondered what was causing her silence; was it guilt or something else? I liked how Alicia's journal entries were included in the book; it allowed the reader to connect with her more and gain insight into her mind. You can't help but wonder what the character is thinking when they're silent. Despite everything I'd learned in the book, I didn't see that coming.

  I wasn’t sure about that ending. It didn’t feel like a complete end, that there should have been more. I wondered what the author had in mind when he wrote that ending. I’m still wondering what happened with Theo and Alicia. The Silent Patient is the second book that I had read by Alex Michaelides , but it’s my favorite one. I would highly recommend it to any thriller fans.