Day: March 19, 2020

The Silent Patient

The Silent Patient
Author: Alex Michaelides
Narrators:
Jack Hawkins

Louise Brealey
Published: February 5, 2019
Audiobook

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: February 24- March 3, 2020
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars

Book Description:

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….

Jessica’s Review:

I had heard good things about The Silent Patient and wanted to give it a read and lucky me: my library offered it on audio! So I grabbed it!

This one has an intriguing premise and we have two narrators in this novel:  Theo Faber and also Alicia via her diary.  I honestly did not care about Theo’s life, I wanted to know what was going on with Alicia. Theo’s story did show how imperfect people can be (yes, even therapists have issues!) which admittedly did make him slightly more interesting.

Unfortunately, I cannot say much more as it would involve spoilers, but when it came time for ‘the big twist’ and a certain something that the said person did, I thought: “You sick *uck!”  OMG, this book made me curse and I am not one to curse like that!  This twist is what saved the novel for me and made it worth the read. 

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK