Book Review - THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides

Title: The Silent Patient
Author: Alex Michaelides
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Release Date: February 5, 2019

About the Book:

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....

Buy Links: Amazon,  Barnes and Noble

My Review:

The Silent Patient certainly has received mixed reviews, but there is definitely a reason this novel has hit the Bestseller list!  I was amazingly surprised to discover that this was Alex Michaelides' debut novel.  Written like a pro!

This novel is one of those edgy thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat and sucks you in.  I must admit that part way through the book I was beginning to get a wee bit bored, thinking this was more of a memoir written by the psychotherapist.  But then... WHAM!  I'm not giving away any spoilers but I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.  Interesting characters and big twists.  A must-read for fans of psychological thrillers.

My Rating:

About the Author:

Alex Michaelides was born in Cyprus to a Greek-Cypriot father and English mother. He has a MA in English Literature from Cambridge University and a MFA in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. The Silent Patient is his first novel.