The Silent Patient

Alex Michaelides

4.5/5

Fiction: Thriller, Murder Mystery

The silent patient book pic

Taut psychological murder mystery - great summer read!

With each chapter of The Silent Patient, Alex Michaelides winds up this thriller ever so tightly. The question then about such books is how that energy is finally released—in a fizzled out whimper or explosive decompression. The Silent Patient fortunately lives up to its promise and Mr. Michaelides provides a stunning climax making my one full day investment in reading this book entirely worthwhile.

Murder amidst silence, therapy and greek tragedy

Within the first ten pages you come to know that Alicia Berenson, an artist, is found trying to kill herself next to her murdered husband. She doesn’t say a word after that event; her only communication is a single painting with the word Alcestis—a reference to one of Euripides lesser known tragedies. Alicia is eventually convicted and sentenced to time at a secure psychiatric facility. The book is narrated by Theo Faber, a psychiatrist who claims to have a special interest in this case and particularly suited to treating her. He finds himself treating Alicia, six years after the murder. Theo’s narrative of this treatment alternates with entries from Alicia’s diary which indicates she was devoted to her husband.  

Murder, Psychotherapy, and the Greek tragedy Alcestis form the backdrop against which this thriller is set. Agatha Christie, Alice Miller (The drama of being a child) and Stephen Fry (Mythos) have admittedly been Mr. Michaelides’ influences for this book.

Mind Blowing Ending

Of course, we all want to know what happened on that fateful night. Is Alicia the murderer? Why did she do it? And why does she stop talking? If she didn’t kill her husband, who did? And why? There are several plausible suspects, and several red herrings thrown in as is customary of the genre. 

Everything is well tied together by the end for a staggering climax! A colossal story twist, which in all honesty, I did not anticipate. And going by most reviews, few readers did, this Kirkus reviewer being a ‘savvy exception’

We’re all crazy, just in different ways.

Great read overall with minor nits

As you can tell, I enjoyed this book—a deep and dark story, cleverly written in clear unassuming prose. I found several aspects of psychotherapy revealing and insightful. If I had to pick a problem with it, it’s Alicia’s diary. It often reads more like a story narration with dialogues/exchanges. Who writes a journal like that? *MINOR SPOILER AHEAD* I had a similar peeve with Ruth Ware’s Turn of the Key. This book has the additional similarity in the narrator not being who they seemingly are. *SPOILER END*

But that is a minor flaw in an otherwise excellently written story that grips you from the beginning to the end—the classic page turner.

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6 thoughts on “The Silent Patient”

  1. Great review! You make really good points, and while we had different reactions to the book, I can appreciate your point of view. Also, I agree about the diary (and about diaries in fiction in general) — it’s a useful plot device, but feels more like narration than an actual diary.

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