THE SILENT PATIENT BY ALEX MICHAELIDES

The Silent Patient is Alex Michaelides debut novel and it's one I won't forget! What a thrilling ride! Shock after shock, twists and turns you won't see coming, and so much intrigue is what pushes this novel into a league of it's own.

Rating: ★★★★
​Release Date: February 5, 2019
Genre: Thriller. Suspense. 
Series: None. Standalone. 
Pages: 297 pages
Format: Hardcover. Purchased. ​

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....

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Release Date: February 5, 2019
Genre: Psychological Thriller & Mystery
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars

The Silent Patient is Alex Michaelides debut novel and it's one I won't forget! What a thrilling ride! Shock after shock, twists and turns you won't see coming, and so much intrigue is what pushes this novel into a league of it's own. It's books like this that make me CRAVE thrillers and I couldn't be more excited about it. I was consumed by this story. I was frantically flipping the pages because I needed to see where the author was going to take the story. And I was so glued to it that I finished it within a day. This my friends is what I am always looking for in a psychological thriller and Alex hit the nail on every single head. 

I think one of the main reasons I felt so consumed by this novel is because there is a lot of psychological talk. The story deals with a woman who is currently residing in a mental heath ward because she killed her husband and stopped speaking immediately after. There's a reason for her silence of course (and you'll have to read it to find out) but his explanation and use of mental health tools is exceptional. I studied psychology in school and graduated with a masters degree in it so I found all this stuff extremely interesting. Even more, the author KNOWS his stuff! This type of story would have fell to the wayside if the author didn't do his work in understanding mental health issues and treatments so I commend him for the work he put into it. This book basically proves why it is so important that authors must do research on the topics they are using in order for the book to be believable. 

In addition to that, this is definitely one of those novels that has a amazing twist at the end. I had my suspicions of course (which ultimately were correct) but the execution was flawless. Alex creates a story where readers need to slowly shuffle through the facts- something I found very original. Honestly, this book is truly one of a kind all around and I think many readers will agree that this is quite the book!

You may be wondering why I gave the book 4/5 stars if I loved it so much. I suppose my main reason is because I DID figure out the tangled mystery before it was revealed. I honestly had my suspicions from the beginning and they panned out to be correct so it took away from my own personal shock when it was revealed at the end. Also, this stunning novel ended a tiny bit too fast and I would have liked more of a resolution. Other than these two things though I absolutely loved this one. I will be looking for many of his upcoming novels based on this one.

★★★★