A book about a woman who kills her husband in a intense, passionate life changing moment.

I felt the writing was special... The careful unwinding of a story being told, I’ve never seen it done better!

I could not get into this book. I did not like the way it was written as it did not grab me. This book is not for me.

Is it a quick, easy & intriguing read? Yes

Is it over-hyped? Yes

The idea is original and promising but for me, it lacks polish, the writing is flat and cliched, the diary sequences aren't particularly convincing.

It does have some interesting twists & turns but it certainly isn't the most gripping psychological thriller out there.

A huge thanks to Orion & NetGalley for gifting me a copy in return for an open & honest review.

⭐⭐⭐

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

One night 6 shots are heard. The neighbour calls the police. Alicia is found holding a smoking gun and her husband has been shot in the head 5 times. Alicia has not spoken one word since that deadly night. Fast forward several years and she’s a patient in The Grove forensic psychology/psychiatric unit. Theo Faber has always wanted to work with Alicia to help her recover from her silence. Finally he has a job at The Grove and he can have that chance.
The book was ok and worth a read. It is very easy reading however it was always clear that something wasn’t right and that there was a lot more to Alicia’s story than meets the eye. I found it very predictable and figured out what had really happened before the end.

I found this storyline really hard going and had to come back to it a few times.

Theo Faber, is a young psychotherapist, who seizes on the opportunity to work with the patient, Alicia Berenson, in the hope of helping her, and her speech.

To say more about the plot I feel would spoil the experience of being carried along by the plot. Once you get into it, It is one of those novels that can very nearly be read at a sitting, and once past a certain point, is extremely difficult to put down.

This book has been a massive best seller and I can see why - but unfortunately I found it personally unsatisfying. The plot is clever and has many compelling twists and turns. However, I found the characters a little dull and they lacked a depth that would have made the book more interesting. I got the impression that the author found the medical detail more interesting than the characters and possibly couldn't be as technical as he would have liked. I don't think I would recommend this to a friend, but that won't be a problem - it's doing pretty well without me having to persuade anyone to buy it!

The Silent Patient is a book that I have found difficult to write a review about. Its not that the book is bad, but I have found it so difficult to write something that both justifies the book and doesn’t give away the big reveal because this IS a book that needs to be read without being aware of the final act. Think (and I apologise to anyone who hasn’t seen this film) but just think if someone had told you how good The Sixth Sense and also told you the truth about Bruce Willis’s character. (I am neither confirming nor denying that either character actually turns out to be exactly like the reveal in that film).

What I can say is that when it got to “that” bit in The Silent Patient, I literally threw down the book as if it bit me and swore out loud. Regardless of the fact that I had work the next morning and it was WAY past the time I usually go to my bed, I had to finish this book. Nothing could stop me from reading the conclusion to this explosive story.

The Silent Patient is mainly told from Theo’s point of view and his apparent professional interest in trying to get Alicia, the silent, yet infamous murderess, to open up and tell him what happened on that fateful night. As Theo slowly chips away at the impenetrable shell, you get small snippets of Alicia coming through, especially as she begins to paint again. He also attempts to find out more about Alicia by speaking to her friend/the curator of the local Art Gallery. This professional interest becomes something much deeper and a little bit darker, to the point that it seems to cross many ethical lines. This is to the point that he begins to carry out many questionable actions that not only cross a line as a therapist, but are also pretty illegal. Yet, the reasons behind this still remain a mystery… until the last third of the book. It was at this point I threw down the book and swore out loud in a state of shock. It forced me to re-evaluate everything that came before. Never has a book had this impact on me.

As for Alicia, we only get to know her through the journal that she kept. It is through these entries we see a woman, who on the outside, had the perfect marriage. Yet, we quickly see the cracks in the relationship she has with Gabriel. Though there appears to be no big event or reason for her to have killed him. It was easy to empathise with Alicia and her plight, so what happens at the end is even more poignant.

By the time I finished this book, I was emotionally exhausted and I knew that I could not read another in this genre. This was the major hint that this was a book that more than lives up to the hype

VERDICT:

The Silent Patient left me speechless by the time I had finished the book. This is a fantastic debut due to the excellent writing and character development. For a debut writer Michaelides can more than hold his own against the more established authors of the genre. I can’t praise this book enough and it should go on fans of domestic thrillers to read lists.

A good debut, but, for me at least, a pretty basic thriller. ⁣
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I’ve been looking to read ‘The Silent Patient’ since it came out earlier this year, after hearing so many rave reviews about its originality and plot-twists.⁣
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I really loved the basic premise of this book, the idea that a woman has murdered her husband (in such a horrific way) and then has not spoken a word since, and a psychotherapist decides to try and get her to speak again. However, once I was into the story there were too many issues which I found problematic:⁣
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1. Lots of red herrings - which I LOATHE in thrillers. I love a good red herring where the idea seems likely and is fully fleshed out and wrapped up at the end, yet isn’t what you thought it was/expected. However, this one had so many that were mentioned once and then never again. Meh.⁣
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2. The plot-twist? (I genuinely think there only was one, really) was so utterly obvious for me. It may be because I read more than my fair share of thrillers but nothing in this story surprised me or made me have to think too hard etc. It was all very much just putting together the pieces of a pretty mundane puzzle and I had it figured out before the book even began rounding things up.⁣
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3. The ending was unforgivable. I’m not specifically talking about the last pages (as that was pretty well deserved and satisfying) but the end segments of the book as a whole. I feel like the plot was drawn out before this and then very quickly shoved together - it felt messy, rushed and unrealistic. Not a huge fan.⁣
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Overall, I quite enjoyed this one. I think if I was a big fan of Greek mythology I would have liked it even more and if I was new to thrillers I may have loved it. I will look out for more to read from the author in the future but this one didn’t quite do it for me.

Alicia killed her husband and hasn't spoken a word since. Nobody knows why she killed him and she can't or wont say why either. It's now down to Theo Faber to try and get through to her but will she talk and if she does, what will she say.

This was an interesting read. I figured out quite a bit of the plot but still enjoyed the story. The plot is steady and switches from Theo to Alicia. Her parts are often told via her diary which added another depth to the story. The writing was good and the ending was cleverly done. It's quite a sad story in Alicia's case and her ending was not what I wanted but fitted with the story. A good thriller.

I always worry when I go to read a book with a lot of "hype" however I did enjoy this book and its well worth a read.

Wow this is a fab read - I heard so much about it and was very keen to read.
It tells the story of Alicia - living with her husband Gabriel - she appears to have a fab life - a famous painter with a studio - and then she shoots her husband - not once but 5 times and from that moment onwards she refuses to speak.
Then we meet Theo a counsellor who really wants the opportunity to work with her - to find out what happened - but will he be the one to get her to talk. It soon becomes clear that Alicia is drugged and is one of the reasons she is not communicating and so he asks for her meds to be reduced - he is playing a dangerous game as no one knows how dangerous this woman really is. His search for the truth can be very dangerous. - not just to him but the other residents and to Alicia herself.

In the opening pages of this book we meet a character called Alicia a seemingly happy married artiest who has decided to write a diary on her husbands suggestion, through these diary pages we find out very early on Alicia has killed her husband...but why? Alicia has remained silent ever since and no one at the secure hospital where she is serving her sentence can work out why and has basically given up on her seeing her as a hopeless case, that is until Forensic psychotherapist Theo Faber gets a job at the hospital, he has had some what of a fascination with Alicia and he is determined to be the one to make her speak!! we follow Alicias story through her diary entries as well as through her sessions with Theo and him trying to piece together what really happened that night. Is there more to this story than meets the eye or is Alicia just "crazy"

Overall I did enjoy this books, it is very very slow at the start with a lot of focus on Theo and his back story yet it's still oddly compelling, I found myself speeding through the pages as I wanted to learn why Alicia did what she did, I have to admit I did not see the twist coming at all and really enjoyed it. I'm not sure mental health is represented in a good light at all in this book but this is something I don't really know about however some sections left a bad taste in my mouth.

I would recommend this book if you are looking for a more slow burn of a thriller.

Loved this book. Did not see the twist coming. Very cleverly done. Will definitely look out for more by the author in the future.

Argh! I just this minute finished The Silent Patient... Woah, what a book. Who else has read it?! Anyone see the end coming? Not sure how to recover from that.

I did want to enjoy this book, I just couldn't get into it. The primes of the book seemed good but the book just didn't hold my interest.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. Very cleverly thought out plot in this thriller. Theo Faber is a troubled psychotherapist working in a secure psychiatric hospital. Alicia Berenson was charged with murdering her husband and she is the silent patient who Theo is becoming obsessed with. Great read

I have been hearing about how great this book is for months so I finally moved it up the list and I’m thrilled I did.

The story line is intriguing but the major plot twist was phenomenal! The way the author weaves this all together was nothing less than brilliant! I highly recommend this fabulous book to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller!

Unfortunately I just didn't get the hype with The Silent Patient. For me, it was a somewhat predictable story with not enough suspense. I know I am in the minority here as most people seem to love it. I thought it was slow, dull and I just like my thrillers to be faster paced and twistier/creepier.

Now I get the hype. This really is an absolutely cracking read.

Alicia has remained silent since her conviction and transfer to a locked mental health facility for the brutal murder of her husband. She, or rather her condition, has become an enigma to the professionals treating her. The problem with that is the possibility of her becoming too interesting or a challenge, which then clouds judgement.

From the very beginning Theo shows a lack of ethical judgement. Admittedly he acknowledges this when he takes certain steps in his therapy plan for Alicia, but he crosses the line way before those transgressions.

Theo wants to help Alicia move forward in her treatment and healing. Her silence has become a challenge of sorts, both professionally and psychologically, which of course in itself is quite unprofessional from a therapeutic point of view.

It's a superbly plotted and executed psychological thriller. The author presents the inadequacy of psychological science. It's flawed, because of the human factor. There is no such thing as being a blank slate for a patient or client, only the attempt to be blank and not let our own frame of references colour therapeutic treatment.

What really makes it an incredible crime read is the way the author manages to spin the truth and the lies in a way that absolutely leaves the reader thinking they know where the story is headed. Not sure they will though, which ultimately is what makes this a great read.