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.

This was one HELL of a thriller!

I had my reservations at the start of this. I couldn’t connect with the main characters and wasn’t too fond of them either. As for the way it was written, it took a while for me to get used to the slightly clinical way it was told.

But Holy Batman! I am here and I am ready to scream from the rooftops about the twist in this book! I saw it 5 seconds before it happened and my level of excitement was on another level. These are the types of twists I love and adore above anything else in a thriller. One that leaves me simultaneously gobsmacked and squealing with glee at the same time. This twist was smart and one that you don’t see very often.

This book was, in the end, a solid 10/10 and if you’re looking for a thriller to sink your teeth into then this one has got everything you need in spades.

I received this book from NetGalley and am pleased to be able to share my review as follows:

I thoroughly enjoyed this compelling psychological thriller.

The writing style is just perfect for me - well written and straight to the point without the long drawn-out descriptive pages that often find their way into books. This was written to be an experience where you are carried along with the plot so much so that it could be read in a single sitting. I found it very difficult to put it down and even when I did I was constantly thinking about the characters.

I would recommend this book without hesitation.

So I feel like at the beginning of the year you couldn’t escape The Silent Patient. I know it shouldn’t but I’m always a little wary of this type of novel, just because I find them very hit or miss but with this novel, I found my worries were unwarranted. Now, I'm just sorry it took me so long to read this novel!

The Silent Patient is a psychological thriller at its best, there’s plenty of mystery, intrigue and lots of suspense. I also enjoyed that it wasn’t a slow burn type of novel, you’re dropped straight into the good stuff, with a mix of first person perspective and diary entries.

Both Theo and Alicia are so well drawn, they felt almost real. I enjoyed getting inside Theo’s head, seeing his troubled past and the way his obsession with Alicia grows until...well you’ll just have to read the book to find out!
I don’t know whether this is being made into a movie or TV show but someone needs to get on that asap!

Unfortunately, I kind of figured out the ending but I still enjoyed it as it worked perfectly for the story.

The Silent Patient is a fraught, tension packed thriller, that is a must read! I can’t wait to see what Alex Michaelides comes up with next!

Wow! This is a brilliant modern thriller. It's full of intrigue and discovery. There is a fantastic twist at the end, which unusually for me I didn't see coming.

A great debut thriller that puts a different spin on the psychological thriller genre. A definite must-read.

ALICIA
Alicia Berenson writes a diary as a release, an outlet - and to prove to her beloved husband that everything is fine. She can't bear the thought of worrying Gabriel, or causing him pain.

Until, late one evening, Alicia shoots Gabriel five times and then never speaks another word.

THEO
Forensic psychotherapist Theo Faber is convinced he can successfully treat Alicia, where all others have failed. Obsessed with investigating her crime, his discoveries suggest Alicia's silence goes far deeper than he first thought.

And if she speaks, would he want to hear the truth?

twisty, Turns, Dark and Clever, this hooked me from the beginning and I didn't want to put it down, amazing!

Absolutely loved this book, it builds the plot so nicely bit by bit. Did she or didn’t she?
You feel that you can almost work out the plot line and then it slips from your grasp.. Very well written and it is a book you will not want to put down. At the heart of it is love and trust, but what happens when trust is broken? Read it and find out!
Thank you #netgalleythesilentpatient

Please think of me when the next book from this author is written!

When I started this book I was convinced I'd read it before. I hadn't! It started similarly to something else but soon took on its own identity. A beautifully written thriller. I frequently guess the twist in a tale despite the cover telling me that I won't... this time I really didn't. A great debut novel from Alex Michaelides.

An excellent psychological thriller.Its always a delight to read a book which flows well.This is definitely a page-turner.I didn't love the end of the book as much as the rest of it,but overall very good.An author to watch

When Alicia is found with her wrists slashed and a gun at her feet over her husband's dead body it seems as though it's an open and shut case. Alicia remains mute and is sent to an institution where she meets Theo. Theo is fascinated with the story and is hellbent on trying to help Alicia and uncover the truth about that fateful night.
A dark troubling story with a fantastic twist that had me nearly falling of my chair. I give this book 4 stars.

Massive 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
WOW!
This novel is top of this years reads instantly with those fabulous in depth storylines.

It has characters you connect with and want to see recover from their psychological tragedies.

A very cleverly written novel which for me is definitely up there with some of the top Psychological Thrillers I’ve read.

That twist I did not see coming at all! Amazing!! X

A gripping story that had me on the edge of my seat throughout. Very cleverly written, did not see that end coming!

I loved reading this book, I couldn't read it quick enough as I just needed to find out what had happened. and WOW - I did not see the ending coming AT ALL. usually I have books sussed out pretty quickly but with this I had no clue and I was definitely shocked when the ending came. Well written and had me hooked from the beginning.

Well worth a read and I don't want to give any spoilers but its brilliant!

The Silent Patient is a gripping psycological thriller. At it’s heart is Theo Faber, obsessed with the crime of a young artist Alicia Berenson who is imprisoned in a secure psychiatric ward after being convicted of murdering her husbans. Alicia has not spoken in the six years since the murder and has never revealed what happened.

When Theo has the opportinity to join the unit as a psychiatrist he believes this is his chance to do what no-one else has managed and get Alicia to talk and reveal the story behind her crime.

This was a very interesting plot and very cleverly played out, hooking the reader in from the start. Theo himself is very mysterious and you become invested in finding out his story and whether he can crack this case.

The ending does not disappointment, and there some moments where you find yourself gasping in surprise. I can’t wait to see what will come next from this author!
The Silent Patient Book Cover

The twist is a killer so let me just put that one out there first....excellent book and I gobbled it up in one sitting and defo wanted pudding too!

So Alicia is accused of murdering her husband and gets sent to a mental institution called The Grove, her therapist Theo Faber begins to counsel her. And he’s basically obsessed with Alicia wants to figure out why she killed her husband.

Some of the book is made up of Alicia’s diary entries and so you get to see what kind of person she was and is today. Did she shoot her husband? If so why?

You’ll have to read it to find out haha
Bloody great read I was gutted when I’d read the last page, and the twist as I’ve said is a killer and I had no chance of seeing it coming!

Totally loved it, 5 stars all the way for me!

Wow what a thriller! Theo is determined to work with Alicia 'the silent patient' why? and why is she silent. Neither is quite what they seem, especially Theo who seems to be tracking her family history relentlessly. His own background isn't all that solid. Can they help each other or is this a disaster in the making. Just when you think you may have sussed the answers there is a twist that is completely unexpected.............read on

Wow... a truly unexpected end. Kept me in suspense from beginning to end.. a real page turner! Would highly recommend

What an weirdly entertaining book. I almost gave up, because I felt lost, but I am very glad I persisted. When the bad guy was revealed towards the end, a lot of the book made sense. The book was well written and recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Orion for providing me an ARC copy of this book that I freely chose to review.
Being a doctor (although I’d always had the same interest, even before studying Medicine), I’m always intrigued by books with the word “patient” (or doctor, hospital, or similar healthcare-related terms) in the title. Being a psychiatrist and having worked in forensic psychiatry in the UK, the description of this book seemed right up my alley. (And yes, in case you’re curious, I have treated patients who presented as temporarily mute, more than once, although not in circumstances quite as shocking as those in the book). So I requested this book and it went into my very long list of books to read and review. Then, I started seeing great reviews, recommendations, etc., and grew curious, to the point where it jumped up to the top of my list.
Now, it’s quite difficult to review this book without revealing any spoilers, and this is a book where the twists in the plot are quite important, so I won’t be able to say much, as I’m sure many people will enjoy it and I don’t want to ruin it for them.
What can I tell you? What did I think? Well, I know this is a work of fiction, rather than a treatise in psychiatry or psychotherapy. (Theo Farber, one of the main characters, is a psychotherapist, a psychologist by training, not a medical doctor and, let’s say, he is not too enamoured with psychiatrists, anyway). But still, having work experience in high secure units in the UK, and also in low and medium secure units, both NHS and private, I couldn’t help but find so many things wrong with the characterisation of the professionals involved in the care of the other main character, Alice Berenson —the silent patient of the title— and also with the procedures followed and the way the unit is run, that it shattered my suspension of disbelief and made the rest of the book difficult to judge in its own right, for me. Despite the great reviews the book has had, I’ve noticed some other people have also had issues with the characterization of the therapist and with other details of the novel, so if you are somebody who likes mysteries and thrillers to be realistic and tight when it comes to details, I’d say you should give it a miss.
The actual mystery side of the story… Well, as I said there are twists, more than one, red herrings, and some people have described it as original. Others, not so much. How well the twists work depends on how much you engage not only with the story, but also with the main characters. The story is narrated from two points-of-view, both in the first person, one the therapist’s, and one the patient’s, although, as must be evident from the title, the patient mostly does not talk, and what we get are entries from her diary, the diary she wrote before the events that landed her in the psychiatric unit. I like unreliable narrators, and they can work very well for mysteries, indeed. Here we have two. If Alice might be seen as an unreliable narrator due to her mental state, Theo seems to be very good at not applying his therapeutic insights (such as they are, but I’ve already said my piece on that and won’t insist) to himself and his own situation. But, I’m sure you won’t be surprised if I tell you that things are not quite as straightforward as they seem, even if you suspect they are far from straightforward.
My inkling is that people who don’t read tonnes of thrillers or mysteries are likely to enjoy this book more than people who mostly read thrillers and are used to smelling a rat from afar. When I read the negative reviews I saw that some readers felt cheated by the twist (and yes, I understand that point of view, although, as I said, I had other issues with the book); there were complains about not liking any of the characters (other than the two main characters, none of the rest are drawn in much detail, I agree); some readers found the descriptions of therapies and the use of psychotherapeutic terms over the top (too much telling and not enough showing, and some complained they slowed the action); some reviewers objected to the use of swear-words (as this was mostly by one of the patients, from personal experience I’d say that bit is not unrealistic); and also some comments about a somewhat prejudiced depiction of a couple of characters (the Greek professor running the clinic comes out of it much better than the Turkish patient, it’s true). I mention those as a warning for people who are thinking about reading it and the concerns might resonate with them.
After reading the whole book, and with the caveats I’ve mentioned, personally, I was intrigued by the reference to a play by Euripides I hadn’t heard about, Alcestis, and I want to explore it further. I also enjoyed the references to Alice’s paintings and her creative process.
If you aren’t familiar with psychiatric care (particularly forensic psychiatric care in the UK), don’t regularly read tonnes of mysteries, and prefer books with enticing plots rather than those focused on a strong and psychologically consistent depiction of, you are likely to enjoy this book. Otherwise, my recommendation would be to check a sample of the book and see if it hooks you and you feel compelled to keep reading.