The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides (2019) Book Review

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“There’s so much pain everywhere, and we just close our eyes to it. The truth is we’re all scared. We’re terrified of each other.”

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Out of all the books we’ve been fortunate enough to review at What We Reading, few have had the acclaim behind them as The Silent Patient. Alex Michaelides has clearly delivered a tale that has gripped reviewers and readers alike, and we can certainly see why.

Blending true crime with psychological thriller, The Silent Patient had all the ingredients we look for when it comes to a shocking and memorable read. But, did the book live up to the hype? Or was it one of those strange cases of the literary world running away with something not that particularly special? Join us at What We Reading for our The Silent Patient book review to find out! 

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Date Published: 2019

Author: Alex Michaelides

Genre: Thriller, Mystery

Goodreads Rating: 4.18/5

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Premise

Alicia Berenson seemingly has a perfect life. A successful art career, a devoted and equally successful husband and a luxurious estate overlooking a park in one of London’s most affluent areas. Until one evening, when her husband returns from work and is shot five times in the face by Alicia. From that moment, Alicia refuses to speak another word. Her artwork and tale become infamous, but she is locked away from society in the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London. 

Theo Faber is a psychotherapist who becomes fascinated with Alicia and the motivations behind her crime. The book follows Theo and his attempts to uncover the truth behind Alicia and finally get her to speak again. 

What Worked

This is an incredible page-turner. There’s something about Michaelides’ writing, his incredibly enticing premise and the way in which he paces The Silent Patient that made us absolutely devour a read-through. We’ve had thrillers such as The Game or The Interview that have done a stellar job in keeping us interested in the mysteries at play being revealed, but something about Alicia’s story was so enthralling. 

And no review of The Silent Patient would be complete without talking about that twist ending. We don’t do spoilers here so we’ll spare those of you who haven’t read it yet, but it honestly stands as one of the best endings to a book we’ve read in some time. It leaves a punch that we never saw coming. In hindsight, maybe it was something we could have guessed if we had sat down and properly analysed it, but it never came across to us when we were going through it in real-time. 

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Check Out The Best Psychological Thrillers Like The Silent Patient

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What Didn’t

So, the elephant in the room. There are naturally a lot of things here that some people are going to struggle to get over. There are naturally a lot of trigger warnings to be mindful of, and the realms of mental health are obviously incredibly complex with so many facets that a singular novel is never going to be able to completely do justice to. We’re not experienced enough or qualified enough to comment on them all and, whilst we weren’t offended by them, there’s the risk some might be. 

Looking back, there are also a lot of red herrings in The Silent Patient that, even at the time, felt rather forced to make as many people as possible appear as suspects. It’s really jarring when authors make every single character appear as shady and unlikeable as possible, and it’s definitely the major gripe we would have with this book. 

Finally, Michaelides’ writing style is certainly unique compared to others we’ve read. It’s not objectively bad or immersion-breaking, but it does take some getting used to. 

Verdict

The Silent Patient is a psychological mystery-thriller that is masterfully structured and delivers a premise that keeps readers hooked until the end. The characters and shoehorning in of red herrings and certain sequences are made to look somewhat forced by the time the truth is revealed, but the nature of the twist is absolutely worth its weight in gold we’re happy giving them a pass. 

Ultimately, a good book is one that is memorable enough it leaves an imprint on a reader, and The Silent Patient more than delivers on that front. For just how immersed we were in Alicia’s story, we have to award it the highest rating our rating system allows! 

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Our Rating: 5/5

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