The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Title: The Silent Patient

Author: Alex Michaelides

Release Date: February 5, 2019

Length: 325 pages

Genre: Mystery/ Thriller

Goodreads II Amazon

****My Review****

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

The time has finally come for me to discover what all that hype is about. You have probably read this book by now, haven’t you?

I had planned to read this one before, but somehow between my bottomless TBR, not enough time, three children, and a bunch of responsibilities, I couldn’t make it.
And believe me, not a day goes by that I don’t see it shared at least a few times in reading groups or forums.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides is a book that is highly recommended and praised by all readers. People who enjoy good psychological thrillers are saying amazing things about this book. And the books that are praised so much scare me. Highly rated books come with huge expectations and can often be the biggest disappointments.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides is the story of a famous painter, who lives a seemingly perfect life. Something that others can only dream of, is her everyday life. A doting husband, grandiose house, and luxurious life are part of her life, what more is needed for happiness?

One terrible evening, our heroine Alicia shoots her husband five times, and this is where her silence begins. Not a word, not a sound, it seems her mouth was sealed after the murder. The mystery begins, bringing countless questions and not a single answer. What really happened that night?

The public’s imagination is culminating, the price of her paintings is skyrocketing, and the silent patient is hidden from everyone in a psychiatric ward in London.

Without any doubt, she is a real enigma for everyone, especially psychiatrists who eagerly await the opportunity to work with her. Perhaps they are the ones who will restore the voice of the silent patient.
The voice of truth. The key to all mysteries. Is that even possible?

Theo Faber is the lucky psychiatrist who will get the opportunity to work with her. His persistence surprises us all. His motives are unknown. But will Theo manage to uncover the truth?

Although not a relatively new book, The Silent Patient has recently received lots of positive comments and high ratings. Somehow we see this book in the recommendation sections every day. Since I was thirsty for a good thriller, I was not immune to the recommendations. Therefore I grabbed it at the first free moment. Not soon enough, of course!

I should say in advance that I have read about this book on several occasions that it has a completely unexpected ending, so maybe that’s why I overloaded my brain circuits from the very beginning to guess the possible scenario.
And I must admit that I did not foresee the end. But there were some elements that I sensed, so certain parts of the unfolding did not surprise me.

I liked how the characters were developed, complex, and with a complete background. Readers are also familiar with their past, so their actions made sense and were explained. Alternating between the two perspectives was also brilliantly done, as it gave us insight into the thoughts of the two characters.

Undoubtedly, this story is full of complexity that will delight you from the very beginning. Sadness, betrayals, pain, and paranoia are all masterfully intertwined and seasoned with shocking twists that will hold your attention until the very end.

The author quite skilfully creates an intriguing story with finely thought-out dialogue with varying short and long paragraphs. The use of short and long chapters to create interesting pacing for this work also helped in keeping the suspense on a high level.

The beginning dominates with a very typical clinically cold atmosphere as the cover itself hints at it. But how the story progressed to one of pain and loss was marvelous to read. Neither too fast, nor too slow, the story has just the right and steady pace.

There were some things in the story that I didn’t like, and I also expected that the whole book would grab my attention a little more. Not that I was bored, but I had no problem leaving the book. This is probably always the case after reading many positive comments and recommendations – expectations are very high.

If you are interested in reading an intriguing dark tale of murder, love, and revenge, then The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides is a great choice for you. An intriguing story, shocking twists, and well-built characters are just some of the elements that will keep your attention until the very end.