Audio Book Review: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Genre: Adult Fiction/Audio Book

Pub. Date: February 5, 2019

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Source: Personal Copy

Other Books By Author: The Fury

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

 

 

Goodreads says, "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...."

 

 

The story starts with Alicia Berenson, a painter, who shot her husband in the face (for reasons we aren't sure of) and then stopped talking altogether. Her husband, Gabriel, a photographer, doesn't exactly seem like someone who raises too many red flags. Theo Faber, a psychoanalyst, takes a job at Alicia's institution for the sole purpose of interacting with Alicia as he thinks he can get her to talk. The story is narrated through Theo's experiences and point of view as well as Alicia's diary entries. Slowly, readers piece things together, but start to wonder if Theo is a reliable narrator and what his motives are. Alex Michaelides's debut, The Silent Patient, is part psychological thriller, part detective novel, and will keep readers guessing.
 
Immediately, I was curious as to why Alicia, a seemingly normal person, committed such a horrific crime and why she is now silent, hence the title of the story. I liked learning more about her through her diary entries, and slowly, a few suspicions arose once we got to understand her relationship with Gabriel, as well as others. Theo was also a questionable narrator in that the more readers learn about him, the more his motives are questioned. His relationship with his wife, Kathy, made him seem unstable more often than not, and both he and Alicia have had childhood trauma that impacts their adult lives. 
 
I will say that Alicia's diary was a nice touch in The Silent Patient; however, the details in the diary made it seem almost unbelievable, as no one would write a diary entry including such specific dialogue. After I got past that, I started to appreciate the novel more and could even guess one of the plot twists coming up.  
 
I have enjoyed Michaelides's The Fury, and I am glad I finally listened to his debut novel, The Silent Patient, as I know many readers have enjoyed it. The dual narration was outstanding and a perfect binge-worthy audiobook. 
 
Let me know in the comments if you are a fan of Alex Michaelides and your thoughts on The Silent Patient.