Author: Alex Michaelides
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Rating: 3 out of 5
Pages: 336
Date Started: 19 March 2023
Date Finished: 26 March 2023
The Silent Patient was also recommended by Goodreads and a couple of my friends. The storyline sounded interesting and I had lost a couple of chances to read it earlier! And here I am, having completed it in March of 2023!
Excerpt: (from Goodreads) - 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....
My Review:
The book began on a promising note, immediately capturing my interest and holding my attention throughout. I particularly admired the author's approach of keeping the cast of characters minimal and focusing on the core narrative. This decision eliminated any unnecessary subplots or characters that can sometimes detract from a story.
However, while the book was compelling, I couldn't help but feel that it was longer than required. Despite its length, the ending managed to catch me by surprise, which is often a hallmark of a good thriller. Nevertheless, it's a common challenge with many thrillers that the ending might not always live up to the buildup, and this book was no exception.
In the initial stages, I was drawn into the mystery surrounding Alicia Berenson's crime, eager to uncover the reason behind her actions. However, as the story progressed with its limited cast of characters, I began to feel somewhat lost in the narrative, struggling to see where it was leading. The twist in the story was indeed difficult to anticipate, which added to its allure, but the final outcome left me somewhat unimpressed.
In summary, this book is a solid choice for those who enjoy a well-crafted mystery, with its tight focus on characters and plot. It manages to keep you engaged, but be prepared for an ending that may not fully satisfy your expectations.
Favorite lines from the book:
Mental illness is precisely about a lack of this kind of integration - we end up losing contact with unacceptable parts of ourselves.
Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later, in uglier ways. - Sigmond Freud
Rage is a powerful communication.
About love. About how we often mistake love for fireworks - for drama and dysfunction. But real love is very quiet, very still. It's boring, if seen from the perspective of high drama. Love is deep and calm - and constant.
One of the hardest things to admit is that we weren't loved when we needed it most. It's a terrible feeling, the pain of not being loved.
Remember, love that doesn't include honesty doesn't deserve to be called love.
Sometimes it takes courage, you know, and a long time, to be honest.
I suppose what scares me is giving in to the unknown.
