The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides Review

Title: The Silent Patient

Author: Alex Michaelides

Age Group: Adult

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Series: Standalone

Star Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

                I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book in a contest by Bookish, thanks for sending me a free copy!

                Recently, I started alternating my library books with books I’ve been sent by publishers (and the stack keeps growing by the day). I wasn’t quite sure where to start, but I’ve heard so many good things about The Silent Patient that I decided to go with that. Thrillers and mysteries as a genre are iffy with me; sometimes I’m blown away by what I’ve read and other times I can figure it out within the first hundred pages. But The Silent Patient did not disappoint; Alex Michaelides pens a cutthroat, breakneck thriller that had me scratching my head, screaming in confusion, and frantically flipping pages until the crazy, twisted ending! The book I’d been reading before just was not holding my attention, so I moved on to this, and read it in two and a half days! I finished it on Sunday night, and have been wrestling with my feelings ever since. Michaelides has cemented himself as one of the debut thriller writers to watch, and I can’t wait to see what he has in store next!

                Alicia Berenson has a life most people would envy. She has a prominent career as a painter, a beautiful home, a loving husband, Gabriel, who is a highly sought-after fashion photographer. But that life is torn to pieces when Alicia shoots Gabriel, and has not spoken a word since. Known now for entirely different reasons, Alicia refuses to speak. Locked up in a psych ward, she meets criminal psychoanalyst, Theo Faber. He is determined to solve the mystery of why Alicia snapped, even as their lives begin to dangerously intertwine. But as Theo begins to piece the truth out of the puzzle that is Alicia, he realizes that solving this mystery must just consume him totally…

                This book was a stunner, an absolute knockout. I wasn’t sure what to expect, honestly. But the book I’d tried to read before it just was not working for me at all; I was over a hundred pages in and I just wasn’t feeling it. So, I decided to get started on my gigantic review copy stack, and chose The Silent Patient. The pacing was breakneck, and I was immediately enthralled by the unusual format. The narrative went back and forth between entries from Alicia’s diary and Theo’s first-person as he forces his way into Alicia’s life, for reasons unknown. I devoured this book in less than three days, and I was absolutely captivated. I couldn’t put it down. Theo’s voice was so distinctive and creepy, but I loved it! All of the twists and turns had me dealing with literary whiplash, and I was constantly guessing who was the bad guy. And that ending! It was amazing! It blew me away; I would’ve reviewed it sooner, but I needed some time to process everything. The Silent Patient has become one of my favorite books of 2019, and I can’t wait for what Alex Michaelides has in store next! The bottom line: Disquieting, creepy, and shocking, I loved The Silent Patient, it has become one of my favorite books of 2019! Next on deck: Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts!