A review by ldstan
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I waited a couple days after finishing the book to write a review, because I was initially going to give it a lower rating. The premise is fairly interesting. Alicia Berenson is accused of murdering her husband and she’s spent the last six years in a mental care facility instead of jail - she’s also unresponsive and hasn’t spoken a single word since the night of the murder. Theo Fabre is a psychotherapist who has a MULTITUDE of his own issues and is abscessed with finding out why Alicia murdered her husband.

Because of the hype that was surrounding this book, I was expecting more. I thought it had a super slow start and couldn’t find myself to care about Alicia very much. The story itself seemed like a murder mystery lead-up to certain plot twist (no spoilers here) later in the book that was kinda easy to see coming.

I actually found Theo to be an intriguing character and liked all the inner monologuing we got through him. I was more interested in his fractured mental state throughout the novel than I was at the question of why Alicia murdered her husband. It was strange to see him play the role of detective more than psychotherapist.

Overall, the hype set up expectations for me that weren’t met, but that shouldn’t dissuade anyone from picking up this book and giving it a chance - it’s definitely gotten good reviews for a reason! I wanted a thriller and this had easily followed twists and turns.
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