vaporvox 's review for:

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

4.75

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Alex Michaelides' The Silent Patient definitely has the qualities of being a modern classic. It's everywhere you look as a reader - book stores, online shops, libraries, thrift shops, you name it. Wherever you look, you're bound to find a copy of this novel. The novel itself is a very sad and mysterious story that compels you with a somewhat-relatable protagonist and keeps you drawn in as the mystery of what happened to Alicia (and why she won't speak) hits several twists and turns and new sources. The big twist at the end is what really does it for me. Up until the chapter where it occurs, I never would have expected the novel to take the direction it took. I was absolutely floored by the end result. The way it weaves the twist into the story helps the novel perfectly transition from murder mystery to psychological thriller. The only thing about the novel that I wasn't a fan of was how some of the characters are written - the narrator included. For being a psychotherapist, the narrator really makes some genuinely stupid choices that frustrate more than compel me to keep reading. Otherwise, the novel has a great twist and knows how to pull you in for a mind-blowing mystery. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit

Forced inst.: Alicia is kept in a psychiatric ward against her will for most of the novel; Gaslighting:

In the big twist, it turns out that the main character has been gaslighting Alicia this entire time by trying to help her and playing off that he was the individual who caused her issues.

; Infidelity: The main character's wife regularly cheats on him with another man, which he finds out through an open webchat; Mental illness: Alicia is in a psych ward due to having unpredictable, violent tendencies and the refusal to speak; Suicide attempt: Alicia has tried to commit suicide multiple times in the past; Toxic relationship: Several characters have toxic relationships within the boundaries of their relationships and friendships. Death/Murder: The main cause of the novel's plotline is a murder. Domestic abuse: Max Berenson is assumed to threaten and beat his wife; Drug Use: The main character regularly uses marijuana for his problems. Alicia is kept heavily drugged all the time by staff to reduce her violent tendencies.

Near the end of the novel, Alicia is drugged to the point of overdose on morphine, to the point where her respiratory system gives up and they have to induce a coma.

; Gun violence: Gabriel (Alicia's husband) is shot by her 5 times near the beginning of the story; Injury/injury detail: Alicia at one point claws at the main characters face and arms. Alicia also tries to claw the eye out of another psychiatric patient for ruining her new painting; Sexual content: Alicia writes in her journal about making love to Gabriel multiple times. The main character speaks about his wife in much the same way. The main character catches his wife sleeping with another man in a bush outdoors, fairly graphic description; Sexual assault: It is assumed that Max Berenson tried to force himself upon Alicia at least once; Stalking: The main character stalks his wife and/or her affair regularly; Vomit: The main character vomits when he finds out his wife is cheating on him.