"Perhaps some of us are born evil, and despite our best efforts we remain that way"
- The Silent Patient, Alex Michelides
About the book:
Promising to be the debut novel of the season. The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman's act of violence against her husband - and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive...
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...
Review:
The perfect catch of the book is in starting itself to reveal the heinous crime done by protagonist Alicia Berenson. It was clear to the investigating team that Alicia was the accused and the gripping theme of the book is that she does not speak. That becomes the mere mystery. It was made out from her silence that there was more to the story and behind the murder of his husband Gabrial.
The story narrated by Theo Faber is really hooking. I enjoyed the history of Theo Faber and his motivation to become Psychotherapist. A genuine lover. Any girl would long for. He is another protagonist of the book. His efforts to save Alicia and make her talk is the main thriller of the book because that reveals the line sequence of Alicia's life before killing her husband.
I read such an intriguing book after a long time. This reminded me of "The girl on the train"
Overall, I loved the writing style of the book, The sequence of incidents mentioned. The characters of the book are all independent, determined and tough. To take the situation under control no matter the consequences. All the characters were really provoking in the sense of living up to the things we ever wanted. This book is excellent from an entertainment point of view, heavy to handle because it has heart-breaks and also concludes how to be like Theo. Even after having a difficult childhood, Theo gets out so strong with the help of Ruth and also manages to save his married life. I really really loved Theo. A lot!!!
Apart from the sudden twist in the story, my part love for this book exists because of the quotes and psychological way of writing it.
Book rating- 5/5 for the love of Theo!!!
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Top reviews from India
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Reviewed in India on 24 February 2019
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Reviewed in India on 26 August 2019
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Edgy, unpredictable read!
By Deotima on 26 August 2019
Alicia Berenson shoots her husband Gabriel five times in the head and condemns herself to silence forever. She s thought to have committed the crime due her unstable mind and is judged to spend her life in a home for such accused people, called The Grove.The nature of this judgement is helped by Dr Diomedes, the eccentric incharge of the same institution not only due to Alicia s troubled previous mental health and self harm but at the crime scene she s found with her wrists slashed and with a lot of blood loss, she s hospitalised too,upon return, she paints the scene uninterrupted and indicates she be the culprit, naming the painting Alcestis!Psychotherapist Theo leaves his present job and joins The Grove. His drive is Alicia herself, who he follows since the time of the murder and who he believe s can be brought out from the silence by none other than himself.So, Theo on joining the institution, faces both adversity and help from his colleagues and boss but gets permission to be in therapy with Alicia. Does Alicia respond? Does she speak?After numerous varied attempts, digging into family past and counter questioning characters a many like Max Berenson, Jean Felix, Paul Rose and also Dr Christian West.To give it away she does speak! But not before she gives Dr Theo her diary, to reveal her troubled childhood and psychic death.Parallelly we know that Theo himself has had an abused childhood and himself has had therapy from Dr Ruth for long, however, his partner Kathy has been a breather in his life. The saddest part is, Theo discovers Kathy is cheating. He doesn't confront her, just lets the pain be in fear of loosing his most potent drug after marijuana! He instead shadows them and her partner in a crazy sadistic way!The rest is the twist, which makes this book a 5/5 🌟 read and one of my best this year!Find out for yourself,what happened when Alicia spoke?Whats the aftermath? Why she killed and whats the significance of Alcestis!Its a beautifully written thriller, with a karma twist, its unpredictable, edgy and so real life!Shows how much of a pretence life is..
By Deotima on 26 August 2019
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Reviewed in India on 7 May 2019
Looking forward to the next book by this author.
Verified Purchase
Perfect story..😍
By AKANSHA on 7 May 2019
After a very long time I've read such a thrilling book.. the story is very direct and captures you in every word. Not a word is wasted as the author wrote the story in simple but captivating words and does not wanders with subplots that usually happens when you read a psychological thriller. While reading I observed that all the pages and words are directed and focused on telling me the story of the protagonist. And every word has a meaning in this book. So do not skim through pages. I loved it. I wish all the psychological thrillers were like this.By AKANSHA on 7 May 2019
Looking forward to the next book by this author.
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Top reviews from other countries
Avid Reader
Book industry hype fools us ... again!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 August 2019Verified Purchase
DCB
I fell for the hype...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 February 2019Verified Purchase
Bluecashmere.
Certainly engrossing.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 February 2019Verified Purchase
A.M.
An okay psychological thriller - but overhyped
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 February 2019Verified Purchase
Gabe Lemkin
Abysmal Writing
Reviewed in the United States on 13 February 2019Verified Purchase