The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

For my next read, I found myself craving a fast-paced mystery story. I don't often pick up books from that genre, but when I do, I generally have a good time with them. I decided to try Alex Michaelides' The Silent Patient after seeing it nominated in both the "Best Mystery & Thriller" and "Best Debut Novel" categories of the Goodreads Choice Awards this year. I started my reading hoping to be swept away in an engaging story, and happily, I wasn't disappointed.

The plot follows Dr. Theo Faber, a criminal psychotherapist. At the start of the novel, he accepts a new job in the psychiatric ward of a hospital. Among his new patients is the infamous Alicia Berenson, a famous artist convicted of the gruesome murder of her husband. She shot him five times in the face one night six years ago and then went silent. She hasn't spoken a single word since, and no one has been able to determine why she did it. Her silence intrigues Theo, and he immediately sets out to try and get her talking. He quickly become infatuated with Alicia's case, and, unable to help himself, he begins to go beyond the bounds of normal therapy. He starts seeking out friends and family members from Alicia's past and asking questions. He soon discovers that there is more going on with his silent patient than mental illness, and solving the mystery of her crime reveals many secrets that others would prefer to stay buried.

This novel was definitely a page-turner, and a big part of its success was Michaelides' structure. Interspersed with Theo's narration are bits and pieces of Alicia's diary, which paint a very different picture of events than the version Theo obtains from his own investigations and the official record of events. As Alicia is clearly an unreliable narrator, this push and pull between conflicting pieces of information keeps the reader guessing throughout the story. It's tough to know how much of Alicia's sections to believe, as she is obviously suffering from some form of mental illness, but everyone Theo interviews about her is so shady that it feels unwise to discount what she says entirely. Eventually, the diary entries and Theo's narration collide, with pretty surprising results.

The characters in the novel were suitably developed as well, with both Theo and Alicia having multiple layers to their personalities that are revealed over time. Interestingly, neither of them are particularly likable or sympathetic, but their less-likable aspects are what drive the plot of the story, so this didn't bother me while reading. If Theo wasn't inappropriate and kind of creepy, and if Alicia wasn't dramatic and emotionally damaged, the story couldn't exist.This is not a "nice" story, thus, the characters aren't particularly nice people. The minor characters are nothing special, but they serve their purpose and are about what you would expect in a mystery/suspense novel.

Where the story fell a bit flat for me was the ending. While I didn't guess the final twist, I didn't think it made all that much sense either upon a closer examination. I think Michaelides had a great idea for the last big reveal, and I did think it was creative and clever, but his way of getting there wasn't quite as tight as it could have been. Upon thinking over the previous events in the book after knowing the ending, I found myself questioning why certain people would act the way they do or care about the things they care about. Obviously, a novel in this genre is going to have a lot of red herrings along the way, but it seems like people were going too far out of their way to look guilty when they weren't.

So due to my feelings on the ending, I ended up rating The Silent Patient a three out of five. It was still a very enjoyable and quick read, and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of this genre. The ending left me wanting a little more, but it was a fun and engaging reading experience overall. I'm glad I took the time to scratch that itch I had to read something exciting and dramatic with this novel. 


Challenge Tally
Finally in 2019: 48/6 Books Read - Complete!

Total Books Read in 2019: 77