The Silent Patient…whoa. Put your seatbelt on and get ready for a ride! This physiological thriller is one of the best I’ve ever read!

My niece, Macy, talked very highly of it so I put it on my long TBR list. About a month ago, our public library announced the author, Alex Michaelides, was stopping here in Youngstown on his book tour to promote his latest title, The Fury. I told myself if I read The Silent Patient and loved it, I would go to the event. Five minutes after I finished the book, I bought tickets. That ought to tell you something!

Published in 2019, The Silent Patient was Michealide’s first novel and debuted at #1 on the NYTimes Bestseller List. It has sold more than 6.5 million copies worldwide so, certainly, my niece and I are only a small fraction of his fanbase!  As usual, I will not spoil any part of the plot…

The antagonist in the book, and who is considered the silent patient, is artist Alicia Berenson. After shooting her husband Gabriel, a well-known fashion photographer, dead, she stops talking. Not a word. Since the murder took place 6 years ago when the book begins, she has been living her life in a psychiatric home in London. 

Over the years, psychotherapist Theo Faber, the protagonist, continued to be fascinated by this famous murder. He thought that Alicia’s silence manifested because she was unable to come to terms with what she did to Gabriel. Theo wanted to reevaluate her condition and solve the mystery of why she killed her husband. So the story begins….

I love that the book is written through Theo’s eyes in first-person. The plot was beyond intriguing and suspenseful. I don’t read mysteries and thriller novels often so the book, for me, was very entertaining. When I finished the book, the words I found myself repeating were, “I just can’t believe it”. What a psychological journey it was. Take a ride but hold on tight! Get ready to get lost in the pages. Enjoy!

Since I wrote this post, my niece and I attended the author’s event. It was fabulous! I loved listening to Alex Michaelides speak and having him sign my books! The highlight of the night was getting the chance to ask him the first audience question! It was a “would you rather” question and it went something like this…would you rather have a 20-minute conversation with your beloved Agatha Christie or a cameo in Vertigo with Alfred Hitchcock? If you are a Michaelides fan you’ll certainly understand my question. Message me and I’ll share his answer with you! PS..I can’t wait to start reading his new book, The Fury. It sounds fabulous!