As a mystery and thriller freak, I look forward to reading suspense and mysterious stories more than any other genre. I was intending to read some other book but was stumbled upon “The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides accidently and I am glad I did.
In this article, we will explore this thrilling standalone novel, and I will share my thoughts on whether it was worth reading. This will save you time when picking a thrilling mystery book for yourself. Let’s head over to the review without wasting more time.
Main Characters:
The main characters of this novel are:
- Alicia Berenson: 33 years old painter
- Gabriel Berenson: Alicia’s husband
- Theo Faber: A psychotherapist
- Kathy Faber: Theo’s wife
- Vernon Rose: Alicia’s father
- Eva Rose: Alicia’s mother
The Plot/Summary:
“The Silent Patient” is a startling psychological thriller and a detective book that tells the story of a lady, Alicia Berenson, who happens to be a painter. Her husband is a fashion photographer, and apparently, they live in an elite area of London with all the facilities one could dream of. One day, when Alicia’s husband Gabriel returns late from work, she shoots him 5 times right up in the face. Yes, not once, not twice, but five times without saying anything. Since then, Alicia has not spoken anything at all.
I found the story so engaging, and I desperately wanted to know the reason for Gabriel’s murder. What do you think could be the reason for killing her husband? Why is she not saying a single word? Gear up for an exciting story you won’t regret reading.
Alicia has neither explained her act nor has confessed to her crime. This has caused a stir among the public and has made Alicia notorious. She is “The Silent Patient” who is kept aside from newspapers in a mental asylum. Theo Faber, who happens to be a criminal psychologist, takes responsibility for solving this murder mystery.
The author narrates most of the story from Theo’s narrative, mentioning chunks from Alicia’s diary. Later, a secret is found in Theo while studying Alicia’s diary: he and Alicia have a shared past that goes well beyond the therapist-patient bond. At that time, Theo is cheated on by his wife, Kathy, and since then, he has kept an eye on her email and checked who she meets.
“Remember, love that doesn’t include honesty doesn’t deserve to be called love.”
Before Gabriel’s death, Alicia noticed someone stalking her. This made me curious about who this secret stalker was, and I am sure you are also wondering.
Alicia has some childhood traumas imprinted in her mind, one of them being her mother, Eva Rose’s suicide and how his father, Vernon Rose, wished Alicia’s life had gone instead of her mother’s. (Hint: This childhood trauma has a significant role in the story, so stay connected.) When Theo talks about Alicia’s diary with her, guess what? She finally spoke! After SIX LONG YEARS!!
| Publisher | Celadon Books |
| Publishing Date | First published January 1, 2018 |
| Language | English |
| Pages | 336 Pages |
| Title | The Silent Patients |
| Literary awards | Barry Award Nominee for Best First Novel (2020), Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller and Nominee for Debut Novel (2019), Book of the Month Book of the Year Award Nominee (2019), Barnes & Noble Book of the Year Award Nominee (2019) |
| Settings | London, England (United Kingdom), England, United Kingdom |
| Characters | Yuri, Alicia Berenson, Kathy Faber, Professor Lazarus Diomedes, Gabriel Berenson, Max Berenson, Christian West, Paul Rose, Lydia Rose, Jean-Felix Martin, Stephanie Clarke, Indira Sharma, Barbie Hellmann, Theo Faber |
| ISBN-10 | 1250301696 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1250301697 |
Alicia talks about the night of his husband’s death, how a man came, tied both of them and killed his husband. What? Alicia didn’t kill her husband? Someone else killed him? But WHO?? TilI here, I thought Alicia killed her husband. You were also considering this. Wait for more surprises coming your way.
I wasn’t ready to be surprised that Theo was stalking Alicia, so I went to Gabriel’s house and discovered that he was his wife Kathy’s secret lover. He tied both Alicia and Gabriel and asked him who he should kill—Gabriel or his wife Alicia. I was expecting Gabriel to say “Me,” but instead, he said “Alicia”. How mean of him! My blood was literally boiling at this point.
At this point, I was guessing that Theo killed Gabriel. But no! I was wrong yet again. Theo opened Alicia’s rope and left. Are you ready for the plot twist?
ALICIA SHOT GABRIEL!!
Are you shocked, too, just like me?
“We are made up of different parts, some good, some bad, and a healthy mind can tolerate this ambivalence and juggle both good and bad simultaneously. Mental illness is precisely about a lack of this kind of integration – we end up losing contact with the unacceptable parts of ourselves.”
When Alicia finally spoke after six years, Theo suspected that she might recognize him, so he gave him an overdose of medicine. Previously, Alicia purposely told Theo the wrong story of someone else killing his husband to check on him.
Theo regrets that his plan of tying both Alicia and Gabriel and asking whom to kill and Gabriel choosing her rather than himself triggered Alicia’s childhood trauma, and as a result, she killed her husband. Theo wanted to treat Alicia, but when he knew Alicia was aware of him, he took Alicia’s life. The book concludes with the police confiscating Alicia’s diary and arresting Theo for all this chaos.
- The plot of this book is so appealing that it made eager to know the truth right away.
- The story is full of surprises, making readers guess the real criminal thrice.
- It serves the purpose of a mystery thriller; full of twists and turns.
- The book might not be a perfect thriller with flaws.
- The author has used too many pronouns like “he said”, “she said”, making the readers confused as to who is actually saying all that. Sometimes, this made me read the sentences over and over again.
- The story was a bit slow-paced initially and then it went from zero to a hundred in no time. Most of the story is revealed after half of the book has been read.
Review:
The book is teemed with twists and surprises, and I wanted to turn pages as quickly as I could ever to uncover the truth about Gabriel’s murder. I am sure you will be as restless as me in reaching the hidden truth. In a nutshell, I think “The Silent Patient” did justice to the genre of mystery thriller and is worth reading. You might occasionally bite your nails while reading this book.
Conclusion:
It is primarily a thrill read but talks about love and deceiving in some chunks. Although it may seem based on a true story, it is a fiction piece of writing. This book is not suitable for readers under 18 as it involves a crime and can be triggering for young readers. The novel sheds light on an important aspect: mental health issues like that of Alicia should not be ignored and tossed aside.
These can be dangerous as the person makes decisions hastily, just like Alicia took to kill her without considering the implications on their own or other’s lives. Also, Childhood traumas can be life-threatening if not dealt with well on time. Had Alicia’s emotional bruise been healed in childhood, Gabriel wouldn’t have to die like this.