Title: The Silent Patient

Author: Alex Michaelides

Book Length (Audiobook): 8 hours 43 mins

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Read Start Date: October 18, 2019

Read Finish Date: October 20, 2019

Brief Summary of the Plot from Goodreads: 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…

My Review: I am writing this review about a month after reading the book, so I admit my recollection is already a bit fuzzy. I remember reading this book quickly, because I wanted to find out what was going on — it was a real page turner (or the equivalent of that for audiobooks). The ending was like WTF just happened? I have to say I did not expect that at all! — it was a good twist and I really enjoyed the ending.

Jo’s Book Blog and The Bursting Book Shelf also have reviews of this book, which I think that you will find helpful, as I cannot really give such a detailed review this time.

The audiobook had a nice interview with the author, which I also listened to. The author mentions that the plot was based upon a Greek myth, Euripides play Alcestis. This particular tragedy is about a woman who returns from death, never to speak again. If you are interested in reading an interview with the author, you can find it at this link, here.