Once I finished The Silent Patient it took me a few days before I could write the review. I wanted to let the book simmer and settle first so that I could give a true and unbiased opinion. I never start a new book unless I’ve completed a review on the book I just finished, because in all honesty I will forget all the small intimate details of the story and then the review will be worth nothing.
When I chose this book I had no idea what it was about. I chose the book based on the fact that it won the Goodreads award for Best Thriller and Mystery of 2019 and I saw quite a few postings about it from other bloggers. I feel all this hype created a great expectation for me going in and I think it was better that I waited a few days and gave this novel an honest reflection.
Alex Michaelides is originally a screenwriter and The Silent Patient is his debut novel. It has gone on to become a #1 New York Times Bestseller and #2 most sold fiction title on Amazon.
Michaelides, as with other screenwriters who go on to write novels, such as Soren Sveistrup for example, who wrote The Chestnut Man, their novels are written in such a way that you expect and even hope that they will be turned into movies.
This photo was taken from https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17621440.Alex_Michaelides
The Silent Patient is captivating and it holds onto you right til the end. It is evident that Michaelides either has an interest in abnormal psychology or he did thorough research on the topic. The manner in which he approaches mental health and how his characters; psychiatrists and psychotherapists handle mental illness is respectable and knowledgeable. This novel is well-written and although the book moves from present to past, and involves diary entries, the flow of the story is clear, you know exactly what is going on.
As an avid reader you always hope that you will have some connection to the main character or at least relate to some of the characters. I connected and sympathised with the main female character; the silent patient, which makes the story that much better.
Overall, this story has everything you are looking for in a psychological suspense novel; great characters, a gripping storyline and a fantastic twist.
I am sure with the success of his novel, Michaelides will go on to write something great again and look forward to it.
Blurb
Alicia Berenson, a famous artist, is found in her home with her wrists slit, a gun and her husband tied up and dead. From that moment on she remains silent, doesn’t even breath a word in her defense as she is arrested. She will remain silent for years until a psychotherapist, Theo, gets her to speak….but what is revealed is something you never see coming!
Happy Reading!
“Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive, and will come forth later, in uglier ways” – Sigmund Freud
This quote was cited in The Silent Patient
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