User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
This book starts off really strong with a great premise - intriguing and mysterious right away - the writing is even pretty strong in the beginning, but somewhere along the way it all seemed to fall apart for me. I felt like the author was so determined to deliver the big ‘twist’ that he lost sight of the actual plot. It just gets so convoluted and meandering, and I couldn’t really follow what actually happened, from what was meant to be the lies and fantasy of some characters. The author also spends an awful lot of the book having the main character, Theo, ‘investigate’ Alicia’s family members - the cousin, the aunt, the brother in law, her gallery manager - and each of them is made to seem weird, untrustworthy and in some cases outright creepy - but all of it ends up just feeling like a cheap trick, because nothing comes of any of them. Like, for example, the plot about the brother in law assaulting her, or the cousin borrowing money, - none of those things are resolved and it just feels like a lazy way for the author to point our suspicions in the wrong direction while leaving frustrating loose ends everywhere. I mean, you can make any character seem suspicious and create false suspense very easily if you have no obligation to deliver any resolutions.
In the author’s single quest to deliver the big ‘twist’ he also left big holes in the plot and expected us to overlook implausible things... like, one small but obvious thing - at the start of the book Theo’s belongings are searched by ‘security’ before entering the hospital and he is specifically told he can’t have any lighters for “obvious reasons” - can’t have any of the psychiatric patients getting their hands on a way to start fires - (now the author didn’t need to mention this in the story - he could have lost this scene and not drawn attention to the fact that Theo was not allowed to bring in a lighter - not sure why it was even a point??) but then through out the book the characters smoke cigars and cigarettes in the hospital ... how do they light them?? They all carry matches I assume? Are matches any less likely to start a fire??! There were SO MANY eye-rolling moments through out the book like that one, and far worse. So many times we, as readers, were expected to buy into implausible actions by characters (like Alicia’s cousin beating Theo over the head with a baseball bat and knocking him out because he thought he was an intruder (in his yard - not even his house!), and then not to mention Theo feeling fine and not needing any medical attention??) or just overlook unbelievable scenarios - like Theo following his wife’s lover for miles and never once actually seeing his face?? When the police investigate the scene of Alicia’s husband’s death, how do they not find the rope and wire that was used to tie up Alicia? And Who has enough rope and wire just lying around in their house to tie up two adults anyway?! And another doozy - Theo injects Alicia with enough morphine to put her in a coma for the rest of her life, but she has time to find a pen and diary and write a very lucid, long entry explaining Theo’s role in everything?! Besides the fact that she would be completely out of it and totally incapable of writing, even if she could, why wouldn’t she, I don’t know, go get help because you’ve just been injected with a lethal dose of morphine, instead of writing a short story??! And then with a lethal amount of morphine coursing through her blood stream she takes the time to hide her diary in a picture frame?! Seriously?! It’s almost funny.
And what about Alicia’s silence?? The mystery at the heart of the book - in the very title itself. The big reveal, the big answer shrouded in suspense and mystery .... the reason she didn’t talk was because she felt she had nothing to say??? Because she felt like she was dead too?? Wait... what? Seriously? She’s been accused of murdering her husband, while the man who stalks her, breaks in to her home, ties her up and threatens to kill her later shows up as her therapist, while she allows her other therapist to continue drugging her with “horse dosage” amounts of sedatives - but oh well, silence for years and years because she felt dead and had nothing to say?? And she stays silent mind you, while she still manages to hide her diary?!? We can only assume she goes to extreme measures to keep the police from ever finding it? Even though they walk in right after the murder while she’s still holding the smoking gun - I guess they gave her time to gather her things and somehow hide a diary down her pants while she was brought to prison?? Not to mention how no one found it when she was transferred to the mental hospital?! Why go to so much trouble to hide a diary if you feel like you’re dead and you have nothing to say!?
Giant eye roll.
I’m sorry - this book just asks too much of the reader - this ‘twist’ has been done many times before and it only works (and still very poorly) if you overlook all the giant plot holes and ridiculous scenarios.
Rating: really liked it
Read anything else on your TBR first. Anything. Better yet, delete The Silent Patient from your TBR. If you do, you'll never know what it feels like to become aware that you could have spent that 4 - 5 hours reading a great book ... or at least a better book.... definitely a book that doesn't do a major disservice to anyone who practices in the mental health field or who lives with a mental health impairment, and maybe even a book that doesn't present misogyny on every page.
The Silent Patient fails as a psychological thriller on all fronts. Its narrator lacks any credibility as a psychotherapist, as an employee, as a spouse, as a man. All characters are flat and inauthentic. The plot doesn't hang together. The solution telegraphs itself long before the ending, and still makes no sense. Michaelides wastes time on sub-plots that are irrelevant, introduces red herring characters with no subtlety so the reader is merely annoyed. Offers us a lawyer who is instantly available more than once to meet with someone he seeks not to meet., and a therapist who sees a former (long..... former, like .... years) patient at her home at 10 pm, and then risks malpractice by offering advice to him. And the writing is pedestrian, at best.
Aside from its flaws as a psychological thriller, Michaelides demonstrates that he knows nothing about mental health diagnoses, treatments and indicated medications, but the biases he displays in this novel contribute to a culture of misinformation that may discourage a reader who needs treatment for therapy from getting it, and may discourage other readers from complying with a treatment plan that includes prescription medications in amounts that data shows have therapeutic benefits. The girlfriend, then wife, of the narrator, describes herself as "crazy" a dozen or so times, and yet this is not relevant to any sort of mental health diagnosis over the span of the novel. In a span of ten pages, he describes a character as being in "a medicated haze", but the med he names wouldn't cause that effect at any dosage. One psychotherapist meets with a patient 2 - 3 times and instead of evidencing any interest in the health of the patient, he primarily focuses on how her behavior might be disturbing her spouse. Another psychotherapist agrees to change a patient's prescription med mix on a whim, and overnight, without any plan for a gradual step-down or other concern for patient impact. A third character presses unidentified meds into a patient's hand and requires that she consume them in his/her presence. None of the medical professionals, save the one risking malpractice, demonstrate competency or concern for the welfare of their patients.
All of the male characters running this facility repeatedly refer to all of the female patients as "bitch;" all of the patients in the facility are women. Every female character displays unpleasant behaviors that range in consequence from minor to severe: unfaithful, gossip-y, violent, vengeful, insecure, impulsive, annoying, tiresome, disloyal.
I've written a review of this horrid novel only because I might spare a friend or two. Every time someone deletes this book from his or her TBR without reading it, an angel gets his wings.
Rating: really liked it
As you will see, it’s an incredible story—of that there is no doubt.
Whether you believe it or not is up to you.
Ohhhh, I see why this book is getting so much buzz:
it is virtually unputdownable.
I didn't actually have any plans to read The Silent Patient. I just happened to see it hanging around in the new releases, took a quick peek, and thought-- why not? Well, I'll tell you why not. You absolutely definitely should NOT read this book if you want to go to sleep and get up for real life stuff in the morning. I read this until my eyes were like "nope" and closed on their own.
It's very compelling. A psychotherapist called Theo Faber narrates the story and he announces early on that he's pretty "fucked up". He worms his way into a new job at the Grove mental health facility because of his fascination with the artist Alicia Berenson, who murdered her husband in an open-and-shut case and hasn't spoken a word since.
But let us not forget that while Alicia Berenson may be a murderer, she was also an artist.
Theo finds himself connecting with Alicia and feeling a desperate need to figure out why she did it. And, what's more, he wants to figure out why she is silent. What can't she say? What won't she say? The more he digs into her life, her family, and her past, the deeper in he gets.
It's a fast-paced ride with short punchy chapters (oh, how easy it is to think "just one more chapter"). The story has so many threads and little surprises to uncover. More questions arise at every turn. And even those who work out the main aspect of the mystery will probably still enjoy the journey of finding out why, and all the little shocking discoveries made along the way.
It is true that those who have read a number of twisty mysteries will likely guess the truth, but I think there's enough goodness here to make it enjoyable anyway. Or it was for me at least.
Full of thrills, artistic metaphor, twists and Greek tragedy.Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube
Rating: really liked it
She tied her husband to a chair and shot him multiple times. Then she slit her wrists and waited for the police to arrive.
At least, that's what
THEY say she did. For her part, Alicia Berenson
isn't SAYING anything. 
When Theo Faber, Criminal Psychotherapist, takes a new job at
The Grove, he is well aware of their most infamous patient, Alicia Berenson.
She's the woman caught red-handed after killing her husband, who has remained silent ever since.
In fact, Theo's primary goal is to work with Alicia. He yearns to get her to reveal what really happened on the night her husband was killed, as he questions the validity of the official story.
Through Theo's perspective, his investigation, and Alicia's own diary entries, the Reader is brought along on a hair-raising mystery that is not for the faint of heart.
I
absolutely loved this book.
This is the type of Thriller that I really enjoy sinking my teeth into. The use of the diary entries, paired with Theo's investigations, made for a perfectly-paced reveal in my opinion!
Michaelides is definitely an author to watch. I cannot wait to see what he comes up with next.
Highly recommend!
Rating: really liked it
Wow, I'm still reeling from that ending! A mindblowing, to-die for twist! A fast read that kept me intrigued from beginning to end, although the shocker came at the end. Wait......wait......what just happened? This was how I felt as a read the last few chapters!
Alicia Berenson is such a mysterious, intriguing character and I was trying to figure her out the entire novel. I kept asking myself, "
What is up with Alicia?"She is a famous, talented painter and happily married to her husband, Gabriel. They live in London and have a cozy life.
Why would Alicia murder him and then never speak again? You want to know, right? Well, I did and couldn't stop reading until I found out. It is the feeling you have when you
just have to know why!! The novel is narrated by Alicia's psychotherapist Theo Faber, He is determined to "
fix Alicia ". I was so invested in learning what the circumstances of Alicia's silence was and had to find out if Theo could save her.
Would she ever speak again? READ IT NOW to find out!I wasn't going to read this one, and then requested it on NG and I'm really glad I did. As you can tell, I really enjoyed it! Sure to be a 2019 FAVORITE !
Thanks to Celadon/ NG for my arc. Book is out in Feb 2019 Review posted to blog.
Rating: really liked it
5 shining stars!
We finally have a winner. It’s really page-turner, meticulously developed, smartly written book. I liked the final twist and ending of the book. Did my spider sense catch it? In the middle I was suspicious something was wrong but it well played and fooled me once! Shame on me!
This is a successful debut novel with different writing technique. It may be sensed that the writer also works for big screen. Fast moving pace, twisty, edgy tricks, reminded me of “Gothika”, “AHS-Asylum”movies landed on Hitchcockian suspicious, dubious atmosphere! Mind games confuse the hell of you and surprises punching your face!
There is a character is quite deserved my biggest slap!!! But if I speak about the identity of character, it means I have to give spoiler about murderer’s identity! Great dilemma between revealing unlikable character and getting expelled from GR community because of my big mouth! So mouth zipped. Punches secretly clenched.
Just read it and get some pain killers for over usage of your brain cells😊
Rating: really liked it
The beginning hooked me in because I was intrigued to learn more about Alicia's story, how her husband was murdered, and why she chose to remain silent. However, the book ended up bordering as a cheesy murder mystery, with the main character acting like a white-knight detective who would question a bunch of cartoonish side characters that just outright admit their motivations or feelings about Alicia. The twist was interesting, but a bit shaky - I think it could have been built up in a more believable way.
Rating: really liked it
(2.5) This was a solid....
meh for me.
I was excited to pick up this psychological thriller because it has been getting some hype but it was a disappointment. Didn't care much for the characters, the twist was so obvious, the writing just okay. The only redeeming quality was the audiobook which made it possible for me to finish this book.
Unless you never read thrillers I don't think it's worth it.
Rating: really liked it
Not silent enough.
Rating: really liked it
I gotta stop rating books immediately after I read them and then lower the rating after I process them in detail in my mind and find tons of plot holes
Rating: really liked it
I'm annoyed.
Rating: really liked it
The Silent Patient knocked my socks off and reaffirmed my love of modern murder mysteries.
Alicia shoots her beloved husband in the face five times, then never speaks another word. Theo, a psychotherapist, is captivated by Alicia's story and wants to help her. He thinks he can get her to speak again and divulge why she killed her husband. What follows is a search for truth in what really happened between Alicia and her husband.
What I love most about this book is that, at its heart, it's a confounding murder mystery. And like any great murder mystery, it has clues, suspicious persons, and red herrings. And when the big reveal happens, it is brilliant and shocking. Not only did I not see the twist coming, but I was so surprised I stared open-mouthed at my book and reread it multiple times to make sure my brain could comprehend the complete mind bend that I had just experienced.
I found this to be a quick read. Once I started, I couldn't put it down. The story grabbed me from the very beginning, and its taut pacing made me want to turn the pages as fast as I could. I ended up gulping the whole thing down in a day.
I've been feeling a little jaded lately and didn't expect much going in. Modern thriller/mysteries are always billed as astounding and surprising, when most of the time they just feel contrived and silly with no payoff at the end. But wow, does this book deliver! It's so darn satisfying when the big twist is done right, and I am left speechless.
Rating: really liked it
Sorry, couldn't finish it. Gave it a hundred pages. The story and characters just didn't hold my attention. Not enough conflict soon enough. Also, the motivation for why the main character wanted to switch hospitals to handle the woman. It might be explained later in the book as a reveal but for me it weakened the structure. Too much of a slow burn for me. I guess I like a book that has a thriller structure or at least closer to one. For me I need conflict on every page that pulls the reader through the text.
Rating: really liked it
Dear Alex Michaelides,
Brav-the-fuck-o dude 👏👏👏
"Her silence was like a mirror - reflecting yourself back at you.
And it was often an ugly sight."
And that, my friends, sums up this book perfectly.
Dark psychological suspense is my favorite genre and books like this one are exactly the reason why.
This book is the very definition of a page-turner. From the very first page I was seduced by the magnetic writing style of Alex Michaelides.
Nothing is as it seems in this novel. This story is complex and multi-layered with a labyrinth of characters, each playing their part in the development of the plot.
The author never once tries to lead you astray with erroneous clues in an attempt to distract you from an obvious conclusion. I never once felt like I had a grasp on how this story was going to play out, which kept me rapt until the last page.
The blurb on the back cover says that the book has already been optioned for a movie and I'd like to put forth my recommendations for casting:
Haley Bennett as Alicia
and
Oliver Jackson Cohen as Theo
(I expect a casting credit)
I received an ARC copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Rating: really liked it
Alicia Berenson is notorious for an event that happened in the past, but since that horrific incident Alicia hasn't spoken a word. Theo Farber, a psychotherapist, has heard of Alicia over the years through the news and is delighted when a job opening becomes available that would allow him to work directly with Alicia. Will Theo get Alicia talking again? What actually happened all those years ago?
Yes, this book really is as good as all of the hype. The writing on this was really top rate. Michaelides knew perfectly how to create intrigue and how to use dialogue with varying short and long paragraphs and short and long chapters to create the perfect pacing for this work. It was incredibly page turning, and the author definitely showed his chops as a mystery writer. He could write a master class in mystery writing. And this is his debut novel! What will Michaelides go from here? Personally, I can hardly wait to find out.
Theo is gaining information about what happened in the past, but he is also questioning his own abilities. Can he really get Alicia talking? What are the professional boundaries of a psychotherapist? There was a little bit of internal monologue with Theo, but it wasn't boring or drawn out unnecessarily but raised some deep questions, causing the reader to think beyond just the superficial mystery/thriller. There was also some mention of art and its deeper meaning. It helped to create added depth to this book.
Overall, yes, yes, and yes! This book is phenomenal if you haven't read it already! Definitely worthy of a reread.
2022 Reading Schedule
Jan Animal Farm
Feb Lord of the Flies
Mar The Da Vinci Code
Apr Of Mice and Men
May Memoirs of a Geisha
Jun Little Women
Jul The Lovely Bones
Aug Charlotte's Web
Sep Life of Pi
Oct Dracula
Nov Gone with the Wind
Dec The Secret Garden
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