The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

The Silent Patient with Alex Michaelides

The Silent Patient was Alex Michaelides' debut novel. Since it's release, it has become a worldwide bestseller, is one of Amazon's Editor's Picks for Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense, and may be made into a movie! Not to mention it has great ratings on both Amazon and Goodreads. It references death, gun violence, infidelity, self harm, sexual assault, violence, stalking, a car accident involving a child, a suicide attempt, the death of a parent, and murder.

Theo Faber has always been fascinated Alicia Berenson. After she murdered her husband, renowned photographer Gabriel Berenson, by tying him up and shooting him five times, she completely stopped speaking. It has been years since she's said a word. But the one thing she did do was paint a self-portrait and titled it Alcestis, after the tragic Greek figure of the same name. Her crime drew the imagination of the masses, largely because of her refusal to talk even to defend herself, and the price of her art skyrocketed and the gallery showing her work had lines down the block for the first time ever. When Theo saw Alcestis, he knew he needed to work with Alicia. So when he gets the opportunity to take a job at The Grove, where Alicia is currently housed and receiving treatment, he takes it right away. He can't help but think that with his help, Alicia may have a breakthrough and start speaking again. Against his training, Theo gets too close to Alicia, too personal, and doesn't realize his mistake until it's too late.

I have heard great things about this book, but I'm coming to believe that Alex Michaelides is just not the author for me. Sure, this was a mystery, but I wouldn't call it suspenseful or thrilling. None of the characters are likeable, both Alicia and Theo live in a world of their own making but Theo is annoying in a egotistical way as well. There is a twist at the end that I figured out just before the big reveal which I did enjoy, but both the reveal of what really happened and the end of the book were lackluster and anti-climactic. I did enjoy this book more than I did his most recent novel The Fury, in which I thought that the finale was climactic but absurd.

I'm giving The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides 3.75 stars out of 5 and I don't think I'll bother to read his third novel, The Maidens.

For more from Alex Michaelides, check out his website at https://www.alexmichaelides.com/

Pairs well with a piece of walnut cake and lying under a willow tree, looking up through the branches.

Review of The Fury by Alex Michaelides