Erin Clemence's Reviews > The Silent Patient

This book has EVERYTHING that I look for in a great read. It has a huge psychological component, which grabbed me right from the start, along with an actually unpredictable ending, fueled by suspense and page-turning drama throughout.

Alicia Berenson has not spoken a word since she was charged with killing her husband and admitted to a psychiatric facility. Psychotherapist Theo Farber is fascinated by Alicia and immediately jumps at the chance to serve as her doctor. As Theo’s persistence increases, Alicia’s will to remain silent only grows. Can Theo encourage the troubled woman to talk? Does he want to hear what she has to say?

“The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides is by far one of the best debut novels I’ve read this year. The subject matter has been done ad nauseum (spouse is found dead, other spouse is blamed….) but Michaelides takes an overdone premise and reinvents it with creativity and powerfully addicting suspense.

As I read the novel, the relationship between Theo and Alicia was suspect for me, as it violated almost every psychotherapy rule in the book, and I questioned the believability of this plot point. However, the ending provided me with the satisfying answers I was looking for, and my faith in Michaelides writing was reinforced.

Creative, psychologically twisted and one hell of a suspense-fueled ride, “The Silent Patient” deserves all of the hype it gets. The only problem will be if Michaelides has set the bar too high for his future novels, and they will be able to hold a candle in comparison.