The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Amy   

mystery

Alicia is in a mental institution in London after being charged with murdering her husband.  She tied him up and shot him five times in the face, slit her own wrists (but survived), and never spoke again. Theo is a psychotherapist who is infatuated with her case and finally gets the opportunity to work with Alicia in an effort to learn her story and help her situation.

I had heard The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides was un-put-downable.  However, it was entirely put downable.  I mean, it held my interest but did not grip me in suspense or make me feel tethered to the story while reading it.  To me, it got most interesting around the ¾ mark.  Before that, it was just lots and lots of background information.  Don’t get me wrong. I liked it.  I am just discrediting the claim that you can’t put it down. It was classified as a psychological thriller but it really feels more like a psychological mystery to me. Also, the title is a lie.  The main character is not the silent patient.  That’s just the character that brings the readers to the book in the first place and around which the most mystery exists.  But the main character is really Theo.  He’s much more interesting, realistic, and present in the telling of the tale.  The novel alternates between Theo’s narration and Alicia’s diary. Theo acts as a detective, breaking rules and propriety in his efforts while his own life is in chaos. 

I appreciated the red herrings and the big twist.  I didn’t see it coming.  However, I had a hard time getting around Alicia’s silence.  I suppose there must be some actual patients who fell into this condition in the world, but it felt very far fetched and more like a device of the novel’s story-telling than a believable situation. So, while I enjoyed the novel, the premise was a bit large to swallow.

The audiobook was well done.  There were two narrators, Louise Brealey read the passages from Alicia’s diary and Jack Hawkins read the sections written in Theo’s viewpoint.  They were both excellent. Great voice acting!  A+ for both.