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By: Chloe Kennedy
“The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides was the Best First Novel (2020) for the Barry Award. This book is an intriguing thriller and mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
This book is narrated by Theo Faber, a physiotherapist, who follows the case of Alicia Berenson. The case starts by explaining that Alicia shoots her husband and then remains silent after he is found. Later, Theo gets a job at the psychiatric facility where he takes on her case. Many of the workers have given up on Alicia and do not seem interested in knowing what really happened because they already believe the way she killed her husband, Gabriel.
Despite her silence, Theo continues to meet with her to figure out the truth through silence. Alicia starts to become violent towards Theo and other patients, which contributes to him tracking down her family members and finding new information his own way.
As Theo takes on the case, he discovers pieces of her case that do not add up and realizes important information is missing. Through her journal entries and paintings, he is determined to figure out the truth. While taking on this case, Theo has his own struggles with his wife, which, towards the end, connect to Alicia and her case.
Throughout the book, Alicia uses diaries and paintings to show what she is truly feeling. One of her paintings was a self-portrait titled "Alcestis" This helps give clues to why she stays silent. She makes a bold choice while she is in the grove to make another painting of the grove burning with fire, with a figure of Theo carrying Alicia in his arms. This helps Theo connect to Alicia and wonder why she painted him. Towards the middle of the book, Alicia decides to give Theo her diary with her story, telling her truth. It is up to Theo and the audience to see if they believe her side of the story.
This book makes the audience wonder who is really telling the truth and what really happened that night. The readers might think they know the truth until the impeccable plot twist towards the end.
I rate this book 4.5/5 stars. I would definitely recommend this book to people who are interested in thrillers and mysteries that also contain romance. It keeps you intrigued the whole time, and you keep getting new information about her case. Although the one complaint I have is that the ending was rushed. We finally find out the truth at the end, but you get overloaded with information and what was real and what was not.
Although if you want to see some professional ratings, Goodreads has rated "The Silent Patient" a strong average of 4.17/5 stars. Some people who rated this loved the plot twists but did not like the slow build of characters. The book achieved the Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller in 2019.
"The Silent Patient" leaves us wondering about the blurred lines between justice and revenge. This book is based on lies from the beginning to the end, with all the characters. Just like Alex Michaelides writes, "Sometimes it takes courage, you know, and a long time, to be honest." Eventually, the truth starts to come out, but at what cost?
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