By I must admit, I was extremely hesitant to read The Silent Patient. It was a Book of the Month selection in January AND one of Amazon’s Best of the Month for February, so the early buzz made me weary. I tend to have low expectations for psychological thrillers with that much pre-release hype, especially from a debut author. I find they tend to tell the same story trying to be lauded as the next Gone Girl and get a film deal.
The premise for The Silent Patient is intriguing enough. Artist Alicia Berenson kills her husband then refuses to speak after the murder. She’s sent to an institution where a new psychotherapist, Theo Faber, becomes obsessed with breaking her silence, acting more as a detective than her therapist.
I started this on a flight and honestly couldn’t get into it. I had just finished reading One Day in December, so I think I was still in a lovey-dovey-not-ready-for-murder mood. I picked it back up when I got home and it took me a good 70 pages to get fully immersed in this book, but once I was in, I had to finish. It had the right elements I love in a thriller thriller – multi-dimensional characters you are emotionally invested in, vivid storytelling, and surprises – that left me salivating with every page turn.
What’s unique about this story is how Michaelides weaves Greek Tragedy and Newton’s Third Law of Motion throughout. Without giving too much away, the themes of love, loss, and abuse of power are explored, as well as their unique consequences. I appreciate that Michaelides does not underestimate the reader and integrates these heavy themes in a way that leaves the you pondering choice and consequence. This was a welcome and refreshing departure from the previous carbon-copy thrillers I’ve read.
Now with all psychological thrillers, I knew there would be a dramatic shocking twist, and I was certain that I knew exactly how this story would go. (In retrospect, that’s probably why it took me a while to get fully into the story…#prereleasehype) I could not have been more wrong with the way this book develops and ends. I was stunned, emotionally conflicted, and not ready for the story to be over.
Team Bookworm 