ARC Book Review: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Release Date: February 5, 2019
Publisher: Celadon Books
Format: ebook
Pages: 336 pages
Genre:  mystery/thriller
Buy: Kindle | Hardcover | Audio

Synopsis:

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.
Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations―a search for the truth that threatens to consume him....

Review: 

I'm still reeling from the end of this book. Not many books surprise me but this one took me completely off guard.  The ending was an OMG moment.  Kudos to Michaelides for this brilliant mystery that keeps you guessing and has plenty of other leads and paths to follow that take you away from the real culprit.  I was sucked into this book from the beginning, the mystery of a woman who hasn't spoken for so many years after she is accused of killing her husband.  She paints a mysterious painting before she is institutionalized titled after a tragedy by Euripides.  But no one can figure out its meaning or why she hasn't spoken.  Theo Faber is determined to help her, he gets a job at the hospital she is in and asks to take on her case.  What he discovers is a world of men who have coveted her, used her and deceived her, yet she still won't speak. As Theo delves into her past to see if he can find the key to unlocking her voice we also learn about Theo's life, his devotion to his wife, an actress who he finds is deceiving him and watch him slowly unravel.

Brilliantly written, I can't say enough about this book. 






Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

Discover other books or products I like: https://www.amazon.com/shop/readinggrrl 

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