I tried so hard to get into this book. I stuck with it for a while, but it became evident that it wasn't the book for me. I am so disappointed as the synopsis sounds fantastic, this, I believe was a problem of incompatibility.

Wow! This is a brilliant modern thriller. It's full of intrigue and discovery. There is a fantastic twist at the end, which unusually for me I didn't see coming.

A great debut thriller that puts a different spin on the psychological thriller genre. A definite must-read.

ALICIA
Alicia Berenson writes a diary as a release, an outlet - and to prove to her beloved husband that everything is fine. She can't bear the thought of worrying Gabriel, or causing him pain.

Until, late one evening, Alicia shoots Gabriel five times and then never speaks another word.

THEO
Forensic psychotherapist Theo Faber is convinced he can successfully treat Alicia, where all others have failed. Obsessed with investigating her crime, his discoveries suggest Alicia's silence goes far deeper than he first thought.

And if she speaks, would he want to hear the truth?

twisty, Turns, Dark and Clever, this hooked me from the beginning and I didn't want to put it down, amazing!

Absolutely loved this book, it builds the plot so nicely bit by bit. Did she or didn’t she?
You feel that you can almost work out the plot line and then it slips from your grasp.. Very well written and it is a book you will not want to put down. At the heart of it is love and trust, but what happens when trust is broken? Read it and find out!
Thank you #netgalleythesilentpatient

Please think of me when the next book from this author is written!

When I started this book I was convinced I'd read it before. I hadn't! It started similarly to something else but soon took on its own identity. A beautifully written thriller. I frequently guess the twist in a tale despite the cover telling me that I won't... this time I really didn't. A great debut novel from Alex Michaelides.

An excellent psychological thriller.Its always a delight to read a book which flows well.This is definitely a page-turner.I didn't love the end of the book as much as the rest of it,but overall very good.An author to watch

When Alicia is found with her wrists slashed and a gun at her feet over her husband's dead body it seems as though it's an open and shut case. Alicia remains mute and is sent to an institution where she meets Theo. Theo is fascinated with the story and is hellbent on trying to help Alicia and uncover the truth about that fateful night.
A dark troubling story with a fantastic twist that had me nearly falling of my chair. I give this book 4 stars.

Massive 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
WOW!
This novel is top of this years reads instantly with those fabulous in depth storylines.

It has characters you connect with and want to see recover from their psychological tragedies.

A very cleverly written novel which for me is definitely up there with some of the top Psychological Thrillers I’ve read.

That twist I did not see coming at all! Amazing!! X

A gripping story that had me on the edge of my seat throughout. Very cleverly written, did not see that end coming!

I loved reading this book, I couldn't read it quick enough as I just needed to find out what had happened. and WOW - I did not see the ending coming AT ALL. usually I have books sussed out pretty quickly but with this I had no clue and I was definitely shocked when the ending came. Well written and had me hooked from the beginning.

Well worth a read and I don't want to give any spoilers but its brilliant!

The Silent Patient is a gripping psycological thriller. At it’s heart is Theo Faber, obsessed with the crime of a young artist Alicia Berenson who is imprisoned in a secure psychiatric ward after being convicted of murdering her husbans. Alicia has not spoken in the six years since the murder and has never revealed what happened.

When Theo has the opportinity to join the unit as a psychiatrist he believes this is his chance to do what no-one else has managed and get Alicia to talk and reveal the story behind her crime.

This was a very interesting plot and very cleverly played out, hooking the reader in from the start. Theo himself is very mysterious and you become invested in finding out his story and whether he can crack this case.

The ending does not disappointment, and there some moments where you find yourself gasping in surprise. I can’t wait to see what will come next from this author!
The Silent Patient Book Cover

I enjoyed The Silent Patient. I found it intriguing and interesting. The ending was unexpected - I will re-read at some later date to see if there were any clues I missed....

I love the name Alicia as it takes me back to my earliest reading as a child of Enid Blyton's Mallory Towers series, So Mr Michaelides has already scored points with me. The book contains numerous interesting characters, all of whom I felt would have captivating back stories and were well rounded and thoughtfully drawn. Theo Faber was particularly intriguing and he aroused my curiosity from the moment he appeared. Although we don't hear much from Alicia, (otherwise the book would have to be entitled The Talkative Patient), I felt as if I knew her. She was certainly an extremely engaging and enthralling person. The dynamic between Theo and Alicia was compelling and they definitely had chemistry, which was so well written you could hear and see it sparking whenever they were together. I would never have guessed this was a debut novel, the writing was classy, sophisticated and sharp. The plot, sub-plots and red herrings were well thought out and entirely appropriate in the setting. Best of all the psychological thriller element was actually psychologically thrilling! Who'd have thunk it? The twist in the tale made my curly-wurly seem as straight as a ruler. The Silent Patient over delivers on all its promise and I'm excited to read more from Mr Michaelides. I'm going to double-dip this book; I've read it and I'm going to get it on audio. Bravo Mr Michaelides! How long will I be waiting for the next book - you can call it The Impatient Reader! 5 stars from me.

The twist is a killer so let me just put that one out there first....excellent book and I gobbled it up in one sitting and defo wanted pudding too!

So Alicia is accused of murdering her husband and gets sent to a mental institution called The Grove, her therapist Theo Faber begins to counsel her. And he’s basically obsessed with Alicia wants to figure out why she killed her husband.

Some of the book is made up of Alicia’s diary entries and so you get to see what kind of person she was and is today. Did she shoot her husband? If so why?

You’ll have to read it to find out haha
Bloody great read I was gutted when I’d read the last page, and the twist as I’ve said is a killer and I had no chance of seeing it coming!

Totally loved it, 5 stars all the way for me!

Wow what a thriller! Theo is determined to work with Alicia 'the silent patient' why? and why is she silent. Neither is quite what they seem, especially Theo who seems to be tracking her family history relentlessly. His own background isn't all that solid. Can they help each other or is this a disaster in the making. Just when you think you may have sussed the answers there is a twist that is completely unexpected.............read on

Wow... a truly unexpected end. Kept me in suspense from beginning to end.. a real page turner! Would highly recommend

What an weirdly entertaining book. I almost gave up, because I felt lost, but I am very glad I persisted. When the bad guy was revealed towards the end, a lot of the book made sense. The book was well written and recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Orion for providing me an ARC copy of this book that I freely chose to review.
Being a doctor (although I’d always had the same interest, even before studying Medicine), I’m always intrigued by books with the word “patient” (or doctor, hospital, or similar healthcare-related terms) in the title. Being a psychiatrist and having worked in forensic psychiatry in the UK, the description of this book seemed right up my alley. (And yes, in case you’re curious, I have treated patients who presented as temporarily mute, more than once, although not in circumstances quite as shocking as those in the book). So I requested this book and it went into my very long list of books to read and review. Then, I started seeing great reviews, recommendations, etc., and grew curious, to the point where it jumped up to the top of my list.
Now, it’s quite difficult to review this book without revealing any spoilers, and this is a book where the twists in the plot are quite important, so I won’t be able to say much, as I’m sure many people will enjoy it and I don’t want to ruin it for them.
What can I tell you? What did I think? Well, I know this is a work of fiction, rather than a treatise in psychiatry or psychotherapy. (Theo Farber, one of the main characters, is a psychotherapist, a psychologist by training, not a medical doctor and, let’s say, he is not too enamoured with psychiatrists, anyway). But still, having work experience in high secure units in the UK, and also in low and medium secure units, both NHS and private, I couldn’t help but find so many things wrong with the characterisation of the professionals involved in the care of the other main character, Alice Berenson —the silent patient of the title— and also with the procedures followed and the way the unit is run, that it shattered my suspension of disbelief and made the rest of the book difficult to judge in its own right, for me. Despite the great reviews the book has had, I’ve noticed some other people have also had issues with the characterization of the therapist and with other details of the novel, so if you are somebody who likes mysteries and thrillers to be realistic and tight when it comes to details, I’d say you should give it a miss.
The actual mystery side of the story… Well, as I said there are twists, more than one, red herrings, and some people have described it as original. Others, not so much. How well the twists work depends on how much you engage not only with the story, but also with the main characters. The story is narrated from two points-of-view, both in the first person, one the therapist’s, and one the patient’s, although, as must be evident from the title, the patient mostly does not talk, and what we get are entries from her diary, the diary she wrote before the events that landed her in the psychiatric unit. I like unreliable narrators, and they can work very well for mysteries, indeed. Here we have two. If Alice might be seen as an unreliable narrator due to her mental state, Theo seems to be very good at not applying his therapeutic insights (such as they are, but I’ve already said my piece on that and won’t insist) to himself and his own situation. But, I’m sure you won’t be surprised if I tell you that things are not quite as straightforward as they seem, even if you suspect they are far from straightforward.
My inkling is that people who don’t read tonnes of thrillers or mysteries are likely to enjoy this book more than people who mostly read thrillers and are used to smelling a rat from afar. When I read the negative reviews I saw that some readers felt cheated by the twist (and yes, I understand that point of view, although, as I said, I had other issues with the book); there were complains about not liking any of the characters (other than the two main characters, none of the rest are drawn in much detail, I agree); some readers found the descriptions of therapies and the use of psychotherapeutic terms over the top (too much telling and not enough showing, and some complained they slowed the action); some reviewers objected to the use of swear-words (as this was mostly by one of the patients, from personal experience I’d say that bit is not unrealistic); and also some comments about a somewhat prejudiced depiction of a couple of characters (the Greek professor running the clinic comes out of it much better than the Turkish patient, it’s true). I mention those as a warning for people who are thinking about reading it and the concerns might resonate with them.
After reading the whole book, and with the caveats I’ve mentioned, personally, I was intrigued by the reference to a play by Euripides I hadn’t heard about, Alcestis, and I want to explore it further. I also enjoyed the references to Alice’s paintings and her creative process.
If you aren’t familiar with psychiatric care (particularly forensic psychiatric care in the UK), don’t regularly read tonnes of mysteries, and prefer books with enticing plots rather than those focused on a strong and psychologically consistent depiction of, you are likely to enjoy this book. Otherwise, my recommendation would be to check a sample of the book and see if it hooks you and you feel compelled to keep reading.

When an artist kills her husband in a seeming fit of madness, she gains notoriety but never speaks again. The case attracts the attention of psychotherapist Theo Faber, whose fascination with her case deepens even as his marriage seemingly crumbles. He turns detective, determined to understand the motives behind his patient’s actions, revealing the seeming parallels between them.

Yet his patient finds her voice. At first once more through her art, then her diary - and as her voice returns, the truth behind her paranoia is revealed in a deliciously dark twist.

I very much enjoyed this book, devouring in a day. I loved how the plot lines came together in the end and was surprised by the twist, which is always a good thing!