THAT ENDING THOUGH! Ohmygod the ending. When all the pieces finally fell together, I closed the book (or errm, closed out of the kindle app), and took several minutes to think about what I just read and process it. And by several minutes I mean like ten. I thought back to the very beginning and reexamined everything in the revolutionary perspective that just came to light, and quite frankly, it blew my mind. Hence the silent screaming that went on in my bedroom.
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Alicia Berenson is a famous painter, happily married to a famous fashion photographer. Life is good. Until one evening, her husband returns home from work, and Alicia shoots him in the face five times, and is found standing in her living room with her wrists slit. She survived the attempted suicide, but she never speaks another word from here on out.
Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who believes he is the only one who can help Alicia, who is now living in The Grove, a secure forensic unit in London. It’s been six years since the brutal murder, and a job opens up at The Grove. Theo who believes fate has come a knocking, applies, and lands the job. Granting him the opportunity to search for the truth…
WHY IT WAS AMAZING
The book flips back and forth from Alicia’s perspective (past) via diary entry, and Theo’s point of view (current). Which, yes, I know has been done 29200438 times, but hang in there. It’s worth it. Michaelides throws us a ton of red herrings along the way and it’s glorious. He also added a few juicy complex layers to his story, which gets added one by one. And my absolute favorite piece of the story, the pulls and influence the Greek tragedy Alcestis has on the novel. IT’S SO GOOD! I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a serious page turner. ENJOY!