About The Author
Alex Michaelides was born and raised in Cyprus. He has an M.A. in English Literature from Trinity College, Cambridge University, and an M.A. in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. The Silent Patient was his first novel, debuting at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, and has sold more than 6.5 million copies worldwide. The rights have been sold in a record-breaking 51 countries, and the book has been optioned for film by Plan B. His second novel, The Maidens, was an instant New York Times bestseller and has been optioned for television by Miramax Television and Stone Village.
Amazon Summary
The Silent Patient By Alex Michaelides Review
I’ve been wanting to share my review of The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides for quite a while now. But life got busy and book reviews can be a bit more time consuming.
I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this but I’ve often noticed that American writers take the thriller part of psychological thriller more seriously. While English or European writers, like Alex Michaelides, take the psychological part more seriously. I have no issue with either. Just something I’ve noticed.
I’ll start by saying that this was one of the best thrillers I’ve read recently. Probably the best one I’ve read last year. And trust me when I say, I’ve read a lot of thrillers in my life. For a while, they were all I read.
Plot
The plot revolves around Theo Faber and his patient Alicia Berenson who seemingly for no reason murdered her husband in cold blood. As the story progresses, we read more about Theo Faber’s life, childhood, adulthood and why he is so fixated on finding out the truth behind why Alicia Berenson murdered her husband, if she even did that is.
We also learn more about Alicia Berenson and how her seemingly perfect life was certainly far from perfect. She had a strained relationship with her father when she was younger. He very very neglectful and sometimes abusive after her mother passed. She also has a strained relationship with her aunt who raised her and her cousin who she distanced herself from after marriage. Her brother-in-law is not only in love with her but seems unnervingly obsessed. Her best friend in the art world seems kind on the surface but is mostly a self-serving narcissist. The only person she truly loves and trusts is her husband. She sees him as her “saviour.” And yet, she shot him multiple times in the face. Why? What changed? These questions keep the readers at the edge of the seat as the truth is slowly revealed.
I loved the plot, from the beginning you get that unnerving, cold, dark feeling a good thriller should give you. You can’t trust anyone, not one single character seems particularly reliable. I was so into it I finished the book in two days and ended up sleeping at like 3am because I was reading all night lol.
I’ll say though that about 3/4th of the way through, I could tell where it was going. But that didn’t ruin it for me at all, it was still a great read. And there were a couple of things I didn’t guess.
Characters
I LOVED the characters and feel that Alex Michaelides did a great job with them. None of the characters were reliable and I suspected them all at one point of the other. They were also very realistically written. Flawed, messed up human beings with different agendas. That’s what makes a good thriller.
Also, as someone who studied psychology for three years, I found the psychological aspects of the characters so interesting. With the PTSD, childhood trauma and so much more. Yeah, Michaelides did a great job with it. He must have done a lot of research.
Even the side characters, like the other patients in the facility, other psychologists/psychiatrists working int he facility were well done. I think most people that get into that line of work have a reason that got into that field. And not all of them are good at their job. Michaelides showed that very well without demonising or generalising all medical professionals.
Overall
If you’re a fan of thrillers, I would so recommend this one. Despite Gabriel being shot in the face five times, it’s really not a particularly violent or gory book. Like I said, it focuses on the psychological aspects of a thriller. The disturbing stuff is psychological and leaves a mark because it’s stuff that could happen in real life. Especially with unhealed trauma/PTSD. I don’t want to give too much away but like I said, if you like thrillers check this one out. I know some people really hated it, which is fine. But people hate everything. Check it out yourself and make up your own mind.
If you enjoyed my review of The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides and would like to check the book out yourself, you can find it on Amazon.
For more book reviews please click here.
I recently published my first book, if you would like to read it, please click here.
If you enjoyed this post don’t forget to like, follow, share and comment!
Enjoyed this post? Then follow me on social media:
Bluesky Instagram Pinterest LinkedIn HubPages
Email me on(guest posts welcome!): insomniacwithanaccent@gmail.com
Leave a Reply