The Silent Patient is definitely one that kept me turning pages quickly. The psychological thriller begins by telling the story of Alicia Berenson’s life which is portrayed as near perfect. She is a famous painter married to a rising fashion photographer. Alicia and her husband Gabriel live in a beautiful home overlooking a beautiful park in London. The couple lived what seemed to be a happy life together until one evening when Gabriel returns home late from a photo shoot and Alicia shoots him five times and goes completely mute following the crime.
This is the start of the book, leaving readers intrigued from the first chapter they read. Her silence is the most fascinating part of this crime. Why is the question that keeps everyone interested in this crime. Alicia has now become The Silent Patient. Her refusal to talk, or give even the smallest explanation of what happened, turned the domestic tragedy into something much larger. This trenching mystery has now caught the eye of the public’s imagination. The costs of her artwork is now skyrocketing and Alicia the now, silent patient is taken away from the spotlight to the Grove, a physciatric unit in North London.
Alicia’s crime then catches the eye of criminal physcotherapist Theo Faber. Theo gains interest in Alicia’s childhood and what would lead up to her committing such an awful crime. He transfers from his workplace to the hospital where Alicia is committed in order to work on her case. Theo is now determined to discover the real reason this crime took place.
While working with Alicia, Theo connects with people from Alicia’s past to try and understand what made her go silent and discover the person she once was before the crime took place. Theo studies the exploration of the human mind and silence through working on her case. His studies lead to uncovering the truth of this horrific crime.
Mrs. Reamer first heard about this book from a recommendation by Jenna Bush Hager, an American journalist, author, and television personality.Mrs. Reamer shared that she likes to read new authors Jenna Bush Hager recommends. This book particularly interested her for the mystery and thrill of it. Mrs. Reamer said, “This book kept me excited to read and wanting to know more but I didn’t want the book to be over.” Mrs. Reamer said she would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mystery and thrillers but definitely not anyone who enjoys more of the romance genre being this book is more of a thriller.
Overall, I rate this book a 5/5. I finished this book in one day! The twists and unexpected turns of this crime story kept me completely hooked. I couldn’t put it down due to its thrilling plot and intriguing characters. The cliffhangers and unknowns kept me eager to keep reading. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good crime novel with mind-bending twists, as well as fans of Ms. Mecure’s Detective Fiction and True Crime Narratives.
