The Silent Patient

The Silent Patient is a psychological thriller with suspense. It is written by Alex Michaelides. He is a talented British-Cypriot novelist and a screenwriter. The Silent Patient is the debut novel of the author which became a bestseller in Sunday Times and New York Times with more than a million copies sold. The Maidens is another book by the author which is worth trying.

Jack Hawkins and Louise Brealey narrated this audio novel. The male narrator was not good as the different accents he tried were all laughable. The female narrator was just fine. The life of Alicia Berenson was perfect. She was a painter who was married to a famous fashion photographer. She was living in a grand house that had nice, big windows that overlook a park in one of the most beautiful places in London. Her husband, Gabriel one evening made a return back home after finishing a fashion shoot and he was immediately shot down by Alicia who fired five bullets at his face. After that, she didn’t utter a single word even.

Her refusal to talk or share any explanation in the matter turned that intense domestic tragedy into something a lot bigger. It was a kind of mystery that captured the attention of the public and put Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art all of a sudden skyrocketed and she being the silent patient was hidden far away from the spotlight, while being at the Grove. It was meant to be a highly secure forensic unit which was in North London.

Theo Faber was a criminal psychotherapist who waited quite long for the grand opportunity to work along with Alicia. He was determined to make her talk again and also to unravel the mystery of why she shot down her husband. But, his determination took him down a twisting path within his motivations. The book tells a shocking psychological thrilling story of an act of violence by a woman, committed against her husband. The therapist played a pivotal role in the story and was deeply obsessed with uncovering her motive.