Rating: 4/5The Silent Patient belongs to the genre of mystery/thrillers that's constructed cleverly, is a page-turner, has a big reveal at the end, and which can be kept aside and forgotten once it is read. And for that genre, the book delivers!
The book is centred around two key characters. The first is Alicia Berenson, who appears to have shot her husband, Gabriel, five times in the face and who refuses to speak after the incident (and hence the title of the book). The second is Theo Faber, a criminal psychotherapist, who is extremely keen to work with Alicia, strangely even at the cost of his career.
The book peels off layer after layer of the mystery at a rapid pace with Theo as the narrator, exploring Theo's motivations and the mystery of Gabriel's death through their backstories (Alicia's diary in her case). One interesting aspect of the book is the usage of Alcestis as a trope - a Greek heroine who sacrificed her life to bring back her husband from death and also the title given by Alicia to a self-potrait painted after her husband's murder.
Standard elements of this genre have been liberally used. For example, there are the usual red herrings on the way. And I felt just a little bit cheated by the aid used for the plot twist at the end. But nevertheless, the end is quite satisfying and most of the motivations of the various characters are explained by the time we finish the book. This is Michaelides' debut novel and is quite impressive for that.
Pros: Page-turner, clever plot, a fairly satisfying end
Cons: A read-and-forget type of book
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