Here's what's fun about this book: you KNOW it's going to have a twist. You can even, without breaking a sweat, suss out the main components and characters of the twist--like a horror movie haunted house: "Don't go in there!" And yet....the ending is well done and satisfying, elegant and clever. (With one exception: the resolution of what happens with Theo's wife is a little clumsy).

Excellent pacing, well-written, and the psychological insights add a layer of sophistication. Would recommend.

This was certainly an interesting book. It had a lot going for it: a clever idea for the basic plot, it was fast and easy to read, there was a diverse cast of characters, and it had a surprise ending. All good things. But, were they enough? Unfortunately, I have to say no.

I was surprised to find the book more about Theo, the therapist, rather than Alicia, the patient. I really didn’t care about his life, or his problems, growing up. I also didn’t like that he seemed more like a detective rather than a therapist or how easily he became Alicia’s therapist. Also, the book seemed to be mired down in psychological theory, which rapidly became annoying.

However, there were things about the book I liked. The mystery of why Alicia wouldn’t talk was compelling and kept me reading. I thought the use of her diary was clever. I also enjoyed being proven wrong about certain assumptions I had made while reading. And, I did like the surprise ending. (I never see them coming!)

All in all, I think it’s a good beach read or, maybe, a book club selection. There’s certainly a lot to discuss!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A seemingly conventional thriller, whereby, a ‘beautiful’ married couple, once passionately in love, is found with one partner standing near the other, now dead one, holding the murder weapon. A professional enters the tale to determine the truth of the tableau and then the thrills begin. THE SILENT PATIENT moves slowly and at times I wondered why I was reading such a conventional novel. Perhaps my mind wandered a bit as I read, to be honest. As the book neared the very end, I was gobsmacked by the surprise. This is not the kind of twist that makes any sense to jump ahead and read. The pieces must be picked up along the way. I was lulled into this twist and it was just fantastic. I loved the great big jolt I received. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I finished reading The Silent Patient in one sitting. This is the author's debut novel and even though the book description sounded intriguing, I had no idea that 3 months later, this would still be the book that I keep thinking about and talking about to every book lover I know.
Alicia is an artist, married to Gabriel, a photographer. To the world, her life appears pretty perfect and yet one night, Gabriel comes home and Alicia kills him. What could have led her to murder her husband? No one may ever know the truth since she has not spoken a single word since that night. Enter Theo, a psychotherapist who believes if given the opportunity to treat Alicia, that he can break through her silence.
Almost everything I want to say about The Silent Patient veers dangerously close to spoiler territory. What I can say is that the story is told in the past and in the present and that much is revealed about both Alicia and Theo. Did I have my own thoughts about where this story was headed? Why yes I did and I totally got it wrong! The ending has an unbelievably good twist that made perfect sense after I thought about what I had read. It was weeks before I could read another book without thinking it was just 'OK'. Actually, I read some very good books, but my Silent Patient book hangover just wouldn't let go.
Honestly, the story, the characters, and the twists and turns made this unputdownable.
The bar is set high for psychological thrillers to be published in 2019! I would give The Silent Patient more than 5 stars if I could.

WOW, this book grabbed me right from the start. Great twists and turns. I really enjoyed the way the author keeps you guessing right up until the end. I love a good psychological thriller and this one delivered. Did she do it? Will she speak? Read and find out!!

Ok, I am still recovering from the end of this excellent book. Not expected, perfectly played out. I now want to go re-read this.
The Silent Patient tells the story from the perspective of Alicia Berensen, the patient, and her psychotherapist Theo Faber. Alicia’s story is primarily told through her diary, which leaves the reader to wonder if she truly is insane, and if she did indeed kill her husband.
Alex Michaelides spins a clever tale, worthy of being called a page turner. Most of my theories throughout the book turned out wrong. Ok, all of my theories! But at the end, I couldn’t believe I didn’t see it.
Thanks so much to Celedon Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this fantastic book. The library will need to have many copies of this on hand, as it is sure to be a blockbuster.

This book took me on quite the journey. You have Alicia who hasn't spoken since the night she was found by the police with a gun and her husband shot multiple times. She is in a mental facility, highly medicated. A psychotherapist Theo Faber, has been wanting to work on her, to reveal the mystery and getting her talking.

I did not see the ending coming. Not everything is as it seems.

Alicia Berenson and her husband Gabriel seem to have the perfect life, until one night Alicia is discovered standing over Gabriel’s body holding a gun. It seems unbelievable, but Alicia’s prints are the only ones on the gun and there is no evidence of another person being in the house, so the police have no choice but to conclude that Alicia murdered Gabriel. The one question on everyone’s mind is - why? It appears that they will never know, as what makes the case extraordinary is the fact that Alicia has not uttered a single word since she was found that night.

Theo Faber is a psychoanalyst who is drawn to Alicia and is determined to find out her story and help her break her years-long silence. He gets a position at the psychiatric facility where she has been since her trial and begins working with her. He soon finds himself ensnared in the tangled web of Alicia’s past, and the lines between professional and personal start to blur as he becomes more and more desperate to make Alicia speak again. Will he be able to get answers before too many lines have been crossed?

After the Gone Girl craze of years ago I got somewhat tired of psychological thrillers, but I devoured The Silent Patient in one sitting while on an airplane and had to spend a few minutes absorbing everything when it ended. It’s impossible not to get drawn into the lives of Alicia and Theo and the mystery of why Alicia killed Gabriel as well as why she has never spoken a word since. I can’t say much without risking spoilers, but the story is intricately plotted with a mind-blowing twist at the end that I did not see coming. I recommend this book for fans of psychological thrillers and suspense!

Holy twist, Batman! It does the job of a suspense novel, for sure - I consumed this book in about 5 hours. I love psychological suspense, and this one works all the angles. We have potentially unreliable patient, a narrator who is her therapist also going through some stuff, and some earlier flashback diary entries from the patient. Satisfying suspenseful psychological mystery.

(From Goodreads as Andrew MacNorth - Eugene, OR)

The Silent Patient is a thoroughly devourable thriller. I'm a slow reader and it took me one day, with just a brief break to go for a walk. And while this book eventually submits to a few tired tropes required of today's twisty suspense genre, there's an emotional core that is utterly engaging and authentic.

Like most worthwhile pieces of genre fiction, The Silent Patient fits into a familiar form—the suspense thriller—while still being about something. This book explores the nature of psychological damage, if we can truly escape a traumatic past, what it means to love and be betrayed, and so on. Not thematic material that will reinvent the wheel, mind you, but compelling and well-executed nonetheless.

Discerning readers may wonder why a character’s diary entries read like pitch perfect prose with ultra-specific dialogue. Overall one's mileage may vary depending on one’s ability to suspend disbelief. But Michaelides maintains a propulsive pace while digging deep into the lives of his tragically flawed characters. It’s a cut above the glut of recent suspense/thriller offerings, and auspicious debut by an author to watch.

This book is absolutely captivating, suspenseful, and intriguing. I devoured it quickly.

The novel follows Theo Faber, a psychotherapist who started working at a medical facility where an artist named Alice Berenson is confined. Alice became a notorious figure after murdering her husband. Her fame is surrounded by increased public interest due to her silence. Alice, is not any murderer, she simply stopped talking after the crime.

Theo is eager to work with her and get her talking. He wants to understand what happened that night, what made Alicia murder her husband. We also follow his personal life with his wife, which is the part I found even more interesting.

I loved the voice of the narrator, the novel takes place in London and the story is compelling and absolutely engaging. I loved it and highly recommend it.

My feelings summarized in two words: Mind. Blown.

The Silent Patient is one of the most original, well written, compelling books I've ever read. And the twist? I'm still reeling from it.

I truly got lost in in this story. The characters have incredible emotional depth. The mystery of Alicia's silence is tantalizing, and the complexities of Theo's character are riveting.

I want to say so much, but I don't want to give away a single detail. What I can tell you without a doubt is that this book will remain at the top of my favorites list. And it's Alex Michaelides first novel! I can't wait to see what comes next.

Astonishing, unputdownable and spellbinding stuff here!

Loved....loved....loved! This book is exactly what I needed…...a fast-paced and fully absorbing thriller that I literally could not put down or stop thinking about. This was some fantastic storytelling!

THE SILENT PATIENT by ALEX MICHAELIDES is a dazzling, fascinating, compelling, and an absolutely fabulous psychological thriller novel that was quite the immersive and thrilling book to read. Right from the very beginning I knew that this book was going to be a gripping page-turner for me and I’m happy to say that it totally held my attention right to the very end, making this quite the compulsive and all-consuming read.

ALEX MICHAELIDES delivers an impressive, clever, suspenseful, entertaining and well-written read here with an intriguing and refreshing premise, an intoxicating mystery and irresistible compelling characters. I thought this was an extremely well-crafted thriller where the author seductively guides you to the shocking and twisty conclusion.

This book definitely appealed to this psychological thriller lover even though I wouldn’t necessarily say there is anything new here and you might have your suspicions early on like I did but it was all in the execution here that made this quite the fantastic and exhilarating read. I thought it was so cleverly and originally done. If an author can still make that ending shocking and thrilling to read even if you think you’ve figured out the outcome well then I’d say that is one heck of an accomplishment and perfect read!

This was an absolutely fabulous psychological thriller that quickly made it into my favourite reads shelf making this my very first favourite of 2019!

Expected Publication Date: February 5, 2019

Norma’s Stats:
Cover: Intriguing, unsettling, creepy, eye-catching and an extremely fitting representation to storyline that kind of gives me the heebie-jeebies to look at.
Title: The title of this book is an extremely fitting representation to storyline that definitely piqued my interest, totally intrigued and fascinated me.
Writing/Prose: Well-written, entertaining, compelling, engaging and convincing. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style and it definitely spoke to me.
Plot: Engrossing, refreshing, suspenseful, interesting, complex, fast-paced, and highly entertaining.
Ending: A surprising and twist ending that definitely should shock and wow the reader regardless if you’ve figured it out or not. The ending was totally satisfying and did not disappoint!!
Overall: A fantastic and riveting read that had me totally absorbed within this story right from the very start, thoroughly enjoying every minute of this debut thriller! Would recommend!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Celadon Books and Alex Michaelides for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review!

Psychotherapist Theo Faber wants to help a patient who has not spoken since she killed her husband six years prior. Alicia Berenson was a successful painter and her husband Gabriel was a well known photographer. What caused her to shoot him him in the face five times.? No one knows because Alicia hasn’t spoken a word. Theo thinks he can help her. A slow burn to a shocking climax

A review of The Silent Patient will be on www.MapYourMystery.com on Monday, January 21.

A twist domestic thriller in the Gone Girl/Girl on the Train vein - although it was on purpose, I didn't care for the narrator at all and thought the whole thing could have been more developed. I enjoyed it well enough and would suggest it to people who like this specific subgenre.

I received this book in exchange for a honest review from NetGalley

Fantastic and so original! I loved reading every minute of this mystery. The novel switches perspectives between the wife of the murdered husband (through diary entries) and the therapist who is treating her. Allusions to Greek mythology are blended into the story and provide breadcrumbs to the reader and narrator to help solve the mystery of Alicia's silence. I've read many domestic thrillers and suspense novels, but this is one of the best! I highly recommend it to readers of suspense.

Theo Faber is a psychotherapist who takes an interest in treating Alicia Berenson, a woman convicted of murdering her husband and sentenced to a mental institution. Convinced there is more to the story than appears, Theo begins his own investigation, starting with Alicia. But since the murder she has refused to speak. This was a slow-paced, but well-crafted psychological thriller with a killer twist that left me stunned. I tend to rate these types of books on the basis of the twist and the author's ability to shock me and Michaelides has scored a 5 star rating from me. Highly recommended.

This is an amazing read. Kept me wanting to turn the page to find out what would happen next. Highly recommend it for anyone who loves psychological thrillers. One of the best read for 2019. #netgalley#thesilentpatient#indigoemployee

Alicia Berenson is a well-regarded painter living in London with her husband, Gabriel, a successful fashion photographer. For no apparent reason, when Gabriel comes home one night, she shoots him multiple times in the face. She is discovered by the police covered in blood and refuses to speak another word. She is sent to a psychiatric ward for treatment but no therapist can break through to her. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who desperately wants to work with her after hearing about her case. Theo, it seems, has some problems of his own at home. He tries to break through to Alicia while dealing with his own domestic struggles.
There are some books- very few, actually, that lead to a surprised ‘a-ha’ moment. It can make you stop, think and reconsider. When an author can pull this off in a superb well written thriller, it is truly impressive. What is even more remarkable is that this is the author’s debut novel. The plot is both clever and relentlessly fast paced. The characters are generally stock figures and few likeable. This is, perhaps, the only weakness but in a first time novelist’s hands, it works just fine. I won’t comment on the ending but just know it is extremely satisfying. This is a very entertaining novel and is highly recommended.

This book was awesome. I love how the doctor is the one telling it. I love broken characters who come into their own. The ending you never ever see coming. They the book there were times I was anxious & on edge. I loved it.