A therapist (Theo Faber) is obsessed with an alleged murderer (Alicia Berenson), this obsession drives him to quit a safe job and move to a clinic where she is being treated. However, since the murder Aicia has never spoken and remains locked in her silent world. Theo is determined to "fix" Alicia at whatever cost.

This thriller with a twist is narrated from the viewpoint of the 2 main characters, it also moves through time with the past being ever present. It is one of those thrillers that demands you to keep reading, you want to know the outcome. Because I read alot of this type of crime thriller I guessed where we were going quite early on, however one of the final twists did come as a surprise. One final thing, I felt it floundered at the final hurdle, once the reveals started to happen the quality of the writing changed and it felt hurried and unfortunately more cliched.

Found this to be an interesting, clever yet disturbing read. Got through this in a day wanting to see what happened next. Would like to read more by the author. Thanks for the preview

Thank you to NetGalley, Orion books and Alex Michaelides for the chance to read and review this book.

On a scorching summer night, 33-year-old painter Alicia Beresford is discovered covered in blood, standing rigid and frozen in her living room, while the body of Gabriel, her husband of seven years, sits tied to a chair. She had shot him five times in the head with his rifle and then slit her wrists to attempt suicide. She is taken to hospital but doesn’t make any statements of guilt or innocence, in fact Alicia doesn’t speak at all. Her only “statement” was a painting done after discharged from the hospital and put under house arrest while awaiting trial. It is self portrait named Alcestis, after the greek heroine, and it’s meaning remains a mystery. Six years later psychotherapist Theo Faber, who has been obsessed with the case since it occurred, applies for a job at the hospital she’s being treated. He is sure he can reach her, get her to speak again and discover the truth about what happened that night.

I was so excited to be approved for an ARC of ‘The Silent Patient’. I had seen a lot of buzz about it on Bookstagram and I loved the description. I couldn’t wait to decide for myself how good this book really was.

The story is written in the past tense by Alicia’s psychotherapist, Theo. It also contains entries from the diary Gabriel encouraged her to write in the weeks leading up to his death. These pages give us an insight into who she is, or was, while she remains silent, and enables the reader learn secrets being kept and lies being told by some of the people closest to Alicia.

This book is as much a story about Theo as it is about Alicia and Gabriel. Like Alicia, Theo is a broken, damaged character. His affinity with her is his motivation for trying to help and why he feels that he can be the one to help her find her voice again. But he keeps breaking the rules and seems increasingly obsessed with his patient. Is he using this case as a distraction from difficulties in his private life or is there more going on? As Theo learns more about Alicia and her life in the time leading to the murder, he finds things he never expected and begins to understand why she painted Alcestis and why she has remained silent all these years. Will this mean he can reach her? That once again she will speak and all will be unveiled.

From the opening chapters I was fully immersed in this book. I flew through it, unable to put it down and thinking about it each moment I wasn’t reading. The characters were all well written and I especially liked the fascinating enigma that was Alicia. I could never quite work out if she was a malevolent calculating killer or a tragic victim of an as-yet-unknown horror. It was a well researched novel and I found the information about psychology and trauma fascinating. I had suspicions about two of the characters and thought they might be involved in Gabriel’s death, perhaps even framing her in some way. I was convinced I knew where the story was going and what would happen but I couldn’t have been more wrong….

The novel is ingeniously written as with one chapter, a paragraph and finally a short sentence, the writer mercilessly takes your breath away. He transforms this novel from a great book into a mindblowing and sensational book with a twist you truly couldn’t have foreseen. THIS is the book I would call the crime debut of 2019. What a magnificent and electrifying debut. Everyone will be talking about this book and that twist. Whatever genre you enjoy, you need to read this book.

I read a lot of psychological thrillers and they are undoubtedly my favourite genre. I found The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides to be a slow burner so it really did take me a while to get into the story. I enjoyed the alternating POVs in the patient Alicia and the psychotherapist Theo. For me the female characters were slightly one dimensional. It's undoubtedly full of twists and the final one certainly made my jaw drop. I was left with one question though - what had Theo done to his girlfriend Kathy? Was she drugged or just disengaged? I found that a tad implausible. This book will certainly make a watchable film. Thanks to Orion Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

This was a very interesting read! I thought it was a clever and very original idea and overall enjoyed the story. I definitely did not guess the twist at the end and I thought this was very well done.

A well written story , an artist is held in a secure unit after the murder of her husband , she will not talk . a psychologist manages to get a job in this unit to try and get her to talk . His partner has been having an affair . All this ties together by the end of the book in a well constructed way . I read this book on Kindle and before release needs going through by a proof reader as randomly , in the middle of sentences , at the end of paragraphs the title of the book and/ or the authors name keeps appearing which I found distracting .

There has been a huge trend in recent years for psychological thrillers ‘with a twist’. No doubt these can be very entertaining and I’ve enjoyed more than one myself. These type of books, including this novel, can come with lots of hype which colour your expectations before the first paragraph. This can spoil your enjoyment and also make it difficult to write a review without doing the same to other readers. So for these reasons I’ve found it tricky to put down my thoughts about ‘The Silent Patient’.

Alicia Berenson is a gifted artist who is seemingly happily married to a successful photographer. They live in a large house next to Hampstead Heath and their careers are going well. So it is totally incomprehensible when she brutally murders the man she adores one night. Everyone wants to know why she did this terrible thing, but dear Alicia isn’t talking. In fact she hasn’t said a word for six years.

This mystery would be intriguing for anyone, but Theo Faber is particularly drawn to Alicia and her deep silence. Theo is a psychotherapist who moves to the facility where Alicia has been living specifically so that he can unlock her secrets. We discover much about both her and her earnest doctor.

I’m in a bit of a quandary about this novel. The writing is very good, especially for a debut, and I would definitely read his work again. The pages turn quickly and you want to race to the end to solve the mystery. That said I think that there is still room for the body of the novel to be tightened up, for certain elements (such as supporting characters) to be finessed. This is a debut novel though and I’m sure that Alex Michaelides will only get better. I think that the main issue for me is ‘that twist’; the blurb and extant reviews tell us that there is one (and it’s a corker) so it’s difficult to just read without looking for it at every turn. Overall, a very enjoyable and diverting novel from a promising new novelist. 3.5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 average stars

Apologies to all those out there that have given this 5 stars; I wasn’t blown away by this one at all.

Maybe it’s another marmite book.

I thought the writing style was quite basic, the characters were in the main unlikeable, and a tad contrived.

The big twist I was able to guess half way through, although I enjoyed reading how all the pieces came together at the end.

The main character may be a psychotherapist but he is much,much more. This is a compulsive read as the story offers many unexpected twists. It also reveals an impressive understanding of patients with severe mental issues. The linking of the Toby's personal and professional lives is convincing and entirely believable. Keep reading. The end is unexoected and dramatic!

Thanks netgalley and publishers for opportunity to read this novel .
I really liked this and there was an undertone all along of something not quite right, jarring .
The therapist our lead character I felt all the way through the book was not quite adjusted ,much more so than our female lead .
I enjoyed the therapy sessions but did suspect from the get go something was afoot between them I just cdnt work out the link
Lots of scenarios went through my mind more complex and not quite as ovious which made the ovious more subtle in its denouncement.
It’s a three star for me not quite achieving four as wd have wanted more but I will read the next one from this author who clearly thinks in that way all readers like ,a mystery to be answered and charcaters that are more than meets the eye

This book is getting much deserved hype. It is a very clever story written by someone who knows the ins and outs of psychiatry and therapy but at the heart is an unexplained murder.

Why has artist Alicia Berenson shot her beloved husband Gabriel five times in the face and killed him? After recovering from self inflicted wounds she remains mute and sent to a psychiatric unit The Grove where she remains for some years until the arrival of a new psychotherapist Theo Faber. He is determined to get Alicia to speak again and in the process delves into her past while at the same time battling his own demons.

This was one book where I told my other half not to interrupt me in no uncertain terms as I reached the end when all is explained. A twist that I didn't see coming, although when I thought about it, it became obvious. An excellent psychological thriller for fans of 'Gone Girl' 'I See You' and 'Anatomy of a Scandal'. A surefire winner for 2019. Many thanks to NetGalley and Orion for the opportunity to read and review The Silent Patient.

I couldn't put this down and when I did, I was suffering from whiplash from the ending!

It's a psychological thriller set in the world of psychology, I have no medical knowledge but found the setting itself fascinating. I was almost as gripped as Theo to discover Alice's story, and was on the edge of my seat in their sessions. It was one of those books that I needed to know but didn't want it to end!

The Silent Patient is an immensely readable psychological thriller with a flowing storyline and a cast of well rounded characters.
Six years previously artist Alicia Berenson shot dead her photographer husband Gabriel. From the moment she is arrested she refuses to speak and when found guilty she is confined in The Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.
Theo Faber a psychotherapist who was fascinated with the case has obtained a post at The Grove convinced he will be able to help Alicia, as he starts to delve into her past we learn more about Alicia and Theo.
I found it a difficult book to put down wanting to know more and more and had an inkling which way the story was heading but the reveal at the end was whilst not shocking was unexpected.
Well written, an enjoyable read which deserves to do well.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

Wow! This book kept me gripped from start to finish. The story revolves around 2 main characters with others on the sidelines. There is many twists and turns that makes you think something else has happened. This would be a perfect book club book as I felt the need to discuss it with others.

Thank you #Netgalley for an advance copy of ‘The Silent Patient’ to review.

As a counsellor myself I was drawn to the synopsis of this book and was very impressed by the accuracy of the therapeutic jargon.

The plot twist itself was inventive, but in my opinion fizzled and failed to bedazzle.

However, overall the book was very enjoyable and well written.

3.5 stars


Really nicely done.
A woman in a psychiatric hospital who can't or won't speak and the man who ways to work with her to bring her voice back.

Interesting to hear the back history and mental health problems of both characters.
Even more interesting was building a picture of who Alicia was based on what others said,and how she wrote in her diary.
Either could be true.
I suspected things were not quite as they seemed early on,but not quite to the extent they were.
That's why I say nicely done.

I was keen to read ‘The Silent Patient’ by Alex Michaelides given the number of plaudits this novel has already received. It begins promisingly enough: respected artist Alicia Berenson kills her much-loved husband, Gabriel, and then tries to take her own life. On being discovered she is incarcerated in a psychiatric unit where she elects to become mute.
The narrator of the story, a forensic psychotherapist called Theo Faber who is working at Broadmoor as the story opens, is appointed to a position at The Grove, the institution where Alicia lives. Because he has followed the case, he is very keen to work with Alicia in the hope that he might persuade her to talk.
Given the genre the reader knows that the murder outlined at the beginning of the novel is not as straightforward as it first appears. We are given a clue to Alicia’s state of mind through her self-portrait entitled ‘Alcestis’ – a Greek myth in which said girl offers her life to save her husband’s – but this self-sacrifice is not immediately apparent.
As the narrative develops we learn that it is not just Alicia who had a troubled childhood. Theo, too, has been very unhappy but the nurturing of a loving wife and a supportive therapist seems to have given him a more hopeful outlook. It is clear that Alex Michaelides knows something of psychotherapy and mental health issues as the various patients and practices at ‘The Grove are described authentically. In fact, some of the medical specifics appear a little over-worked, almost as if to say, ‘Look! I know something about this!’ rather than weaving every detail in as an integral part of the story.
My real problem with the text, and the reason why I can’t add my name to the list of those who rate this novel as ‘excellent’, is that Michaelides couldn’t get me to care enough about any of the characters. They all felt rather two dimensional: here is the monster mother; here is the creepy friend; here is the corrupt doctor and so on. Some may praise the final big reveal as clever; however, the unreliable narration throughout the novel was not credible enough for me to be either surprised or convinced.
My thanks to NetGalley and Orion Books for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I read to the end to see what happened but I did struggle with the pace of the book. The end, in fact, was rather clever but it didn’t grip me as much as I would have liked.

A very clever book, with a story line that is gripping and somehow twisted.
Alicia in her silence still manages to show you who she is. Theo, ghastly man, is just so egotistical. And half way through I was beginning to have my doubts about him and his reasons for treating Alicia..
I found the other staff at the unit not altogether believable. Would they really have allowed Theo such freedom?
However, it was a very well written book that had plenty of suspense.
Thank you to Net Galley for a preview copy of the book. All opinions are my own.

Brilliant!! One of the best books I have read lately, could not put it down!! Did not see the twist at the end coming at all!!