The silent patient isn’t a whodunnit because we already know Alicia killed her husband. The issue is that we don’t know why. (Or is she the REAL killer??) She simply stopped talking after the fact. But a new therapist has been hired at the Grove and he might be able to break her silence. I don’t usually read the crime genre, but I love doing things out of character so I picked up the silent patient. Out of all the crime books I looked at, I cannot tell you why I chose that one, I just did. And man am I glad I did! 

“…we often mistake love for fireworks – for drama and dysfunction. But real love is very quiet, very still. It’s boring, if seen from the perspective of high drama. Love is deep and calm – and constant.”

Alex Michaelides, The Silent Patient

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read plenty of crime before. I spent the better part of the 2000’s reading Grisham’s whole catalogue, before I moved on to Michael Connelly, then to Harlan Coben, and so on. And I also pick up the stray crime now and then, but let’s just say it’s been a while.

Compared to what I’ve been used to, especially the likes of Coben, I found the silent patient slow and steady like volvo on the freeway where Coben runs a porsche off track. I was comfortable reading a few chapters before bed until about half way. Then I suddenly got to a point of no return where I couldn’t stop. Sleep came late that night and I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough. I’m serious. The plotting is clever. The timing is immaculate. (But I will admit that it irritated me the way the author drew out the reveal. But of course, I understand why.)

“Choosing a lover is a lot like choosing a therapist. We need to ask ourselves, is this someone who will be honest with me, listen to criticism, admit making mistakes, and not promise the impossible?”

Alex Michaelides, The Silent Patient

All of this makes the book good, but what makes the book AMAZING is the reasoning and the depth the author throws us into with the greek mythology, art, psychology and betrayal. It just felt like so much more than just a thriller. I WISH I could just say all the things I’m feeling and all my thoughts but I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll leave it at that.

I found out later that the book will be made into a movie by Plan B (Brad Pitt’s compay) and Annapurna. Looking forward to seeing them adapt this to screen. I rarely find movies good after swallowing the book whole, but the author revealed that the book was first written as a script and then adapted for book. I will watch it FOR SURE just to see if they manage to capture the artistic og mystic side of this. Cause it’s there in spades, if you care to see it.

“Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive, and will come forth later, in uglier ways.”

Sigmund Freud