Book Review: The Silent Patient 3.8 Stars

Published on 9 October 2023 at 09:41

"You become increasingly comfortable with madness - and not just the madness of others, but your own.  We're all crazy, I believe, just in different ways."

Alicia seemed to have the perfect life.  She is a famous artist and her charming husband is a famous photographer.  But things are not always what they seem.  

Alicia, convicted of her husband's murder, is now spending her days in a mental institution.  She hasn't spoken since the night of the murder.  This is where Theo, a psychotherapist, steps in.  For some reason, he is drawn to the case and to Alicia.  He is obsessed with finding the truth, and getting her to speak.  

 

I spend the entirety of this book trying to figure out the plot twist. I think I came up with many plausible scenarios, but I was wrong.  The twist in this book was not what I was expecting, and the way it was delivered....perfecto. 

 

I liked how the book was written in Theo's perspective but we still were privy to Alicia's thoughts via her diary entries.  The other characters are well written and this had me guessing the entire time. The ending was a bit of a let down though.  It kind of left me feeling a little defeated.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this was a great way to end the book.  It felt like there could be more to this story.  I can see a movie/tv version of this being popular. 

 

Overall, I enjoyed the book.  Great plot twist, good character dynamics, and is well written, even if the ending was a bit of a downer. 

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