Plano Reads: The Silent Patient

Read our review of The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, a Mystery Book Club pick for September.

You can join us to virtually discuss The Silent Patient on September 17 at 7 p.m. using Zoom! Register online here.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Currently available as an eBook and audiobook on OverDrive or through the Libby app.

Description from OverDrive

The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband—and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander: a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him…

I am not exaggerating when I say that I was unable to put this book down. From start to finish, I was on the edge of my seat, anxiously awaiting the next twisted turn of events. As Theo delved further into the brain of his murderous silent patient, Alicia, I attempted to put together the pieces of the mystery (unsuccessfully, I might add). In an interview that was included at the end of the audiobook, Michaelides stated that he wanted to write a novel reminiscent of the mysteries he read during his summers as a child growing up in Cyprus. He knew he had accomplished this dream when he read and enjoyed his debut novel on a beach. While I read The Silent Patient from the comfort of my living room, the sentiment holds true. This is the perfect summer novel that not only kept me entertained but also made me consider questions of the psyche. Fans of Gillian Flynn and Ruth Ware will devour this novel whole. – Emery, Librarian

The Silent Patient is a can’t-put-down thriller, full of twists and turns. Alicia’s husband is dead, she has gone mute, and the new forensic psychotherapist is keen on solving the mystery of what happened that night. – Maggie, Librarian