#BookReview The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides @orionbooks

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Promising to be the debut novel of the season The Silent Patientis 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...

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The Silent Patient feels like a book everyone loves, expect me. Yeah, for some reason this book just didn't do the trick for. For one thing, it didn't feel like a thriller, or rather for me it lacked any thrilling moments. The story felt flat, likewise the characters, especially Theo Faber. I'm sorry, but he mostly annoyed me, his obsession with Alicia Berenson and his marriage problem. And, from the beginning is it clear that he's not that mentally sound so I wasn't surprised when "things" happened towards the end.

I felt that the story was just idling along, it never picked up the pace and neither Alicia's diary entries nor Theo's POV really grabbed my interest. At least it was pleasant enough that I could finish the book. Now, of course, there must be some twist to the story and sure enough, when the book was nearly done did it show up. And, yes I have to admit that it was a clever move, alas a bit too late for me and frankly not especially imaginative. It felt a bit like it's been done before and I just felt a bit tired and not that impressed.

Well, my review is pretty negative, but it's hard to think of anything good to write when I mostly felt like it was not the right book for me. I like my thrillers to draw me in, for the characters to be fascinating to read about. This book, nah. 

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!